Pens Moving On After Finals...Maybe

Ok, I'm back. It took a little longer than anticipated to get over the loss in the Stanley Cup Finals, but I think I'm alright now. Every time I thought I was over it, something would happen or I'd see a highlight from the series and it just prolonged the entire healing process. Anyway, the draft is over and now free agency begins on July 1.

That being said, I've read some stories in the last couple of days that have perturbed me slightly. Namely that Ryan Malone will probably not be back in Steeltown this fall.

I don't really blame Malone for looking to go elsewhere after being strung along by the Pens. I may be way off here, but what I don't get is how for the last three years he's been the target of trade rumors and the like. Every year when these rumors came up I defended him and said to anyone who would listen that he'd come around and we shouldn't deal him away. Every year the deadline passed and he was still on the team and I could breathe a little easier. Then it happened.

He finally evolved into the player we and the Penguins thought he could be. He was named an alternate captain and his production went nuts when he was put on a line with Sykora and Malkin. No one can question his will to win after playing with a broken nose during the playoffs, only to see that nose take a rocket shot from Hal Gill in the Finals. We all saw it. My heart sank when I saw Malone drop to the ice with the blood pouring out of his face. I actually said right then and there "Well that's probably it for him in this series and our chances just got even smaller." Then out of nowhere, he's back on the bench with gauze up his nose looking like he just got mugged in a dark alley somewhere. He only missed a couple of shifts and was back and ready to go for the start of the third period of the marathon Game 5 in Detroit.

You can't put a price tag on character and Ryan Malone has more intangibles than a lot of guys on the team. Now I understand that the Pens told him they wouldn't negotiate with anyone until July 1. That was code for "we're not going to negotiate with anyone until we figure out what we're going to do with Marian Hossa."

I get that, fine. It makes sense to give priority to someone who you paid a pretty penny for during the season to get. For the most part it was looking like Hossa was a lock to re-sign in Pittsburgh and would even consider taking a pay cut to return. For 24 hours I was walking around with a huge grin on my face thinking that we could possibly do what NHL 2K8 for the Xbox 360 allowed me to do and bring back the entire team and be under the cap. By no means am I saying that I'm basing this entire post about what I was able to do in a video game. Just merely stating a point of how obsessed I can get with this team.

Then the news comes out that the Pens have broken off talks with Hossa because he wants to test the free agent market. Wonderful. Oh, but wait! Hossa might still return to the Penguins afterall, but he just wants to be sure. Really? If you don't follow the logic going through his head right now let me see if I can clarify this by using a situation we've all had some encounter with. Maybe you haven't had it happen to you, but you definitely know someone in this situation.

Let's say your buddy is dating this extremely attractive woman who you all know is perfect for him and he should just settle down and marry the girl. However, your buddy was dropped on his head as a child and always has to second guess his gut feeling. He goes out one day and buys the engagement ring with all the intentions of popping the question and everyone else is all happy for him. Then as he's leaving the store, he sees another beautiful woman. Decides he just wants to be sure he's making the right move so he goes woos this woman and has a meaningless 3-4 year relationship with this other girl. All the while he knows he should have just settled down for the long haul with the girl he bought that silver ring for. The same ring he etched his name into.

The Penguins are the girl waiting for the engagement ring in this case, but if Hossa wants a ring of his own he needs to sign a deal ASAP. His delaying of the process here is why Malone is going to bail. His delaying of the process here is delaying the signing of other guys like Orpik, Ruutu, Hall, Dupuis, and oh yeah some guys named Malkin and Fleury. Whoever they are.

Something needs to happen and soon or else we're going to lose both Malone and Hossa and when that happens I can't imagine any Penguins fans being overly thrilled about it.

Pens Put Flyers On Brink Of Elimination

When the game ended tonight, I was talking with Gopher and a very strange feeling came over me. I was happy and very excited obviously, but there was something very different about tonight and I'm not entirely sure why.

I was nervous as usual for the entire third period until Ryan Malone scored to put us up 3-1 and then I started to breathe just a little easier. I couldn't get too excited though since I was at work listening on a 2 minute delay over the web and was tied up with a bunch of stuff relating to the West Virginia Primary tonight.

As I was posting the story about the Penguins to our sites the feeling hit me. The nerves were mysteriously gone in quick fashion for the first time in months.

I was numb.

That's about as best I can describe it. As I wrote the headline "Pens Take Commanding 3-0 Lead Over Flyers" the magnitude of it all hit me.

We're one win away from being in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 91-92 when I was still parading around the house in my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pajamas. Yeah, I had them, what of it? You know you did too.

