Playoff Algebra

I watched that heartbreaking Game 5 sitting hunkered down on a couch next to at least three other people I consider to have become hockey fans in large part because of me (this is not to brag about myself at all, but rather to admit to the fact that I have been forcing my obsession on all of my friends and am surprised they still stick around), entreating them to watch, to learn, to love the playoffs and to see their team through it, trying to explain to them what it feels like to watch your team lift Lord Stanley, to even be, yourself, in the same room with the greatest prize you can imagine.

And the whole time, what I found myself constantly explaining to them was, "I want x player to win the cup because y." Then I saw this post of Dave's, which was along similar lines, and I thought about it, and that really honestly is part of the reason I want this so badly - of course you always want to see your team win, but more importantly I want to see each individual little piece of the team to succeed. I want this for all of them.

I want Nick Lidstrom to lift the Cup as the first European captain to do it, after all the years he's given to this team and how he's quietly been the best guy out there nearly every night.

I want Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk to lift the Cup and prove once and for all that they are in fact one of the greatest duos in hockey. Ever. I want, I admit, to know that my Eurotwins, my stars, were brighter than the dynamic Crosby/Malkin pair. I want to see the looks on their faces when they jump on each other afterward like they do after every goal, because you know they will.

I want Chris Osgood to lift the Cup for all the years he's spent being "the worst goalie to win the Cup." I want the remarkable season he had when no one expected it out of him to be rewarded.

I want Darren McCarty to lift the Cup because what he did was amazing. Say what you will about how he let his life degenerate in the first place, but can you imagine struggling through the IHL, to the AHL, to the NHL, working back to the form you were in years ago because you only just now realized how much you love and need this sport - working all this way back and being able to lift Lord Stanley for your efforts? No better reward exists. And I want to see him lift it alongside Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby, the Grind Line reunited.

I want Dallas Drake to lift the Cup because who knows, it could be his last year, and the fact that he's been in the league this long and through so much pain (seriously look at his face), celebrated 1,000 games played, and this is the first year he's even gotten to the finals.

I want Brian Rafalski to lift the Cup because of how long he spent apparently stifled in New Jersey, because he came home to Michigan and broke out, broke his career highs all over the place, and fit in so spectacularly.

I want Brad Stuart to lift the Cup because I want him to stay here, I want the fact that we rescued him (no offense Connie!) and brought him in to a place where he could shine to mean something. I want our one trade deadline acquisition, our little minor notch on the day, to become a huge piece of a championship.

I want Johan Franzen to lift the Cup because hot damn. Two hat tricks in three games, 29 goals in 28 games. Because he destroyed our expectations of him and then some.

I want Tomas Holmstrom to lift the Cup for every goal he's had called off, for every time his "large backside" has been in OR out of the crease with the same result, because he's been the pest we needed and his role is one of the most under appreciated. And because his Knob Hockey is the funniest thing ever.

I want Dan Cleary to lift the Cup because I want to think about all of Newfoundland nearly exploding. I want to see a kid who barely made the team in the first place, who floundered elsewhere, make the most of breaking out in Detroit.

I want Niklas Kronwall to lift the Cup because it would be the perfect end to his year, a season he finally got through without a rash of fluky injuries, and it would prove what a powerhouse he is in a way no one has gotten to see before.

I want Jiri Hudler and Valtteri Filppula and Darren Helm to lift the Cup because I watched them in Grand Rapids and I saw them become, a little bit, what they are, and because they're the future, the "rookies" that we so often have passed up in the past.

Hell I even want Dominik Hasek to lift the Cup because yeah, he wasn't great, and yeah, people don't like him, but look what he still did for us this year and last year and who doesn't want to retire on a note like that. I even want Chris Chelios to lift it because it'll give one more thing for VS to tack on when they tell us how old he is every game. I even want Andreas Lilja to lift it because while I profess my hatred for him and he scares me, he's been an integral part too. I even want Brett Lebda to lift it because Kirsten loves him and he's a Chicago boy and that's almost hometown. And I even want Mikael Samuelsson to lift it because even though he can't score on an opening the size of the broad side of a barn if it killed him, he somehow manages to pull off the weird quirky ones that really, really matter.

Tonight is huge. We were so close we literally tasted it. 34.7 seconds away. Let's make it zero.

I want x player to win this cup because y. The whole team.

I want the Detroit Red Wings to win the Cup because I love this team, as a whole, in fractions, in pieces, and every single one of them deserves it. I want it, and they want it, and they're ready to fight for it. GO WINGS.

