Pens down 2-0

(AP)

So the Pens are down two games to none in the Stanley Cup Final. Everyone is blaming Marc-Andre Fleury. Forget the rest of the team, it's all MAF's fault. We might as well give up now because Chris Osgood just can't be beat. We've got two of the best players in the NHL and they just can't score against Chris Osgood, the best goalie to ever play the game. So let's give up, blame Fleury, and hand the cup to Osgood and the Wings. You with us?

Seriously, let's calm the heck down here and at least play the next two games in this series. Are we really the only ones who are flashing back to Washington? The goalie was good and on the Pens' best chances, they just couldn't get that favorable bounce. The Caps took the first two games at home and everyone was worried. What happened after that? The Pens won three in a row and were right back in the series. The Wings are a different monster than the Caps were, but if there is any team that can come back from a 2-0 deficit, it's the Pens. Right? It's not time to stand around like idiots and freak out. It's time to get behind the Pens and believe.

First off, let's admit that the Pens have looked like the better team pretty often in these first two losses. The Pens have definitely had the better scoring chances and just can't get them to go. And before everyone starts saying how awesome Chris Osgood is, we have other things to say. How many posts have the Pens hit? What about Crosby's nice chance last night where Osgood was obviously beat but it hit his skate. Osgood himself thought he was beat. And how about Crosby's other chance where Henrik Zetterberg thought it would be a good idea to once again get his ass in the crease and do something illegal. You couldn't see the puck on that play, but anyone with a brain can plainly see what he did. He knew where that puck was and he used his hand to cover it. Twice in two games. Probably should have been two penalty shots. Bullshit. It's time to call a penalty now and then.

Now let's get to number two, the refs. This is the last thing we ever wanted to discuss because it always gets labeled as whining. And in a lot of cases, it is whining. But we have to take a stand on this series. The lack of penalties being called in this series is nothing short of atrocious. Hossa's slash on Pascal Dupuis just before the Wings scored? Hello! How about Jordan Staal's bloody face on two occasions? Or the infamous Zetterberg puck cover ups. Not to mention the other grabbing, holding, elbowing etc. in this series. This isn't even hockey anymore. It's a joke. The Pens might just have to start lowering themselves to the Wings standards in order to get a win. That and a few favorable bounces. And few less favorable bounces for the Wings.

Other things about game 2:

- Dupuis was put in the lineup last night instead of seven defensemen. We kind of liked the idea at first because Dupuis is a good penalty killer and has a lot of speed. We don't know if we can really say he played well or not. We're kind of eh on this subject.

- We could talk about the penalties some more but, nah.

- We mentioned it above but the Pens have had plenty of chances. Enough chances to beat the Wings. Those go in and we're in a totally different situation. Hopefully being at home will give the Pens the chances they need. And deserve.

- Marc-Andre Fleury was not his best, that was obvious, but the only goal we really had a problem with was the last one by Mr. Applicator (applicator of what? Sorry, we couldn't resist) which he should have had. The D could have been better as well.

- Speaking of goalies, we said above how we feel about Osgood. Some talent obviously, but also very lucky. He's definitely not unbeatable. But last night's dive after Talbot poked him with his stick was awesome. Who the heck does that?! It's the end of the game first of all, what did he think he was going to get out of that? And then the idiot proceeds to toss the puck in his own net. Obviously the whistle had blown and that was not a goal, but aren't goalies superstitious about pucks going into their net? Karma is a bitch. Maybe between Talbot's hit and Osgood throwing a puck into his own net, the Pens will have some good luck at home.

- Sidney Crosby obviously isn't playing quite up to his ability but you can thank Zetterberg and his shitty tactics for that one. Even so, he's played really well and had some great chances last night. We give him a lot of credit for his attitude in talking to the media after games. It's got to get really old talking to the media after every game, practice, skate, whatever day after day. And then when you lose even after you've played well and you're a little frustrated...well, we'd probably be pretty bitchy. He believes in himself and his team. As he should.

- Wah, wah, wah. So Geno isn't suspended for game 3. Like he really should have been? Or like you thought he would or should after the Ovechkin lack of suspension? No. He was frustrated and was trying to do something for his team. Good way to set a tone for game 3. The Pens aren't going to lay down and give up without a fight. Osgood's flop after the Talbot poke would have been enough for us to punch a Wing or two. Let alone Zetterberg and his antics. *Gag*

- How did we not complain about this after game 1? Probably because it was late and we're out of our mind at that time. We might just have to do this later after every game. Anyway, NBC sucks. Not that it's anything new, but for heaven's sakes, WTF?! Do these guys smoke a little something before games or what? We like Darren Pang and Doc but Pierre and Mike? OMG. And that whole you're the coach and what are you telling your players BS and fight between the two was ridiculous. We want someone who actually knows what they're talking about and can make comments we never could. You know, something other than "the puck is on the ice." Geez.