Now by no means am I saying this series is over, but for the third time in this postseason we have a 3-0 lead. I'll repeat that because even I don't believe I even just typed that and it's true.

The Penguins have a 3-0 lead for the third time this postseason.

I asked for a split and I've at least gotten it. I would much rather have won Game 3 to go up 3-0 like we did than give Philly fans an added edge to get riled up for Game 4 with a chance to tie the series on home ice. You could almost hear the air get sucked out of the building when Malone tucked the puck behind Martin Biron to put the Pens up 3-1. It was almost like when Marian Hossa skated up the middle of the ice and made about 3 guys look stupid and caught Biron off-guard to put us up 2-0 early in the first.



Of course like a little kid, I'm greedy and now want to see us break out the brooms and get rid of Philadelphia quickly. I never thought that I'd see the Pens ever go on a run like they are on right now.

This is like watching the results of my latest Stanley Cup run in NHL 2K8 coming to life. After tonight's game, we are now 11-1 in the playoffs. That doesn't even look right and my head is starting to hurt from trying to wrap my brain around that thought.

Also, Sid the Kid is now the league leader in points for the playoffs. Let's not forget how impressive that is seeing as how he's played in fewer games than any of the other guys near the top of the leader-board. If you'll also notice that Malkin is only one point behind Sid.

Pavel Datsyuk (17) and Henrik Zetterberg (18) are close to Sid who's got 19, but they have both played in 1 more game so far.

Like I said, I'm just numb right now. I don't want to get too excited about being one game from the Stanley Cup Finals since I've been on the good end of a 3-0 series lead being blown. (Thanks Yankees for giving us Sox fans the ultimate bragging rights for all eternity until you guys do the same to us.)

Game 4 is on Thursday and by then we may know who the Western Conference representative will be since Dallas has been awful against Detroit who also leads 3-0.

It's kind of funny how the best series of the playoffs were in the first round when the seeding was much more lopsided. We had three Game 7s in the first round and since then we've had one Game 6 and might not even see a Game 5 in the conference finals. Didn't think that would be the case, but yet here we are.

Pens Advance On Hossa's Heroics

I can’t believe after all the suffering over the past few years might have actually been worth it. Here we are, back in the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2001 and look who it’s against. Our hated cross-state rivals from Philadelphia who we last saw in 2000.

The Flyers won that series 4-2 after the Pens went on the road and won Games 1 and 2. Am I a little bitter? Yes, but what gets me more annoyed is that there hasn’t been an overtime game in recent history that has knocked off the 5 overtime thriller in Game 3 of that series. Anyone remember Keith Primeau racing down the right side and somehow pulling up and firing a rocket over Ron Tugnut’s shoulder? No? I do. It haunts me in my sleep this time of year. Every year.

Anyway, why sit here and focus on the negative things of previous years? We just won another playoff series and are one step away from fighting for the right to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup.

As with last Sunday I started watching the game at home and made it through the entire first period before having to leave for work. I listened to the 2nd period while in the car and nearly drove off the road twice when Malkin and Hossa scored to give us a 2-0 lead. In the time it took me to park my car and get settled at my desk the Rangers had tied it and I needed half a bottle of Tums to calm my stomach.

As much as I love Doc Emrick, listening to him today was torture. Not because he was calling it soo poorly, which he wasn’t, but because it was bad enough seeing the puck close to the goal line then I had to hear him and listen more intently for his patented “SCORE!”

The finally after 7:10 seconds of sudden death, Pascal Dupuis raced into the Rangers’ zone, made a short pass to Crosby that was deflected. Sid just hacked it into the slot, puck bounced off a player’s skate right to Hossa who was all of 5 feet from Henrik Lundqvist. Hossa made no mistake with the puck and tickled the twine to tickle me pink and propel the Pens into the East Finals.



I nearly tripped over my chair as I was dancing around and hooting and hollering. I can’t remember being this excited since Darius Kasperitis somehow beat Dominik Hasek from the red line in triple overtime. I remember that mainly because I nearly broke my hand when I jumped off my bed and punched the ceiling fan at 2:00am and highly annoyed my parents.

Anyway, we needed to win this game today especially when it went to overtime. I did not want to see this head back to New York anyway, but heading back losing two in a row with an overtime loss the day before had Game 7 written all over it. If Game 7 were to have happened I don’t think I would have lived through it regardless of the outcome.