Too stressed to make a blog post title

Well, as they say, tonight is do or die for the Penguins season. Will they pull off a historic win? We can only hope, and if this playoff run is any indicator, then the Penguins have a fighting chance to come back in a surprise burst of offensive glory, at least once more, and give us all hope of a game six with their ability to keep in the game.

The Wings are a scary team, and they have proven it over and over in this series, showing the fans why they topped out the league this year by a cool 11 points. Pittsburgh has stood up, gotten beaten down, bruised, but not out, and if the killing blow does come tonight then at least we can say they put up a fight and maybe, possibly, finally stop hearing about this team's inexperience. No one ever stops learning, but does getting to the Cup finals count as enough credibility to get them out of the nursery? When does a young team just become a team?

I don't have much to say about game 4, and if you look around the blogosphere, most people have already said it: the Pens should have had that game. They put pressure on, they made Osgood wake up and work for his saves, but sadly, fate was against them (as was the clock) and they couldn't seal the deal. Was it defense, lack of scoring, should Fleury be fed to the wolves for that awful save on Hudler? Or, perhaps, should Pens fans look at the big picture and realize that while the Penguins aren't beating back the Red Wings with a magnificent show of force, they're playing in the Stanley Cup, their first appearance in over 15 years and barely two years after they were scraping the bottom of the entire league in points. Do or die, win or lose, sink or swim, creamy or chunky, the Penguins are a team that their fans can be proud of, should be proud of, and they have given us a series that will be talked about for years to come.

Of course, Penguins fans would be a hell of a lot happier if we could talk about our team's magnificent comeback win against the titan Red Wings, how the Penguins offense exploded for a 5-4 all-out overtime battle in game 5 with a hat trick by Malkin to silence all his critics and secure a long and lucrative contract with Pittsburgh, thus ensuring the powerhouse duo of Crosby and Malkin on the tag line for years to come.

Hey, if you don't dream big, why dream at all?




8 pm.
Go Pens.

One More.

It's getting harder and harder to make an objective blog post. With every game the Red Wings win, it's harder to sit down and type up a post about what was good, what was bad, how the game went, who scored and when and how.

Part of it is because this far along, you watch the game like I did, in a room full of your best friends, biting your nails and rocking back and forth holding your breath when it's tied 1-1 heading into the third and you know, you know, the next goal takes the game. Or when the boys are up 2-1 and suddenly all those obstruction arguments Therrien's been giving have gotten the Penguins a 5 on 3 that could turn the entire game around if the Wings make just one little mistake. Part of it is sheer pride and part of it is because as a hockey fan you can't help but shiver when you think of any team, especially your own, hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup. Just one win left. Looking at that image on the Wings' website right now is with that one lowly little number still clinging to life at the far bottom bottom right gives me chills. One more game.

Last night the Penguins lost at home for the first time in, as we've been reminded approximately four thousand times between CBC and NBC, three months. There was some concern when Tomas Holmstrom sat out, but Darren McCarty took his place and the Wings persevered. Personally I'm glad he got to play a Finals game, to basically complete the story of his comeback - I bet he never thought it'd get this far.

The game was incredibly tight, tense, and spectacular. Marian Hossa scored first for the Penguins giving the collective Wings fan base a coronary, but captain Nick Lidstrom netted the tying goal at 7:06 in the first to even things back out and calm us all down enough to resume drinking our beer, at least for a little while. The second period was uneventful and scary even - so you knew the third was going to be a serious stress test. Luckily for Wings fans, Brad Stuart was able to slide a puck to Jiri Hudler who, despite saying he wasn't expecting the puck at all and "barely knew where the net was," deposited it behind Fleury, top shelf gloveside with a nice little backhanded flip - ironically a sort of improvised version of his favorite shootout move. It was great to see him get the gamewinner and I sort of adopted him as my Wings rookie last season and he hit some rough patches this year.

