PENS WIN!!!

Something obviously happened to the Pens tonight at home, they looked like a much better hockey team than in games 1 and 2.  Whatever it was, it worked.  They finally looked like the team we all knew they were and a team that can compete with the Red Wings.  This is the game everyone expected and has been waiting for in this series. Fleury played amazing and ate up practically everything thrown his way.  Crosby was just as amazing scoring two goals.  Sydor looked good for playing in his first game in a long time and was a good choice by Therrien.  Gary Roberts also had some great hits and really contributed with a lot of energy.  Malkin also had a much better game than he has been lately, really going after the puck and put some shots on net.  Let's hope the momentum keeps going and they can tie this series up on Saturday.

Our thoughts...

-The Pens are back!

-Sidney Crosby played amazing.

-Marc-Andre Fleury is also amazing, definitely a franchise goaltender.

-Adam Hall had a great goal for the game winner.

-Alexander Ovechkin kind of scares us.  And what's with the missing tooth?

-We hope Geno is getting his mojo back.

-Gary Roberts knows how to hit.  Hard.

-We wish we could have been in the Mellon tonight, the atmosphere looked amazing.

-Did we mention Sidney Crosby?

-What about Marc-Andre Fleury?

-What's with Ovechkin's beard?  Trying to compete with Sid's?  Did he forget he wasn't in the playoffs anymore?

-The penalty calls tonight were a bit better but definitely not consistent by any means.

-The defense played awesome.

-A lot more things we can't remember right now.

Crosby carries the Pens back into this series.

Crosby rises to the occasion.

Ovechkin wishes he were Sidney Crosby.

Colby Armstrong didn't expect to be at the Stanley Cup final as a reporter.

Online brokers and scalpers are facing off over Pens tickets.

It's getting late and we're tired so we're going to quit reading for now, but be sure to check out these places for your Pens coverage.

Penguins home page

Pittsburgh Tribune Review

ESPN.com

Yahoo!

The Pensblog

Yinz luv 'da Guins

Game 4 on Saturday at 8 pm.  It's time to tie this up.  Let's go Pens!

Time for a little more change.

For game 3 tonight coach Michel Therrien is replacing rookie Kris Letang with Darryl Sydor. You can read about it here.

Some other commentary here.

And always check out Empty Netters over at the Post-Gazette.

Game 3 tonight, Let's go Pens!

Game 3 tonight at 8.

The Pens have a lot of work to do to even up this series and it has to start tonight at home.  The Pens really don't want to go down 3-0 to a Wings team this good.  Scoring a goal is obviously necessary and the first step towards beating this team.  I think we can all agree there were many questionable calls and non-calls in the last game especially, but it's not the only thing keeping the Pens from scoring.  (Although will someone please call diving on Osgood if he pulls that stunt again, jeez!)  The home crowd should be great and the Pens are calling for a whiteout in both games and that generally seems to up the level another notch.  Hopefully tonight the Pens can figure out how to score against Osgood and this defensive-minded team.  Here's to a good game 3 and a Pens win, it might just be all they need to turn this thing around.  Let's go Pens!

A few links for you...

The Pens hope there's no place like home.

Pens hope to rebound at home.

You can watch the game outside Mellon Arena.

Pens notebook:  Ovechkin's in town.

Penguins notebook:  Wings' obstruction pays off.

Penguins look for goals and answers.

The tables are turned and the Penguins are in panic mode.

Cup final Q&A with Kris Letang.

Coverage over at Yahoo! Sports.

From ESPN, Pens are not done.

Be sure to check out the blog The Sidney Crosby Show to see that Ruutu isn't the only Penguins player to have a song written about him.

The Pensblog is always worth your time.

Be sure to watch Yinz Luv 'Da Guins even if it's only to see the beginning or who's been smoking stogies with Ben Roethlisberger.

That's all for this morning and don't forget to watch game 3 tonight at 8 on NBC.  Let's go Pens!

Pens drop game 2.