Now at least the Pens get a few days to get healed up and ready for what will no doubt be a nasty series. It won’t take long for the bad blood to boil over and this could very easily come down to who can control their emotions better. I’ll have a full analysis once my blood pressure and nerves return to normal, until then sleep easy Pens fans, we’re halfway home.

Quick Thoughts On Kentucky Derby

What a race! OK I know I said Big Brown wasn't going to win due to post position, but obviously I was wrong. I can't believe he was 3 and 4 wide until the final turn and still was able to pull away from the field. Him pulling away shows he's got no problem getting the mile and a half at the Belmont should he win the Preakness in two weeks.

I was also saddened to see Eight Belles have a severe injury after the race and have to be euthanized immediately. There is always a sad part to any sport and this is obviously the saddest thing in horse racing. You have to feel for the owners and trainers and even the jockey who have developed a strong relationship with the horse. In horse racing, the horse becomes a family member and seeing this happen is a tragedy every time. It's hard to forget that just a short while back Barbaro captured the hearts of the world.

Penguins Reclaim Top Spot In Eastern Conference

This is turning out to be one heck of a battle for the top spot in the Eastern Conference isn’t it? I’m not one to say that things are in the bag, especially after seeing my Red Sox come back from 3-0 down to beat the Yankees in 2004, but I think it would be safe to say that the Penguins are the 2007-08 Atlantic Division champions right about now.

The Devils do have a shot to catch them, but the Pens have a six-point lead over the Devils with the win this afternoon against the Rangers. The Pens have three games left and the Devils have four, so it is possible that the Devils could win the division is they win out and the Pens lose their final three.

The Penguins play the Rangers again tomorrow, this time in New York and close out the season with a home and home series with the Flyers who are looking to hold on to a playoff spot with the Bruins, Capitals and Sabres also looking to get in.

Right now the Flyers are the 7-seed in the Eastern Conference with 91 points, Boston is the 8-seed with 90 points, Washington has 88 points and the Sabres have 84.

While the Sabres chances are slim they do have a crucial game with Boston later today. The other thing they have going for them is the Pens playing two games against Philly. A Penguins sweep could knock the Flyers out of the playoffs and give the Caps and Sabres a chance to sneak into the playoffs.

Anyway, back to the game the Pens played against the Rangers today.

The Rangers got on the board first after a slow start to the game by the Pens. Brandon Dubinsky hammered home a rebound shot past Marc-Andre Fleury on an initial shot by Jaromir Jagr.

The Pens struck back just minutes later on an absolute laser to the shelf over Henrik Lundqvist by Marian Hossa. I’ll admit this was a total lucky bounce for Hossa since the initial pass by Sidney Crosby was meant for Pascal Dupuis. The puck bounced off Dupuis’ leg right to Hossa who wasted no time in slapping it home.

Later in the first, Crosby drew a slashing penalty on Fredrick Sjostrom setting up the eventual game winning goal by Evgeni Malkin. I still can’t get over how much Malkin has elevated his game this season.

Malkin received a pass at the point and took a slapper that went high and wide only to have Gonchar feed him right back again. A one-timer to the shelf by Malkin and the Pens took the lead 2-1 on the powerplay.

The rest of the game was more of a defensive battle as there were only a handful of chances traded by the two squads.

Here’s The Highlights



What surprised me today was the physical play of the Penguins. I don’t recall which of the three NBC announcers pointed this out, but they said that the Penguins were playing with a playoff mode physicality. I would completely agree and it all started with who else but big Georges Laraque who throttled a Rangers player.

That hit started a chain reaction for the Penguins. Kris Letang threw two checks of his own just seconds after the Laraque hit. Tyler Kennedy followed suit. I started getting nervous seeing that kind of play going on as it appeared that they were only concerned with putting Ranger players through the boards.

The last time I saw that mentality take over for the Pens was in that 8-2 blowout loss to Philly that we’ve looked at often. The difference this time was that this was controlled emotion and it paid off.

If the Penguins play with this kind of intensity in the playoffs, they will be a very difficult team to play against. They showed today they can play a tight one-goal game and limit the opposing team’s scoring chances and we all know they can score goals almost at will at times.

Final notes: Fleury was once again brilliant in the net for the Pens especially in the second period when they were outshot 11-4. Max Talbot slammed the door on the Rangers with just under one minute to play in the third when he deposited the loose change into the back of the net.
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Pens Take Over 1st In East With 3-1 Win Over Isles
March 28th, 2008 by sheashu

Yes, this will probably be short-lived but I’m going to bed tonight knowing that the Penguins are the number one seed in the Eastern Conference with only four games left to play.