The one goal lead was hardly enough to quell the stress, and the rest of the period was almost painful to watch, though the Wings performed marvelously. Just when the feeling was starting to set in that the Wings would be okay, the unthinkable happened - Kirk Maltby went to the box for hooking and Andreas Lilja was called for a questionable instance of interference only moments later leaving the Wings forced to defend a 5 on 3 for an incredible amount of time. Fortunately the Wings performed exactly the way a Stanley Cup winning team should be expected to, and the group of Henrik Zetterberg, Nick Lidstrom, and Niklas Kronwall shut the Penguins' best opportunity of the night despite their monumental effort - Lilja should be thanking god, because despite his very solid play all night long, a game tying goal on a call on him would have sent him once again to Wings fans' doghouses. Zetterberg in particular tied up Sidney Crosby's stick and made an amazing maneuver with his skate to save what would almost inevitably been the tying goal. When asked if that sequence was the best he'd played in his life, Zetterberg answered, "What part?"

Crosby, however, was less impressed:

“He made a good play on me; he got my stick,” Sidney Crosby said. “I don’t think he did anything out of the ordinary besides what any other guy would do on a 5-on-3.”

Zetterberg's response?

"I don't know. I couldn't hear him. I think he was a little frustrated."

Beautiful, Hank. Sounds like Crosby's inexperience is surfacing - but you can only imagine the level of frustration the Penguins are facing right now. Zetterberg, on the other hand, may have just won himself the Selke in one quick move - and Pittsburgh failed to take even one shot during the duration of the two man advantage.

Game 5, Monday night, 8:00 PM, gives the Red Wings a chance to win the Cup at home in Detroit. The Penguins are a determined team who refuse to give up, and with that in mind may generate entirely different results than their past two visits to the Joe - but Wings fans have no reason to be anything but optimistic that soon the city will be able to celebrate the way they haven't since 2002. I want to see Nick Lidstrom be the first European captain to lift the Cup. I want to go downtown and see the parade that I missed six years ago when I was only fifteen and couldn't quite understand the way I do now just what it feels like to come this far. Monday. One more game. Don't kill me, Elly.

GO WINGS. ONE MORE.

Here we go again

The Wings took a day off yesterday to putz around on a mini golf course and try fly-fishing (your available entertainment in Pittsburgh, folks). I took a day off yesterday to celebrate a friend's birthday, but I see Elly managed to sum up Wednesday's game rather eloquently without me (although my sentiments differ slightly).

Tonight, however, all bets are off. Trash talking will be out in full force - both teams need this victory; the Penguins to keep hope alive and continue turning the series in their favor, and the Wings to rub them out at home and take the series back to the Joe in hopes of finishing it off on Monday night.

The Detroit Zoo has gotten in on it - for the duration of this series, the Penguinarium is no more:


Other fun facts:

• Penguins forward Adam Hall, responsible for the game winning goal Wednesday evening, is a native of Kalamazoo, the town I currently reside in. By scoring that goal he has accomplished quite a feat - he's temporarily overtaken Yankee Derek Jeter as the most hated athlete hailing from Kzoo by the people of the city.
  

• Tomas Holmstrom, despite all the buzz about his leg injury, skated this morning and expects to play tonight.
  

• Elly and I both guested on the INAPB Podcast yesterday evening - we were both busy and were only able to record sound clips, which might actually be a good thing, as it spares everyone having to hear us snipe at each other. Here is the link to listen, if you're interested!

T-minus 6 1/2 hours until Game 4 - GO WINGS.

Updates From Toronto

• Elly and I are trash-talking already (part of this might have to do with the fact that I tricked her into going to Philthy McNasty's for drinks tonight) between coffees.

• I might have successfully swayed Sherry, with whom we met up with this evening, to cheer for the Wings - I told her neither Chris Chelios nor Dominik Hasek are playing in Game 1.

• Johan Franzen won't play tomorrow night - he was on TV at the bar I was at, and I won't lie, I got really excited when I thought it was because he'd be back. Fortunately he's practicing, and it won't be long.

• VS contacted me with some information and a video to share (it's their playoff anthem which I still love for the gigantic writhing octopus) and the promise of "some swags". An interesting bit of information from the document they sent:"During the Conference Final round, in which VERSUS aired nine exclusive games, the network witnessed dramatic increases in household ratings (up 71%), total viewership (up 77%) and viewership among Men 18-34 (up 152%), Men 18-49 (up 109%) and Men 25-54 (up 79%), making it the best-rated, most watched Conference Finals since 2002. Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers on May 11 was the most-watched and highest-rated hockey game on cable television in the last five years (1.7 HH rating and 2,345,834 viewers) and VERSUS’ most watched telecast ever." Always good news.

• Tomorrow is the start of everything - until then, GO WINGS!