Here we are again, on the losing side and scoring no goals.  They really need to step up. Tonight was better but it's not good enough.  Watching Coach Therrien talk right now was kind of depressing in a lot of ways.  He didn't answer anything he didn't have to and used as few words as possible.  He's not happy with the officiating, saying his team never goes after goalies, saying Osgood was diving and he was a good actor.  On that last shot involving Sykora, we'd have to agree.  Not saying officiating is why the Pens are losing at all, but it's just another thing going in the wrong direction.  The Pens really need to step it up and play with a little desperation and hopefully that will set in and going home will spark something.  No one ever said the road to the Cup was going to be easy, but now it's a little more than difficult.  Here's to game 3 and a re-energized Pens.  They need to score a goal sometime here.  Go Pens.

P.S.  Maybe some links later.

It's time to shake things up a bit...

To start off today, the Penguins are going to switch up their lines for tonight's game. We say good idea.  It's Gary Roberts time people so WWGRD?  Dominate of course. Gary Roberts does put the I in team after all.  Okay so jokes aside, we don't think the Pens are going to lay down again for another beating.  Tonight things are going to change and it all starts with the lines. And here they are...

Ryan Malone, Sidney Crosby, Marian Hossa

Max Talbot, Evgeni Malkin, Petr Sykora

Pascal Dupuis, Jordan Staal, Tyler Kennedy

Gary Roberts, Adam Hall, Jarkko Ruutu

You can also read about it here and here.

What do you think?  Hit us up in the comments.

Is Gary Roberts going to retire?

The Pens look to bounce back in game 2.

A lot of fans went to Mellon Arena for game 1.

Pens get first taste of playoff adversity.

Best of Post-Gazette.

Fleury trips up teammates.

Red Wings won battle over center ice.

A Q&A with Ruutu.

Mario Lemieux.

And the worst...  We have to say Ron Cook has written some pretty crappy articles lately and these two are right up there with them in our book.  Today's and yesterday's. All we have to say about the Fleury one is...why?  I'm sure he's heard enough about falling on the ice (aka the oh-so-sensitive reporters after the game, his teammates) but to cut him down that much?  He made some great saves and worked hard all night, what game was Ron Cook watching? Granted he gave up a couple goals, but his team didn't exactly help him much.  Go get 'em kid.

Here are some youtube videos of Pens fight songs to get you geared up for the game. And of course it doesn't want to cooperate and embed it here so here are the links...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxZod5xYdxg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y7NX2n4iUc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnD4n-OOBpc

By the way, who is Steven Crosby?  How the hell do you not know SIDNEY Crosby? What a joke.

It's time to get down to business.  Let's go Pens!

Edit:  Some late adds.  Read here, and here.

Pens drop game 1 in Detroit

Sorry for the crappy posts or lack of posts lately. Life has caught up with us as of late. Tonight we don't have a whole lot to say other than the Pens need to play a lot better next game or this is going to be a short series.  We were disappointed in their play and hope they have a lot better in them, because we don't think we can swallow many more games like that.  Fleury still looked good and kept them in this game, but falling onto the ice on the way out couldn't have helped his confidence.  Keep your head up kid, you'll get 'em next time.

Check out the post-game info over at the Post-Gazette.

Let's go Pens!

A few links

We know we've been a little on the slim side lately and tonight is going to have to be no different.  We don't have a lot of time, but wanted to get a few fun things in there. Hopefully soon we'll have some wallpapers up.  Any other ideas?  Hit up the comments.

The Steelers and Pirates are really enjoying hockey in Pittsburgh right now.  Especially Big Ben.

The Cup changes everything.

Special teams really is special.

Getting Marian Hossa was a bold move.

Crosby checks his ego at the door, and the team follows.

The Post-Gazette has a special section today.

Pens notebook.

You can watch the game inside Mellon Arena.

From ESPN...

Is it fair?

There were a couple other things we wanted to add but we must be off now.  See you soon.

A few links

Here are a few links for today.  We still haven't caught up on our sleep over here and basically our eyes hurt, so we'll leave you with a few good links and hopefully catch up tomorrow.

Ryan Malone is just like Pittsburgh.

Sidney Crosby has drive.

Fleury is earning legendary comparisons.

Therrien is tough.

Malone has played a big role in the Pens success.

Stanley Cup notes and other stuff.

And finally make sure to head over to the Post-Gazette for the daily info because we feel it's one of the best sources.

Have a great day, we'll see you soon.