Game recap

Aftermath

Penguins Remain Confident, Unshaken

Penguins coverage at the Post-Gazette
Yinz Luv 'Da Guins game 2:

It's time to believe. You in or you out?

Go Pens!

Pens vs. Caps - Game 1

(UPI.com)

We've thought about what to say about this first game and this series and it's kind of like the Flyers series. Too much to say. You've got rivalries, the best players in the game, wild fans, and much more than we have time to list. At the end of the day though, we think everyone can agree that this is going to be one entertaining series. You're definitely not getting a break from the action with this one, it looks to be just as physical as the last series. You better buckle up because this series is going to take you for one heck of a ride.

Game preview

For the Pens to win this series we, along with everyone else, think their power play needs to improve. That obviously isn't much of a brilliant statement considering how bad it's been for some time now. Drawing penalties is great, if you can capitalize on them. Capitalize against the Capitals. Ha-ha. That sounds like a Bob Errey key to the game. But seriously, the Pens need to step it up on the power play and get as many pucks to the net as possible on the Caps rookie goalie.

The Pens defense obviously needs to be good against players like Alexander Ovechkin and Alexander Semin. You cannot give these guys room to work and being physical can't hurt either. You know the Caps' game plan includes being physical, especially against Malkin and Crosby. It's the Pens job to be physical right back, especially on Ovechkin because we all know he's going to be physical.

The Pens also need to get a lot of shots on goal against the Caps rookie goalie, Varlamov. He hasn't seen the likes of an offense like the Pens. He may see Alexander Ovechkin in practice, but he hasn't seen Crosby or Malkin in a big game. If the Pens can exploit Varlamov, well, you know what happens. And knowing that his back-up is Theodore, it doesn't get much better.

Links to get you to game time:

Why the Penguins Can Win the Cup

Capitals vs. Penguins Series Storylines

Penguins Focused; Try to Ignore Distractions

Crosby Looking to Keep His Focus

Penguins Notebook: Getting tickets tough call now  We find this pretty disgusting. The Caps are so desperate to keep Pens fans out of the Verizon Center that even if you live in the D.C. area, if you have a purchasing history of Pens games, they won't sell you tickets per the request of owner Ted Leonsis. We get that you want your team to be supported and we get that Pens fans used to be in large numbers there, but this is ridiculous. Obviously it must be their right to do this but we find it pretty pathetic.

Round 2 Scouting Report

Capitals Locker Room

Malkin still doesn't like popcorn  Geno is hoping the fans in Washington are better than the popcorn dumping ones in Philly. We wouldn't hold our breath on that one, but if the security and other measures they took after the Rangers incident are still in place, Geno might be in luck. And as for the popcorn, is it really worth the five bucks to dump it on the other team's head? Dumb question, we know.

That's it from us for now, we're going to get some sleep before the game. It is on NBC, although we're hoping for no Pierre because Darren Pang was so much better. After this the games are on Versus and FSN. Speaking of Versus, we have some info coming up on their upcoming coverage. As well as a giveaway. Hint, hint. Stay tuned.

Go Pens!

P.S. We surely hope Caps fans don't let us down and that they make sure to tell Sidney Crosby that he sucks. We can't wait for your clever slogans on your signs and t-shirts. We can't wait for your chants. We like a mad and determined Sidney Crosby. So please Caps fans, don't let us down.

Crosby gets the last laugh, Pens advance

(AP)

Wooooooooooo! All is well for Pens fans as Sidney Crosby gets the last laugh in Philadelphia once again and scores two goals to lead the Pens to a 5-3 victory to clinch the series. What a game. After being down 3-0 we really thought this was going to a game seven for sure. Yeah, there was a lot of time left but the Pens hadn't been playing too well the last couple games. But wow, they played great the rest of the game and scored four unanswered goals to win it, and then Crosby's empty netter to seal the deal.