Playoff Preview: The Battle of NPI

It comes down to this, folks. The Detroit Red Wings vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins for the Cup. Me vs. Elly. I made a really awesome Battle of NPI banner for the blog, but my computer overheated before I thought to save it. I'm smart, I know.

We at NPI think the highlight of this series is that it is going to have to be some amazing hockey. The two best teams in the league facing each other head on, the likes of which each other has never seen - not since preseason. Whichever team takes this series is going to have to be nearly perfect to do it.

Key Matchups:

Offensively, everyone is talking about the one-two punches of Sid the Kid and Evgeni Malkin vs. the Eurotwins and Selke finalists, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg. There's basically no arguing these are the two most exciting, skilled combinations in hockey. Both duos have 40 point between them (20 goals and 20 assists for Pav and Hank, 13 and 37 for Sid and Geno), and both have proven themselves absolutely deadly. Perhaps because neither of the Eurotwins singlehandedly saved hockey (I kid), they don't seem to get the league-wide attention Crosby and Malkin do - but perhaps this will be the season that ends that. The Penguins pair is glamorous and offensively gifted, but the Red Wings duo excels at both ends of the ice, as obvious by their twin Selke nominations, and may be the more well-rounded. Either way, neither can be taken lightly.

Of course these aren't the only weapons for either team - Pittsburgh is finally getting their money's worth out of 20-point Marian Hossa, and the Wings, until he was sidelined with concussion symptoms, had a 12 goals in 11 games scorer in the Mule, Johan Franzen, as well as Tomas Holmstrom being a pest in front of the net. And of course something must be mentioned of the WWGRD phenomenon creating Gary Roberts - just not sure what that something should be (I'm a fan of the bracelets, for the record - but I'm going to have to boycott them through this series). Each team has established secondary scoring and substantial depth.

Both teams look strong on the defensive front. The Penguins who were originally thought to have a suspect blueline going into the playoffs added Hal Gill to compliment Sergei Gonchar among others. The Wings, however have the unflappable Nicklas Lidstrom (if they take the Cup this year it will be his fourth with the team, an honor he shares with the Grind Line and Holmstrom) and his new partner Brian Rafalski who combined are at least among, if not, the best defensive pairs in hockey. And then there's Niklas Kronwall and new addition Brad Stuart - don't call the Wings a soft team. These two will hunt you down. They will find you. And they will smear you across the boards. This defense has been a huge part of the Red Wings' success - they've seriously limited their opponents shots on goal, and if you can't get the puck on the net, you can't put it in, either.

And finally, the goaltending. Veteran Chris Osgood, a cup winner but often criticized as being the winning goaltender on a team that could have taken the cup with a pylon in net, fighting to prove his goaltending worth against relative newcomer, though not without any credibility to his name, Marc-Andre Fleury. Osgood (10-2, 1.60 GAA, .931 SV%) stole the start from Dominik Hasek and has been stellar ever since, but surely the Wings defense has played a huge part in that. Fleury (12-2, 1.70 GAA, .938 SV%) has been the Pens go-to goalie from the beginning and likely the stronger overall between the two, not to mention he's managed an admirable 3 shutouts so far, but he's also got inexperience working against him. Osgood should be on a mission - if he takes the Cup this year will it redeem him against all the trash talk he's heard since his last victory? The worst goalie to win a Cup is one thing, but I'm not sure you can argue the worst goalie to win two cups.

When it comes down to it, the teams are incredibly even-looking. Which will wind up on top, the youthful Penguins or the renewed Red Wing dynasty? Will we stay friends? Will the series be everything that's being predicted of it? We can only hope.

Schedule:

Game 1 -- Saturday May 24th, 8:00 p.m. Pittsburgh at Detroit
Game 2 -- Monday, May 26th, 8:00 p.m. Pittsburgh at Detroit
Game 3 -- Wednesday, May 28th, 8:00 p.m. Detroit at Pittsburgh
Game 4 -- Saturday, May 31st, 8:00 p.m. Detroit at Pittsburgh
x-Game 5 -- Monday, June 2nd, 8:00 p.m. Pittsburgh at Detroit
x-Game 6 -- Wednesday, June 4th, 8:00 p.m. Detroit at Pittsburgh
x-Game 7 -- Saturday, June 7, 8:00 p.m. Pittsburgh at Detroit

Let's get it done before Game 7, okay guys? I'm lined up to go see The National in Pontiac that night.

Around the Web:

Elly and I are off to Toronto for the weekend so posting opportunities through Game 2 will be slim - thus, we refer you to some solid blogs from both teams to keep you posted in our absence.