Links of the day

First off tonight, tickets go on sale tomorrow (May 21st) at 10 a.m. for games 3 and 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals.  This time around there is only about 1000 tickets available and a limit of 2 per person. Better act fast because these will be gone before you can say Lord Stanley.

Tomorrow the Pens have a few media appearances scheduled.

The Pens are expecting a tough test from Detroit.

Pens want to learn from Ottawa.

The Pens and Red Wings take a similar approach.

Malkin's family will be staying home and the Pens have no fear.

The time for the Penguins to win the cup is now.

Ron Cook says free-agent losses wouldn't doom the Pens.

The Penguins are facing an unfamiliar foe this time.

Ty Conklin is no help to the Pens with the Red Wings and Crosby is superstitious.

Here is the video of Sidney Crosby's post-workout presser that is mentioned in the link above.  He is also asked to rate his playoff beard.

From ESPN...

2008 Stanley Cup Final coverage.

Stanley Cup final preview.

From Yahoo!, the NHL main page.

This is beyond insane.  Warning:  Pens fans won't like it.

The Pens are growing up fast.

That's all for tonight, see you soon.

Stanley Cup Final starts Saturday

The Red Wings closed out the western conference finals tonight by beating the Stars 4-1 in game 6. The Pens will head to Detroit to take on the Red Wings this Saturday May 24th at 8 pm. Looks like we're in for a great Stanley Cup Final.  Go Pens!

Stanley Cup Final Schedule

Game 1 - Saturday, May 24th  (D)

Game 2 - Monday, May 26th (D)

Game 3 - Wednesday, May 28th (P)

Game 4 - Saturday, May 31st (P)

Game 5 - Monday, June 2nd (D)

Game 6 - Wednesday, June 4th (P)

Game 7 - Saturday, June 7th (D)

All games have a scheduled start time of 8 p.m. EST, although that is not the time that the puck drops, but the start of the television broadcasts. Games 1 and 2 are on Versus, while the remainder of the games will be shown on NBC. The games aren't only on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays as originally thought.

Article over at ESPN here.  Check out all the photoshops over at thepensblog.com.

It's been a long day, we're tired.  More tomorrow. Don't forget to check out the great coverage over at the Post-Gazette.

      (Gregory Shamus/NHLI /Getty Images)

PENS WIN!!!

The Penguins are off to the Stanley Cup finals! Their domination of the Flyers today sends them off to play for the coveted Stanley Cup against either the Detroit Red Wings or the Dallas Stars. If they can play like they did today they'll have a great chance at the big prize.  Jordan Staal's play the last two games has been great.  With the whole team playing together so well, they're going to be a tough team to play.  It's amazing how each line plays it's part and contributes. We're still waiting for Kennedy's goal though.

Our thoughts...

-Marc-Andre Fleury is insane.  The way he played today, it was obvious nothing was getting past him.  Some of those saves were nothing short of WOW!

-Hossa's goal to make it 3-0 was awesome.  And Crosby's set up was just as good.

-Speaking of Crosby, he's just everywhere and continually amazes us.

-So is Geno still invisible?  We don't think so.  And he was sick today, right?  'Nuff said.

-So Kimmo Timonen being out was the only reason the Flyers lost games 1-3, right?  Yeah...

-We're getting tired, but there's probably about 12 million more things we could mention here.

Here is today's game recap.

Empty Netters' blog of the game.

The Penguins punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup final.

Fleury shows some flash.

You can't touch Sid the Kid.

Malone likes it at home.

Penguins notebook.

Penguins fly into finals.

The Penguins were just that much better.

That's all for tonight, we're tired.  More links tomorrow.

         (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)


         (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)


                (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

'Nuff said.  Let's go Pens!

Stars win again.

So the Dallas Stars won again this afternoon to bring their series with the Detroit Red Wings to 3-2 in favor of the Red Wings.  We didn't see the whole game but it just didn't seem like the Red Wings were really showing up.  Turco was also playing really well in the goal.  We think it's great to let that series go as long as possible, providing the Pens can finish off the Flyers.  Hopefully tomorrow on home ice they can do just that and get some rest before the STANLEY CUP FINALS!!! It's really exciting to think about, especially after having a Super Bowl win in Pittsburgh a couple years ago.  Now if the Pirates would get their act together, it'd be hard to reckon with Pittsburgh sports!