The first period the Pens had some good chances and were playing well. And then we saw a turnover in front of the net for a good slapshot chance by the Flyers that thankfully didn't go in, but all we were thinking is here we go. And then it happened again, Max Talbot turned the puck over in his own end and it led to goal. We felt the Pens needed to get the first goal to win this game in Philly and we'll be honest, we got pissed and left the room. Although it was for good reason, our cat needed his medicine! We get the medicine and come back in the room to give it to him and the Flyers score again. If anyone was near our house they probably heard screams. The cat probably didn't like it either. End of period.

The second period would be a big one, although you wouldn't know how big at the beginning. The Pens had a power play but wouldn't get a goal, big surprise there. Then the Flyers get a power play and score, 3-0. Ugh. But then the entire game would change in the matter of a minute or two. Max Talbot, black eye and all, fought Carcillo. Talbot may not have won that fight, but good for him to try to get his team going. Carcillo tries to rile up the crowd while Talbot puts a finger to his lips telling them to shut up. Carcillo really didn't need to do this with his team up 3-0 but obviously he couldn't resist. Maybe he should have...

Right after that fight the Pens get on the board. Malkin was playing like a beast and tries to put in a wrap around on Biron but he holds it out. Fedotenko finds the puck and pokes it under Biron's pad. Pens down by two.

The Flyers decide to push Feds around and a scrum ensues around the net. After the penalties it's 4-on-4 hockey. A couple minutes after the first goal, Mark Eaton scores his second of the playoffs and the Pens are only down by one. Tyler Kennedy took a shot and Biron can't glove it, it goes into the air and Eaton hits it with the shaft of his stick into the goal.

The Pens would have some chances on the power play but nothing going on. The Flyers would get a power play but the Pens kill it. With three minutes left in the period, Sidney Crosby would get the fans to shut up by scoring the game-tying goal. Another goal Biron should have gloved. Game tied.

The Pens had some good chances late, but Biron would keep those out. The Flyers fans couldn't even get themselves to chant Crosby sucks after that goal. Who would have thought they would turn down a chance to do that?

A couple minutes into the third period, Malkin and Gonchar would team up. Malkin left a drop pass for Gonchar who would blast a slapshot past Biron. Wow, four unanswered goals and the Pens are leading 4-3.

Now it's time to hold your breath and hope the Pens can stay out of the box and play good defense to preserve the lead. There was a lot of up and down hockey, but in the end, the Pens were too much for the Flyers and Sidney Crosby would score an empty net goal with 27.4 second left in the game to seal the win. What a way to score one too, his first attempt is defended and goes off the side of the net but he collects the puck and turns to the other side to put it in. Whew. What a game.

(AP)

- The Pens really responded after being down by three goals. They played well and didn't make many mistakes. Four unanswered goals to win it?! And an empty netter?! Wow.

- Everything is just as it should be in Philly. They chant Crosby's sucks all game and guess who gets the last laugh? Sidney Crosby. Did they really think it would be any different this time?

- Sid and Geno had monster games, which is exactly what the Pens needed. And then to get goals from Eaton and Gonchar is awesome. The Pens third line had another good game. They may not have gotten on the board but they continue to be great at puck possession.

- We weren't the only ones that thought Rob Scuderi had a great game, were we? He blocked a shot and then was playing with really only one arm but continued to attempt to block shots. He also made a huge play in the third period with his stick to save a potential goal.

- NBC was better without Pierre but we still don't like it so...NBC still sucks.

Game recap

Tickets to the first two home games of round two will go on sale on Monday at 10 a.m.

Bring on round two. GO PENS!!!

Back to Philly, game 6

Well, it's back to Philadelphia and NBC for game 6. Philly is bad enough, we don't need NBC to go along with it. We heard somewhere that Pierre McGuire was not going to be doing the Pittsburgh game and all we can say is we sure hope not. NBC may still suck, but it sucks a whole lot less without Pierre. And we can only hope that the obsessive Mike Richards talk will also be non-existent.

We'd be lying if we said we weren't nervous. We did pick the Pens in six because we knew this series wouldn't be easy, but when it comes down to watching the games and waiting, it ain't easy. We're definitely not saying that the Pens can't win this series or won't win this series, but we are nervous. And let's face it, we're nervous with good reason. It's in Philly, it's an NBC afternoon game, the Pens did not play well at all past the first period in game 5 and Philly got all the bounces.