Representing the Wings:

• Behind the Jersey
• On the Wings
• Gorilla Crouch
• Abel to Yzerman
• Gloveside

And the Penguins:

• Empty Netters
• The Pensblog, our oldest friends in the blogosphere!
  
• Talk Hockey To Me
• The Sidney Crosby Show
• Going Five Hole

Friends & Foes

When your team has been disposed of, is it time to jump on the bandwagon of one of the potential Cup champs? Whether the answer is yes or no, everyone seems to be swaying at least one way or another. Through this final stretch of the season, the Red Wings have lured in such esteemed bloggers as Katebits (at least for the day!), Kirsten and Nadine, and the Penguins, meanwhile, have earned the loyalties of Cat (by way of latent understandable Wings hatred) and have been Connie's sweethearts from the beginning...anyone else? So far the Wings have it 3-2; Heather apparently likes both, and Sherry is leaving it up to whomever between Elly and I are more convincing over the course of this weekend in which we'll all be in Toronto. Let us know who you're rooting for and we'll add you to the list!

Once again, the series promises to be amazing - I can only hope it follows through. Hold on, folks, it ought to be quite a ride.

And finally, it is friday.

After a week's worth of waiting, the final day is here. In less than an hour the start of what will undoubtably be an epic series awaits, and with it comes the possibility of a chance to stand on the Cup stage...or take a jump off a cliff at being defeated by the Flyers.

I'm not going to do a finals preview (especially not after Steph's Wings/Stars dazzling post!), everyone knows what this final is going to be about. Physical, chippy play, breakout plays and solid goaltending; all the makings of a super conference final. If your stomach isn't in knots, you had better figure out what's going on.

Want a nice preview? Check out these bad boys (and girls!):
Empty Netters (solid as always)
The Pensblog (essential)
The Sidney Crosby Show (anything and everything you ever wanted to know about Sid)
Going Five Hole (great collection from around the web)
And, of course, NHL.com has a nice spread up.

Enemy territory more your thing?:
Flyers.Femme and Eager to go Psycho, my HLOGin' sistas
The 700 Level (pretty solid Philly blog)

Honestly, that's about as deep as I went into Philly territory this round. I get enough lore from the fans around here, asked for or otherwise.

Being a big fan of the lolcats site, I was pleased to see this version pop up on the net. Go there. Love it. (big thanks to The Pensblog for that particular gem)

Now it's almost time to drop the puck, and I have to venture out into the bar world with Flyers fans. Only one thing left to do:

Go Pens.


EDIT: Thank you, Blogger, for posting this a day late. Sheesh.

Bring it on, baby

Thank heavens. Watching the third period gave me ulcers, but seeing the Penguins go to work in OT, stepping it up and playing the way that everyone knows they can....just a thing of beauty. Don't suppose the NHL can postpone the start of the conference finals till after my finals, eh?

A quick congratulations to Dallas, who by winning in an amazing 4 OT marathon, has officially killed my Western conference hockey pool. Thanks, Stars.

This seems new

Just a quick note here, but the Penguins are one...count it...one full win from leading the Eastern Conference. They play the Sens today at 3pm, and if they win, they will take the lead, at least momentarily. When was the last time the Pens finished out the season with taking the East? Not in this decade.

Fleury should be coming back soon. Crosby's on the mend.

Excited?

You should be.



Pens and Sens, 3pm. GO PENS.


EDIT: ARGH.

And in keeping with my in-depth, insightful posts...

All I want for Valentine's Day, lover, is.....Rod Brind'Amour crying in the corner as the Penguins hand out candy hearts to the 'Canes that say 'stfu' and 'U R my bitch'.

Oh, and some Belgian chocolate.



Pittsburgh 4-3

Go Pens.


EDIT: Lover, why did you have to get me a box of chocolates someone else had taken a bite of each of them? That sucked. Seriously. You get to sleep on the couch.

Thank god for modern medicine

Not to take away from Steph's excellent headline, but I wanted to give a little shout to the Panthers and their brethren today after last night's excitement. Poor Buffalo, brings back some rough memories there.




The above is a video of what happened. There is a lot of blood, so please, if you are squeamish, do not click on the video. NHL.com says Zednik is resting comfortably now and in stable condition. Get well soon, Richard.