Before play tonight, the Penguins had a four-point lead over the Devils and a six-point lead over the Rangers. Ironically, those two played tonight and the Rangers won in regulation. This dropped the Devils six points back and the Ranger remain six points back as well. Things are starting to fall into place for the Pens to at least win the division. Now we just need some help from the Canadiens and we could have home ice throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs.

As more good news, Sidney Crosby returned tonight and played on a line with Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis. That line did not score in the game, but it’s good to see Sidney back on the ice.

Now for the bad news, Hossa left the game in the third period with an undisclosed upper body injury. I hope this doesn’t turn out to be a big deal and that he doesn’t miss any time now that Crosby is back. I want to see these guys play together for longer than 40-plus minutes. We gave up enough to get Hossa, so I think we all deserve at least that much right?

Anyway, back to the game. Malkin got the Pens on the board with his 45th goal of the season on the powerplay in the first period. The Pens seemed to play a much sounder game tonight against the Isles, which I was expecting after the suckfest they put on the other night.

Also, Jarkko Ruutu had three points in the game. No, that’s not a typo. Jarkko assisted on Malkin’s goal and then scored a shorthanded goal on a beautiful wraparound in the second period. That goal proved to be the eventual game winner.

He also set up big Georges Laraque for the insurance marker in the third period. I was actually pretty impressed with the big fella’s hands and backhand roof job over Dubie.

Here’s The Highlights So You Can See For Yourself

The Pens now lead the Canadiens by one point in the Eastern Conference standings. The Habs play Buffalo tomorrow night, so I think I speak for all of Pens Nation when I say, Let’s Go Buffalo!

The Sabres are fighting to make the playoffs right now, so this is a huge game for them. I’m not saying they’re going to make it, but they are 5 points back of Philadelphia and Boston for the final spot. They are also three points behind Washington who is also trying to sneak into the playoffs.

Up next for the Penguins is a home and home series with the New York Rangers. The first game of the series is Sunday at 12:30pm. This has been picked as NBC’s NHL game of the week so be sure to tune in and watch what should be a great game.

One final note about tonight’s game. Ryan Whitney is now playing wing. According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, coach Michel Therrien is looking for Whitney to be more consistent on defense. The reason for the shift to wing is due to the return of Rob Scuderi who has been a pleasant surprise as a stay at home d-man this season.

I used to get nervous every time I saw Scuderi on the ice, but that feeling has shifted to Hal Gill. I’ll save ripping on him until I have more physical evidence about why I’m nervous.

NHL Trade Deadline Madness

After yesterday's mad scramble of wheeling and dealing, I am motioning that NHL trade deadline day become a national holiday. How am I supposed to go to work after seeing my Penguins make the biggest trade of the day and land Marian Hossa?

Anyway here's a look at some of the more notable deals from yesterday's trade deadline.

Rangers Receive: G David LeNeveu, F Fredrik Sjostrom, F Josh Gratton, Conditional draft pick For: G Al Montoya, F Marcel Hossa

This trade had be scratching my head and then wiping away tears from laughing so hard. The Rangers have been so high and mighty on Al Montoya since they drafted him and now they trade him for David LeNeveu?

Montoya is going to be a stud in the league within 3 years. Scratch that. Montoya would have been a stud in the league within 3 years had he not been traded to Phoenix.

This deal showed up just minutes after the Rangers acquired Christian Backman from the Blues. I was talking to Gopher as the deadline approached and he has this to say about getting Backman.

Gopher: "I like the deal, our defense sucks."

Me: "True, (laughing) but why would you trade Montoya?"

Gopher: (The true profanity whipping around the room is not allowed to be published here, so we're gonna go with "I'm not a happy Gopher")

Stars Receive: F Brad Richards, G Johan Holmqvist For: C Jeff Halpern, F Jussi Jokinen, G Mike Smith, 2009 fourth-round pick

I really thought that this was going to be the only big deal of the day before the Hossa trade. I like this trade from both sides. Brad Richards has shown he's still capable of being a solid player and should fit in just fine in Dallas.

Johan Holmqvist was obviously not the answer in Tampa, which has no goaltending at all until now. I was surprised to see Mike Smith be dealt away due to the fact that before this season there were rumors flying that the Stars were looking to trade Marty Turco and give Smith his due time in goal. If I'm a fantasy owner with some weak goaltending and felt like taking a flier right now before the league playoffs, I'd grab Smith in a second.

Jussi Jokinen wouldn't be a bad pick-up either depending on what line he ends up on. If he replaces newly departed Vinny Prospal, Jokinen could be a big sleeper pick, especially for power play time.