Gary Roberts feels better and practices, could play in game 5, while Geno and Sykora are sick.

The Flyers finally gave it their best shot in game 4.

Retailers take a gamble on winners.

Penguins will try to send the Flyers home today.

Jordan Staal has been solid this year.

Penguins defend their defense.

Pens need to control the crease.

Pittsburgh fandom knows no borders.

Pens fans snatch up Stanley Cup finals tickets in Detroit.

Be sure to watch game 5 today at 3 pm on NBC. Let's go Pens!!!

Your links of the day

First off tonight we have a great video series called Yinz Luv 'Da Guins.  Head over to the myspace page and check it out.  The beginning of each video alone is worth your time.

The other day we said that the Conference Champions hats were available, well now the shirts are too.

Penguins notebook.

It's good to be home for the Pens.

Malkin's line needs to step up.

A Flyers medical bulletin.

Malkin and team get the day off.

Where's Malkin?

Talbot may not stay on Staal's line for game 5.

From Detroit: the cup finals schedule.

Versus is talking about "puck-tracking" technology. (Remember Fox's "glow puck?")

That's all for tonight, enjoy.

Pens drop game 4.

So the Penguins didn't look so hot tonight against the Flyers, we don't think it's too much to worry about.  Being back at home for game 5 on Sunday should be all that's needed to finish off these dirty Flyers.  We sincerely hope we don't see any more of those dirty cheap shots on Crosby or anyone else.  Disgusting.  But that's probably hoping for too much.  

Our thoughts...

- We miss Gary Roberts and all the Gary jokes. WWGRD.

- We're sick of the dirty Flyers.

- Jordan Staal played crazy tonight.

- We're still waiting for Tyler Kennedy to score.

- Flyers fans suck.

- Sidney Crosby never fails to amaze us. (even when he's "off his game")

- Probably some other things but we're too tired to think.

First off tonight, er this morning, this video from after game 3. It's a must watch.  I noticed over at The Sidney Crosby Show (link to the right) they were trying to decide if Geno said "how's it going baby?" or something along those lines to the fans. What do you think?  Hit us up in the comments.

The Pens sloppy first period killed them.

Penguins notebook from Post-Gazette.  (Get well Gary!)

The Pens look to bounce back on Sunday.

Tickets for Game 5 go on sale today at 2 pm.

The Pens need to end this series.

This is a tad late but they're actually tracking and rating Sidney Crosby in the playoffs over at ESPN. The Crosby File.

The Flyers may get their defenders back.

There's more to Fleury changing the color of his pads.

The Pens Eastern Conference Champs hats are already for sale.

Philly needs some magic from a fat dancing guy.

Fleury blooms just in time.

That's all for now, we can't think anymore.

        (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Is it just us or is that "orange" a horrible color?

Links for the 15th

This first one is a video. It's pretty run of the mill until you see "Ice Man." Check it out here.

Why not us?  The Pens are better.

Hossa is turning into the perfect wingman for Crosby.

No one expected Penguins' blitz.

The Penguins are fast.

Flyers' Hartnell still has hope.

Flyers' Coburn may play in game 4.

Mad Max Talbot has a fashion sense.

Dallas stays alive in Western Conference Finals.

(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Sexy!

Check out those sexy legs!

(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pens win!!!

So now the Pens are up 3-0.  We thought they couldn't win in Philly!?  Guess that talk is over. Hopefully they wrap it up Thursday.  They seemed to play better tonight than the past two games, not necessarily their best, but it's what they needed.  The defense tonight was amazing and they did a great job.  We wonder if Geno got any free popcorn tonight...?  ;)

And here are your links...

The Pens flexed some defensive muscle tonight.

Game overview.  Be sure to check out those defensive stats!

Pens notebook at Post-Gazette.

The Flyers are stunned and have no answers.

Marc-Andre Fleury felt useless.

Penguins buried the Flyers.

           (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

On a last note, our prayers are with the Staal family after the death of Marc, Eric, Jordan, and Jared's grandfather.

Links for May 13th

Here are a few early links for today.

Laraque approves of Kennedy's fighting skills.

Malkin doesn't like free popcorn.

The Penguins want to be more tech savvy.

The Pens need to keep cool.

Ruutu is taking his lumps.