---

Fleury is officially being sent down to WBS for a bit of training and conditioning, so hopefully he will be back soon. Also, according to the article above, Conks has the league's best SV% and the 7th best GAA. This almost makes me forget the horrible 3rd goal he let in on Sunday. Almost.


And in other, less bloody news, the Pens have snagged first place in the Atlantic and second in the East (69 to Ottawa's 72).

Huzzah!

Get well soon, Penguins!

Two posts in one day? What do I think this is, Christmas?

Some thoughts on the Pens v Habs:
-Frickin' damn it, enough with the injuries, Penguins. Army into the boards on the first shift...looks like a hip/tailbone bruise, but still no word.
-Sydor and Sabourin (!) had a great night tonight. Geno was spectacular, but was it just me or did all of the Penguins seem to step it up a bit? They looked a little different from the flash and pass team that the Pens usually are, more of a grinding, hard team...and it was nice. Great game, over all.
-How wonderful is it to beat the Canadiens at home?
-The Expedia.ca commercials with the people buried in snow, crying, are gold.

-Cherry apparently thinks that Saboo looks like Ryan Miller's brother, so let's have a little comparison:



What do you think?


Pens play the Caps and their million dollar man on Monday. Think there might be a little less of the television-pimped Ovechkin/Crosby war since Sid is out?

Go Pens.

Things that make me happy.

The Red Wings losing their past two games to Minnesota and Ottawa do not make this list, and thus will only be given a cursory mention - I missed both games TOCing Bronco hockey (don't ask about the miserable losses), though I did record the Ottawa game and do intend to watch it eventually, but you can read all about at On the Wings, where Matt did a great job recapping it.

The Wings take on the Atlanta Thrashers tonight and I will probably miss the majority of it as well - but I'm hopeful that it will be the end of this marginal losing streak.

Meanwhile, the NHL makes me happy. Why?

• Chris Osgood still looks like he's still twenty because of Noxzema.

• Steve Schrader suggests things like that the Wings could "spark some interest in their stars" by "offer[ing] to help fans assemble their stuff from Ikea." Henrik Zetterberg can put together my oversized leaf canopy any day.
  

• Andrew Raycroft doesn't want to watch the Leafs suck either:
• 
  

• Ty Conklin is now 10-0-1 with .949 sv% and a 1.72 gaa. What on earth is going on? (Also I am famous on the Pensblog, but I think my sign pales in comparison to this beauty in the center. I kind of wish I'd come up with that.) Yahoo suggests, "If Conklin continues to play this well, look for him to remain the Penguins' starting goaltender even after Marc-Andre Fleury returns from his high ankle sprain." I can hear Elly wailing from here. Conklin is also the deciding factor in my move from dead last to 8th of 12 in the IPB fantasy league. Seriously. He did more than Vinny Lecavalier. I don't get it either.
  

• The Oilers are winning! Perhaps it can be attributed to Ales Hemsky's recent dental decision - I don't know, I sort of liked the toothless look, and I still miss his curls, but you know what? This I can live with.

• I can skate backwards (okay this has nothing to do with the NHL but I just succeeded today, leave me alone)!

All in all, hockey is good, isn't it?

...Really, NBC?

I wasn't going to bother watching the Winter Classic until I heard about who was in net for Pittsburgh. And now I'm glad that I made it home for the third period, if only because I turned my TV on to hear the announcers proclaim:

"That's a real strength of Ty Conklin; playing the puck."

Seriously. Seriously?

(I'm glad to see he got it done, though, guy deserves a break.)

Happy New Year!

I have come down with a horrible cold, and since sitting up is making me dizzy,
I will say only this:


GO PENS

'Oh no.....oooooooh noooooo....'

Yes, that wailing sound you hear is my reaction to the news that Ty Conklin has been called up to be the bench counterpart to Danny Saboo. Someone hasn't been watching their knob hockey. Stay healthy, Danny! My finals-stressed nerves can't take Conks in net.

I'd like to wish a hearty 'get well soon' to Flower and hope for a speedy recovery. Right when he was getting hot! At least it doesn't sound serious. (Interesting side bit about recalling Recchi...have their been prospective buyers for #8? Although the line about 'half off' makes him sound like last week's pork chops)

In other less snarky news, it's always nice to see the families of the players get into the holiday spirit and the girlfriends/wives of the Penguins have put together stockings for this year's raffle. While I would never in a million years be able to afford spending 200+ on a stocking decorated by the local lady in Geno's life, some of them are an interesting reflection of the player (the sticker-type tattoos in Malone's), and are at least worth a look. I'm sure Sykora's is going to be a great hit with the kids.