Capitals Receive G Cristobal Huet For Second-round pick

Here's what went through my head as soon as this was announced.

"Are you %#$&ing kidding me?!!"

The Caps made out like bandits in this trade. As an organization, they just told their 12 fans that they plan on making a push for the playoffs and being good for years to come.

This makes no sense from the Canadiens side of things. 20-year-old Carey Price is not ready to be the #1 goalie in Montreal. I've had this guy on 4 separate occasions this season in my fantasy league. He's inconsistent, but you know why? CAUSE HE'S 20!

I think Bob Gainey screwed the pooch on deadline day in such a way that isn't fathomable. With all the rumors flying around that Hossa was going to the Habs or Senators, I think Gainey bought into the hype and forgot to make a solid offer to get Hossa and include Johan "Moose" Hedberg.

Somthing had to have fallen apart for Gainey yesterday. Why else would you trade Huet who has been great all season and not get another goalie to come back? Habs fans don't seem too happy over this and I don't blame you.

Sharks Receive: D Brian Campbell, 2008 seventh-round pick For: F Steve Bernier, 2008 first-round pick

This should pretty much keep Sabres fans away from the arena until next season. It's a good trade in that at least the Sabres got something for a high priced player they couldn't sign. Think back to last summer when as soon as the UFA market opened, Chris Drury and Daniel Briere went running like they stole something.

Bernier should fit in well in Buffalo, but anyone who has Ryan Miller (Gopher) has go to be a little nervous about how his numbers will be for the rest of the season without his top d-man in front of him.

Campbell gives the sharks another weapon on the powerplay and at even strength. He can move the puck well and could be the trigger man on the man advantage. San Jose should be able to sign him this off-season and keep him in California for years to come.

Now on to the biggest splash of the day, the one you've all been waiting for:

Penguins Receive: F Marian Hossa, F Pascal Dupuis For: F Erik Christensen, F Colby Armstrong, C Angelo Esposito, 2008 first-round pick

Not even I saw this deal coming. At no point leading up to the deadline did I hear anything about the Pens being a player in the Hossa sweepstakes and then BOOM! we land him.

This was a tough pill to swallow at first from a fans perspective because I like Colby and Erik a bunch. Colby was a solid gritty player who gets under opponent's skin and Erik has one of the quickest releases in the league. The reason nobody knows that much about Christensen is because he played on the same team as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Marc-Andre Fleury etc.

Christensen will fit in well and will have a familiar face to help him along in Mark Recchi.

Now onto how this helps the Pens.

As if I need to say this. Here's how it helps. IT'S MARIAN HOSSA! Hope that makes it clear. But seriously, with how well the newly formed line of Malkin, Ryan Malone and Peter Sykora have been without Crosby, I don't see how you can break them up when he does come back.

Malkin is a natural center and has flourished since Sid went down and has now taken over the scoring lead in the NHL. While Crosby is clearly the best player in the world, you need to give him another scoring threat to play with.

I was thinking they'd go get Vinny Prospal and wouldn't have to give up a whole lot to get him, but this is just nuts.

Now that they have Hossa, when Crosby gets back you put them together. Crosby may be back by as early as next week. Gary Roberts may miss the rest of the season, but time will tell.

The Pens have enough young talent right now where losing Colby and Erik isn't as damaging as one might think. They've had half of their AHL team up this season are currently 1 point behind the Devils for the top spot in the Easter Conference. The problem is lack of playoff experience, but still the kids have proven they can play and win.

What remains to be seen is how and if the Pens can sign Hossa long-term and retain Malkin and Staal without killing their cap. I don't think this was a nervous move by Ray Shero at all. If we can't sign him, I could see a sign and trade move coming so we have something to show for this steep price other than just Dupuis. If we can't sign him, the Pens will make a big splash in the free agent market this summer, but for the time being sit back and enjoy the times when Hossa, Sid and Malkin will be on the ice together.

Not to mention if you have Hossa in your league (Gopher) despite seeing your whole team traded and screwed, you ran a lap around your living room when you saw this deal.

The Pens also acquired Hal Gill from the Maple Leafs and I absolutely hate this deal. Yes, Gill is a big boy and will block a lot of shots. However, he is slower than molasses running uphill and for a team built on speed this makes no sense to me.

He's a big body and the Pens need a big body on the blue line, but I really don't like this deal at all.

Anyway, I think the Stars, Penguins and Capitals were the big winners on deadline day while the Canadiens take the trophy for worst team of the day. Time will tell how these deals pan out, but in any event yesterday was a very exciting day to be a hockey fan.