The first goal is so important and the Pens really need to set the stage and get the first goal. The earlier the better. The first goal also kills the crowd and the quieter the fans are, the better. Although they can feel free to yell Crosby sucks all day if they want because a pissed off Sidney Crosby is only benefiting to the Pens. And obviously a good outing from Marc-Andre Fleury can keep the Pens in any game if they can get a goal or two past Biron.

Bill Guerin addressed the team right after their 3-0 loss in game 5. No one knows what was said and the Pens obviously prefer to keep it in-house, although it seems he gave the team a blunt assessment of how the team has been playing. Ray Shero brought Guerin in partly for this reason and it seems he's willing to step up and be a leader. Hopefully whatever he said fires the Pens up for game 6. We really don't think we can handle a game 7.

Game preview

Penguins confident heading into game 6

Penguins coverage at Post-Gazette

Yinz Luv 'Da Guins new episode:

Jim is participating in the Beard-A-Thon to raise money for charity. If you'd like to pledge Jim, go here.

The Caps beat the Rangers last night 4-0 to avoid elimination. If our mind serves us correctly (that's a big if) Henrik Lundqvist stole the show in game 4, much like Fleury in game 4. And then in game 5, the Caps come back and shut out the Rangers. Sound familiar? Anyone? Kind of odd. All we're hoping for is a Pens win and a Rangers win so Ovie can go home crying. And then read the Caps' message boards. (We can't find the link to that but Ovie says he likes to read what the fans have to say. After finding love on the internet at one point, this isn't surprising. We really wish we could find that link so you could read his comments. Eh.)

Also of note, Rangers coach John Tortorella got into a confrontation with a fan in Washington. Considering how their fans are trying to be like Philly's, we're not surprised. He threw a plastic bottle over the glass and then proceeded to climb up on the bench and wave a hockey stick at the fan. As bad of an idea as that was, we can't really blame the guy. It appears that he may have had liquid (okay so it had to have been beer) poured on him. Bad idea to go after the fan, but when you're losing a potential series clinching game and some idiot behind the bench pours something on you and probably talked about your mom or some other equally disgusting comment, we'd want to hit them with a stick too.

Go Pens!

No need to panic, Pens lose.

(AP)

We knew the Pens didn't have to win every game to win the series, it is a best of seven after all, but it doesn't matter, losses still hurt. Watching the Flyers score two goals in the first few minutes was not the start we had anticipated. That felt like the worst thing that could have happened. When you're on the road it's always a good idea to start fast and score first. That obviously didn't happen. And who wanted to give the Flyers the idea that they could win this game, let alone this series? No, we weren't panicking yet, there was a ton of time left. But in that environment and down by two only a few minutes in isn't exactly your idea of good.

When the Pens scored with only 11 seconds left in the first period, we thought YES! this is exactly what they needed. What better way to get the momentum shifted in your direction than scoring with mere seconds left on the clock? So you can imagine our, and probably everyone else's, dismay when the Pens scored 13 seconds into the second period to tie it. All of a sudden those two Flyers goals didn't look so bad.

Unfortunately the feeling didn't last long. Before you knew it the Flyers scored again to get the lead 3-2. What a downer. But not nearly as much of a downer as the next goal. The Pens had a power play and that should be a good thing, right? Not so much this time. Okay okay, worse than usual, we get it. All of a sudden it's 4-2 after a shorthanded goal by the Flyers. We really couldn't have been the only ones that hoped that this wouldn't happen to the Pens. It seemed like that was all you heard about on their power play. The Flyers scored the most shorthanded goals. Blah, blah, blah. That was a killer.

The third period included two goals by the Flyers, one of those being an empty netter at the end of the game after Fleury had been pulled. Geno would score a second goal but it wasn't enough to beat the Flyers. The Pens would lose 6-3 to put the series at 2-1 Pens.

The random thoughts section of this post should be a long one, partially thanks to NBC.

- What exactly was Geno thinking about before the game? They showed him sitting in the locker room with his arms crossed and doing nothing and looking a little...intense. We just found it kind of interesting.

- What was with the Sidney Crosby questions every five seconds? Is there no one else involved in the game? Ridiculous. The leading scorer in the league and the playoffs is on the same team but who cares obviously. We like Crosby, you all know that, but there is more than one person that plays for the Pens. NBC doesn't know that. And what was with telling Sidney to keep smiling? A little creepy.

- Did anyone actually like that above the ice, behind the net camera angle? We thought that was terrible. We couldn't even see the puck. And then when the Flyers scored on one of their power plays, we didn't know till everyone freaked out. Okay, we know, that's a whole couple of seconds after the puck goes in but it really ruined things for us.

- As for more serious things, what happened to the Pens defense? Things weren't looking so good. Fleury may be the goalie, but there is a defense for a reason and it was not helping MAF out by any means. It's way too late to be making careless mistakes and those things can't happen again in game 4. Tying this series would be the last thing we want.

- Where was the discipline? The Flyers did their usual stupid penalties thing too but that's not the Pens' game like it seems to be the Flyers. As more than one player said, the Flyers sucked the Pens into that style of play and it obviously didn't work for the Pens. There needs to be some restraint in the next game because playing like that isn't going to get them anywhere.

- We still like the hits, just not after the whistle. Chris Kunitz has been an absolute beast on the ice, hitting anything he possibly can. We don't know if becoming a father helped out, but we love it. And it doesn't get much better than his huge hit on Kimo Timonen. Wow. We need to see that a few more times. He also wasn't afraid to take on Hartnell when he had a problem with the hit. We like Kunitz's grit.

- Most people are helping out the team and have done something to stand out so far in this series but where is Petr Sykora? You could usually count on Sykora to take a Geno pass or two and bury it into the back of the net but not lately. He really needs to step up or we think someone else should take his spot on Geno's line.

- We hate talking about the Refs but what are they on? Yes, their jobs aren't easy, but some of these calls or non-calls are a little ridiculous. How did Staal getting a stick to the face end up with him being penalized? And of course a goal was scored by the Flyers on that power play. We can deal with some of the calls, they'll happen in every game, but that was too much.

- We love that Philly hasn't lost it's touch. The Crosby sucks chants started even early that we thought they would and the boos were as loud as ever. The chants about the refs were really classy as well. Fans are fans at times but Philly really takes it to another level. The Crosby and refs chants being encouraged is too low for our liking. Why an organization would let that happen we'll never understand.

- Geno is playing like Geno and we love it. He is playing at such a high level it's incredible. Which is also why we don't think it's fair to have invisible Sykora on his wing when maybe someone else could be a lot better.

- The Pens need to get back to their game. Be aggressive, no after the whistle garbage, and find their defense and they'll be fine.

- NBC sucks.

Game recap

Aftermath: Flyers 6, Pens 3

Penguins undaunted by loss

Penguins commit enough mistakes to allow Flyers to battle their way back into series

Tickets to game 5 will be on sale Tuesday at 10 a.m.

Go Pens!

Game 2

In just a few hours the Pens will be playing game 2 against the Flyers. If they play their game as effectively as they did in game 1, they should be able to get another win. The question is though, what Philly team will show up tonight? The one that showed up in the last game of the regular season and the first game of the playoffs, or a better and more disciplined Flyers? Either way, we feel the Pens are better, especially with the way their defense played in game 1, but it will be a lot easier if the Flyers can't figure out what's wrong and fix it.

Game preview

Old news by now, but David Carcillo was suspended for one game for the blow to head he put on Max Talbot at the end of game one. Coach Stevens was also fined $10,000. We think this is a good call, but it shouldn't matter much other than this guy can't be attempting to hurt anyone in tonight's game. We think a couple of those other hits were just as bad if not worse than this but whatever.

And on to some disappointing news for those of you lucky enough to be in Pittsburgh. Game 3 on Sunday will not be shown on the big screen outside Mellon Arena because NBC says no. Last year this wasn't a problem and now all of a sudden it is. We hate NBC to begin with for hockey and basically everything else too so this isn't too surprising and doesn't make us like them any more now obviously. It seems like a selfish way to deprive a couple thousand people the enjoyment of watching the game in their hometown with the people that share their passion. Terrible decision by NBC in our opinion and it's just going to turn the whole Pittsburgh market (and beyond) on their station. Thank goodness FSN appreciates Pittsburgh and it's fans.

The other problem we have with this is the fact that last year when the game was shown on the jumbotron inside Mellon Arena you had to pay like five dollars or something like that to get in and that money went to charity. So basically NBC is denying the Mario Lemieux Foundation a lot of money if the Pens continue on in the playoffs and they are shown on NBC. Ridiculous. 

Empty Netters has a phone number and Pensblog has a ton of e-mail addresses and phone numbers. If you disagree with this, let them know it. We think NBC won't know what hit them. They just might get how much sports mean in Pittsburgh after this.

Enjoy the game and here's to winning game 2. Go Pens!