Pens play the Canucks at the late night show on CBC (10pm EST) tomorrow night. Welcome back, Sabourin!
Go Pens!


(P.S. We at NPI tease because we care, giving equally. Just ask Steph. Happy Holidays!)

Aren't the Maple Leafs supposed to disappear about now?

I am very tired from a long day at work, pre-exam assignments, cold temperatures, artic wind, and from wasting 40 minutes of my life watching the first two periods of the Leafs/Pens game. Seriously, aside from a series of crappy calls and a constant stream to the penalty box, what else can you say? The Leafs aren't that good, there was no reason to roll over, play possum, and skate like they were sleep walking. What gives, Penguins? I actually tuned out the last 5 minutes or so of the 2nd period because I was so fed up with the play.

At least Talbot is having some fun.

What's this? Penguins win two in a row?

Let's hear it for 12th in the East! Woooo!

Anyhow, good game last night, and it was about time that the Pens got one of those, especially at home. Sure, the Thrashers might not have been backed by the goaltending brick craphouses like man the pipes in the rest of the Atlantic, but a win is a win.

Some thoughts:
-Fleury played well, although not exceedingly pressed throughout the game. He seemed to stand up more, and the defense were on most of the rebounds he gave up and cleared them out pretty well. Nice to finally see the goalie and defense work well together.
-The top line was hot all night, and it was nice to see Armstrong back up there with Crosby, working well and making plays. Funny how people have been trying to bring in hot wingers for Sidney all the time and he ends up playing well with Armstrong (as before) and Ryan Malone. -I'm not complaining, mind, but what the hell happened to Malone over the summer? If it's because he got married, Mrs. Malone, we love you.
-Speaking of the top line, what the heck was with Bob and Steigy and their dissertation on Crosby and Army's epic chemistry? They were on something last night, and even though the Pens win was great, listening to that pair was almost as amusing. Looking for a glove indeed. Thank heavens there wasn't any Hockey 101 (although they did put in 'hey look, they're cycling! Look!' for the audience).
-Gonchar is second in points in defensemen and not on the All-Star ballot? Wow. No doubt Whitney deserves it, but still a bit of a slight for someone playing such a good game.

Unrelated to the game, but I noticed that the Pens site has the recap and all the assorted goodies that go along with it (Therrien, Lange, Pix, etc...) all in one neat row. The sound is dead on my computer right now so I can't enjoy most of those, but still a nice, efficient move from the nhl designers.

Hopefully a full week off won't kill off any momentum that the Pens are building up with these two wins. Next game brings Dallas to the Igloo on Friday at 7:30pm. I will miss most of the game due to broomball, but hopefully I'll come back to good news (especially since my team isn't very good. We're the Oilers of broomball with half our defense out and sporadic scoring).

Go Pens.

Penguins Update!

Penguins are 8-10-2.

Yeah, that's just about all that's different from the last time I updated (midterms and finals are killing me), are a few added numbers, and the same old situation: can't play 60 minutes, bad passing, lack of cohesive defense, breaking down between the pipes, sitting players, not sitting questionable players, the whole nine yards. I believe in Fleury, and anyone who's watched him in the last few games can see that he's doing better and trying to not get psyched-out when he lets in a goal, especially against the Islanders last time (standing up more, getting better rebound control, although not always, sticking tighter to the sides). Goalies are always the first targets when a team doesn't do as well as expected, and the Atlantic is a beast. The Rangers are on top with 25 (against the Pens and the Devils, who are sharing space in the basement at 18). That's only a 7 point difference. The Northeast has a spread of 17 between the Sens and the Sabres, and the Southeast comes in with a difference of 14 between the Canes and the Caps. The West side is closer, with all divisions ranging under 10 points from top to bottom. That makes the Atlantic the closest division in the East (the Central has a three-way tie of 22 for the bottom portion, and a difference of 7 points total), and all of the teams (as much as it pains me to say) are good teams. The top two at the moment, the Rangers and Flyers, have good goaltending, and for the Rangers, sometimes that's all that's kept them in the game. I hope Mr. Henrik gets some love letters in his locker for how well he's kept the Rangers' collective biscuits out of the fire. The Flyers, for the most part, are playing like they always have, hard, fast (well, faster than they used to), and have a good goalie to back them up. Probably one of the most improved teams in hockey from last year, and certainly from the East (then again, when you're so far down that you can't see daylight, anything is an improvement).

What about the rest? The Islanders are, again, backed by a solid goalie in Ricky DiPi, and the rest of the team isn't too bad either, although they don't seem to have any breakout areas at the moment (Isles fans, am I way out in left field on this?). The Devils, honestly, I haven't watched enough to tell where exactly they are failing at being the dominating pain in the ass they usually are, so I'll just go with pointing to Interchangeable Parts in the sidebar.

The Penguins? Well, I won't go over it again, that horse is dead and beaten into the ground, but it's neat to look at the teams in the Atlantic and think about their strong points...and one of the major factors are some just straight-out mean goaltending. The Pens have Fleury, who can be a beast (look at last season? 40-16-9, a GAA of 2.83 and a SV%.906. So far this season: 5-7-1, a GAA 3.47 and a save percentage of .893.), but they also have a strong offense to pick up (hopefully) the slack that Fleury might have while he's getting into his grove and getting better. For a comparison, Lundqvist pulled 37-22-8, a 2.34 GAA and .917 SV% last season. This season he is a disgusting 11-8-1 with a GAA of 1.79. Both goalies ended up in the playoffs, so time will tell.

Next game for the Pens is Wednesday against another great goaltender in New Jersey who just got his 500th win. Congrats, Brodeur! Hope we can keep you from 501.

Go Pens.




On a side note, our thoughts are with Pensblog Adam and his family. Our condolences.

Last night's loss brought to you by the New York Islanders

Is there something in the air? Are the Pens just trying to make us feel more at home by blowing leads and losing by one? Of course, it's early, and it's just two games, but really...what a disheartening loss, especially when the Pens played so hard (what a kill by the guys when Crosby was in the box for four).

Not only was it the Islanders that won, but that win was brought to you by none other than Al Arbour, a coach who did great things for the Islanders (and so, I say congratulations on your win and the final game coached, Arbour), but which many Penguins fans would like to trip as he walked out to his shiny beamer last night. This was not helped by the fact that Center Ice brought us the lovely New York feed, and therefore mentioned, about twenty times, how super duper wonderful and fitting it was to come from behind on the Penguins and win. They also brought us highlights of the infamous '93 Islanders playoff win against the Pens. Thanks, FSN.

I freely admit that I am not very good with stats, but this got me thinking: are the Islanders really our worst playoff enemy? Sure, most of the teams in the Eastern Conference don't like each other for a myriad of reasons, but where does playoff angst factor into it all?

Since the divisions were reorganized in '74/'75 that put the Pens into the Norris, then Patrick, all the way up to the Atlantic, the Penguins have lost to the Islanders, Flyers, and surprisingly, Leafs, the most, with three losses each. Closely after that are the Devils and Bruins, with two a piece, leaving the Caps, Habs, Panthers, and Blues with one.

Now, I know that I wasn't around in '75 to hate on the Islanders for bumping the Pens out of the playoffs, so what about after the Cups?

Of the big three (Philly, Toronto and the Isles), only Philly showed a strong carry-over with two playoff kills (both losses of 4-2) in '97 and 2000. New Jersey is also at that mark with hardcore smackdowns of the Pens in '95 and 2001 (both harsh losses of 4-1). The Islanders show up once post-Cup in 1993, going all the way to game 7 in the division finals for the aforementioned loss. Other losses of mention? Washington's only win over the Pens in the postseason was in '94. The Rangers have never beaten the Penguins in April.

On paper it would seem that the Penguins' postseason enemies are Philly and New Jersey (and if the Leafs ever get back to the playoffs), but what about the actual games themselves? The Islanders made a relatively small impact on the post-Cup era playoff statistics, but that loss in '93 was a big one to a team and fan base that was hoping to pull 3 straight Cups. New Jersey has just always been brutal in the playoffs against the Pens (hmm...4-1 losses, sound familiar, Ottawa?), but both losses to the Flyers were emotional and exciting events with the loss of Mario in '97 and an amazing OT round in 2000 (3rd longest in NHL history).

One last thought: for both '91 and '92, the Pens stomped on the Rangers, then the Bruins, in the 2nd and Conference Finals respectively, before winning the Cup. Is that the missing key to the Penguins success, the need to win over the Rangers and the Bruins like some demented decoder ring?



The Pens play the Devils on Monday (while I'm at work, of course) at 'The Rock' in Jersey. 7 pm.
Go Pens.