What's wrong with Malkin?

Finally, we find out what was up with the Evgeni Malkin we saw on the ice in the Stanley Cup final that looked nothing like the Malkin we all knew and loved.  The media was enjoying playing the 'where is Malkin game?' and throwing harsh criticism his way. Fans were ready to throw him under the bus and trade him, which we found absolutely ridiculous over here, but nonetheless we now find out why we saw a different Geno. The Post-Gazette is reporting today that there was in fact a problem with Evgeni Malkin in the Stanley Cup final.  Malkin had a flu-like ailment that made it hard for him to keep food down early in the final.  It is also believed that he had been bothered by the effects of a check he received from the Flyers' Mike Richards in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final.  You can read it here.

Will people finally be happy now?  And stop throwing Geno under the bus?  We sure hope so. We think anyone knows how it feels to not keep food down and be weak and out of it.  We think that's a good enough reason for his poor play. It's noted this was at the beginning of the Stanley Cup final, which would seem to say he was feeling a bit better later on and why he was playing better later in the series.  Feel better Geno!

Also on the Post-Gazette, there is an article discussing the fact that the Penguins face a short offseason that will effect their training and shorten their time to recover from a long season. Worth a read and you can do that here.

The Penguins set an attendance record, it's time for Shero to reward the Pens' followers, and the Penguins find a new breed of fan.

Lastly, here is a link to an article from Scott Burnside over at ESPN called The Other Side of Sidney Crosby that we believe was written sometime early this past hockey season.  It's a nice article about Sid's life off the ice, and while some of it isn't surprising, we think you'll enjoy it. We don't think Pittsburgh or the NHL could have found a better candidate to be a leader and the face of the league.  The world could use a few more Sidney Crosbys.  While we don't want to take away from Gary Roberts, we think more than a few people should ask themselves, 'What would Sidney do?'  Enjoy!