Stuff to read

Hopefully on a daily basis we'll get some articles posted that we've found all across the internet. We'll try to sort out the ones we feel are must reads.  Enjoy!

First we have an article from Yahoo! about how the Pens have a full-team effort going.

Second from Yahoo! a good article on Mad Max Talbot.

A great article on Marc-Andre Fleury from the Post-Gazette.

A touching article about an 18-year old with terminal cancer who went to the Pens game last night.  Be sure to watch the video as he meets Mario Lemieux, Dan Rooney, and Ben Roethlisberger.  Our prayers go out to the family. 

We didn't know Malkin had a restaurant.

Talbot breaks Philly's heart.

Flyers Coburn is likely out for Game 3.

Don't forget game 3 tomorrow night at 7:30! Let's go Pens!

Links

A lot of people who are familiar with the Penguins and blogs probably know these sites well, but for anyone who stumbles across our new blog, here are some of the best blogs out there that are more than worth your time to check out.

The Pensblog

A great Pens blog with a lot of wit and humor.

Empty Netters

Great Pens blog at post-gazette.com.

The Sidney Crosby Show

Anything and everything about Sidney Crosby.

Lolgwins

Penguins themed Lols.

Pittsburgh Sports and Mini Ponies

Pittsburgh sports blog.

Other Links

Penguins Official Site

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Sports

Hockey Database

There are a few links for you, be sure to check them out.  We'll have them posted on the right side of the page later and include some more as well.  Enjoy!

P.S.

In the next few days we plan on getting a bunch of links together of all the great Pens sites and blogs you should visit.  Basically, there are a lot of great blogs out there that will always do a great job and better than us.  Our goal is to give you a source of information and connect you to all the great stuff that's out there.  We should also have some wallpapers and stuff up for you soon too. Hopefully this blog will be of some use for some people.

The Steelers stuff will come along as well, but while the Pens are still in the quest for Lord Stanley, we're going to be concentrating mostly on that.

Have a great day and thanks to anyone who's reading!

Pens take game two!

The Pens taking game two and and leading the series 2-0 going into Philly obviously couldn't get any better.  We actually got to watch the whole game tonight and it was pretty exciting.  Crosby looked great tonight while Geno was rather quiet, but the whole team pulls together as a whole and plays so well.  We keep waiting for Tyler Kennedy to finally score, as he's looked good, especially tonight.  That fight was pretty impressive too. :) It was also huge of Max Talbot to score the game winner after being out with his broken foot. It's going to be hard to wait for the next game on Tuesday but I'm sure the Pens will be ready for Philly.

               (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Nice "beards" guys!

Pens win game one!

Unfortunately for us, we don't get Versus so watching the game becomes an adventure. We thought we found a reliable place to watch the game online but the site had some issues and in the end we didn't get to see much.  Fortunately we have FSN to watch the Penguins post-game show to see all the highlights we had to listen to on the radio.  Mike Lange is great, but we like to see the visuals as well.  

Moving on now, how great is Evgeni Malkin becoming?  Every time we watch him, we swear he gets better.  The kid is crazy and pulls something new out game after game. His last goal was great and we wouldn't have wanted to be in between that shot, we wouldn't have stood a chance.  We smell the Conn Smythe trophy for Geno.  ;)

Sidney Crosby had a great goal as well and it was nice to see him score.  Marc-Andre Fleury is still as great as ever and is a huge asset to this team. The team as a whole is playing pretty great hockey and it just keeps getting more and more exciting.

Hopefully next time we'll see more of the game and hopefully everyone else has a chance to watch as well.  Next game is Sunday at 7:30. Let's go Pens!

          (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Keep Smiling Geno!

Series starts tomorrow!

Finally, the Pens/Flyers series starts tomorrow after what has seemed like an eternity and a half.  My first thought was Pens in a hard fought 6 but after hearing this news, maybe things will get a little easier...

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/20080508_Timonen_out_for_playoffs_with_blood_clot.html

That is a huge loss for the Flyers.  We'll see what goes down tomorrow.  Let's go Pens!

Just in case...

Just in case anyone actually stumbles across this blog and it sounds interesting to you, what types of things would you like to see here?  Post a comment or send an e-mail our way with your ideas.  :)

Coming Soon

Basically this blog will be all about Pittsburgh hockey and football.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with this: