Stanley Cup Champs!!!

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That picture is perfect. Stanley Cup Champions. GO PENS!!!

Game 7

So this is it. One game for the Stanley Cup. It all comes down to this. Pretty much everyone is writing the Pens off, after all, look at history. You know it all already, we don't need to repeat it. All of it is just too much for the Pens to handle. It's impossible. Why even play the game? We think not. For those of us who have watched the Pens the entire season, we know what this team is capable of: anything. The Pens have played their best with their backs against the wall and against all odds. Tonight is just that. Like anyone wants to watch the Wings beat the Pens again. This time it's the Pens turn to turn the tables on them. Win the Cup on their ice. Let them see what that feels like.

It's time for them to embrace the underdog role and run with it. The Wings have all the pressure of being considered the better team, being on home ice, blah blah blah. The Pens just get to come in and possibly make history. And revenge on the Wings. The Steelers have always thrived with the underdog role and so can the Pens. It's time to have that chip on their shoulder Hines Ward style.

If the Pens play their game, they can definitely bring the Cup back to Pittsburgh. Start aggressive and don't let up. Take it to the Wings and Osgood. Get the first goal and things are going great. Maybe Sidney Crosby will get his record seventh first goal of the playoffs. We expect Sidney Crosby to be a man possessed tonight. He's played well, but he hasn't been the force he was the rest of the playoffs. That fire will be in his eyes, he'll pass it on to the rest of the team. He's going to do whatever he possibly can to get the Pens the Cup. He's not going to let the Pens go down without a damn good fight.

Hold on to your hats because this promises to be quite the game. Nothing held back. This is the last time the team will ask and the last time we'll ask you...

Ya hungry?

Go Pens!

One more game

(Getty)

Pens win 2-1 to force a game 7 back in Detroit for the Stanley Cup. One more game. Friday can't come soon enough.

Wow, what a game. We're sure we weren't the only ones with our hearts pounding, sitting on the edge of our seats. This game was obviously huge for both teams, but especially the Pens. Marc-Andre Fleury needed to play a spectacular game and he did. His defense also helped him out by blocking a lot of shots and Rob Scuderi even decided to play goalie with just seconds on the clock with Detroit knocking on the door. And no, he didn't use his hand to cover the puck.

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were held scoreless, which means the Pens needed secondary scoring. And they got it. The third line last night was great, even scoring both of the Pens' goals. Jordan Staal scored first early on in the second period, while Tyler Kennedy scored the game-winner a little over five minutes into the third period. Kennedy also had an assist on the Staal goal for a great night.

One more game. A winner takes all game 7 for the Stanley Cup. Wow. Who would have thought after all the Pens went through? It's time to raise the Cup on their ice this time. If they play anything like they did last night, dominate most of the time, they have a great chance of doing just that.

Game recap

Aftermath: Penguins 2, Red Wings 1

Penguins coverage at the Post-Gazette

- Fleury was the first star of the game and deservedly so. What a game after such a disappointment in game 5. We didn't think that was all his fault at all, but getting five goals scored against you isn't exactly a good time. That save with less than two minutes left in the period on Cleary on a breakaway was huge. Who knows what would have happened had this game been tied.

- The Pens came out with the win and that's all that matters but what frustration when it comes to all the chances! After the first period we were in disbelief that none of those chances went in. They were dominating all the way around but had nothing to show for it at the end of one. Obviously it didn't get them down because sooner rather than later they got that first goal. They're going to need to play just like that in Detroit if they want to win the Stanley Cup on Friday night.

- The third line was spectacular. They were doing everything last night. Tyler Kennedy and Jordan Staal more than deserved what they got. Staal was great both offensively and defensively and TK was working hard. A third line like that is exactly what the Pens need, especially when you're top two aren't able to cash-in.

- Rob Scuderi is absolutely insane. What a beast. He was blocking shots, playing goalie, and just playing an all around awesome defensive game. He was a plus 2 with four blocked shots and a couple of saves in the crease. He cleared at least two pucks from the crease earlier in the game off of rebounds and then his three or four saves in the last seconds of the game were just insane. He was obviously giving 110% out there and that makes us feel good going into game 7.

- We have to say it. The announcers, especially Pierre McGuire, are horrible. It was a Detroit love fest all night, especially Chris Osgood. OMG, he's so amazing! Yeah, okay. But the worst of the night in our opinion was the talk of Rob Scuderi covering the puck with his hand in the final seconds. OMG because we haven't seen that before in this series! WTF?! Give Zetterberg a pass and criticize Scuds up and down for it. And the best part was that he didn't even touch it with his hand! Even after they showed it from above and it was obvious he never touched it, they were still like "oh, I don't know!" Are you blind? Ridiculous. NBC definitely sucks.

- The crowd seemed nice and loud last night all game. Exactly what the Pens needed. The Fleury chant before the game was extra awesome in our opinion. We're sure Fleury felt a little taller hearing that. Nice to see the entire city of Pittsburgh isn't on the Fleury bashing bandwagon.

- We also have to give credit to Brooks Orpik for a nice game with six blocked shots and obviously a ton of hits. Petr Sykora also deserves mention for getting in there and blocking a shot early. He might not have played much or had a huge impact on the game, but it's nice to see he's willing to do whatever he can for the team.

Friday really can't get here soon enough.

Go Pens!

Game 6

We are so late with this post but they lost last time we missed a game day post so we're going to err on the side of caution and give in to our superstitions. After all, we have our lucky shirt on.

This is it. Lose and it's over. We have to win tonight to force a winner take all game 7. The Pens can do it. They have to protect their home ice and not let the Wings raise the Cup on their ice for the second year in a row.

Let's go boys. This is it.

Go Pens!

Pens lose Game 5

That title might be a little misleading. Not only did they lose game 5, they were crushed 5-0. What a disaster. We never want to see a game like that again. The penalties were horrendous. So was the defense. Obviously the offense wasn't much better. But as far as we're concerned it's over and the Pens need to win game 6 at home to force a winner take all game 7 back in Detroit.

The Pens will come out strong in game 6 and we truly believe there will be a game 7. Every single person on the ice last night needs to play better. That was a team loss and game 6 will be a team win. If they can't muster up enough to come out strong and play 60 minutes in game 6, they don't deserve the Cup and they can watch the Wings hoist it on their ice for the second year in a row. Do you really think they're going to let that happen again? No.

There's no point in even breaking down this game. We all know what happened. There's nothing else to say. It's time to win game 6. Too bad it's so long until Tuesday. Hang in there and believe.

Yinz Luv 'Da Guins Game 5:

Normally we're not in the mood to watch something like this after a loss, especially one like game 5 with no highlights whatsoever, but this is a good episode and you'll enjoy it.

Go Pens!

Pens win game 4, tie series 2-2

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Jordan's face says it all. The Pens beat the Red Wings 4-2 in game 4 to tie the series up at 2-2. The Pens played a good game last night and wore the Red Wings down, coming back from another 2-1 deficit at home. The Pens saw another great game from Marc-Andre Fleury, Sidney Crosby, and Evgeni Malkin, but also from a couple recently quiet players (at least on the score sheet) in Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy.

The Pens have all the momentum going into game 5 back in Detroit and need to use that to get a win and take a 3-2 lead over the Wings before heading back home for game 6. And this team can do it.

There's a lot we liked about this game. We'll try to get it all out. Better late than never.

- Sidney Crosby really broke out in this game. He's been playing well all series, but definitely not like he has dominated the rest of the playoffs. He finally got on the scoreboard with a goal from a nice two on one with none other than the other head on the two headed monster, Geno himself. Geno did two good things on this play. One, he was playing good defense and had a takeaway. Two, what a pass. A defender sprawled out on the ice to try to stop that pass and did succeed at first, but the puck came back to Geno who was ready for it and slid that puck to Crosby to put past an out of place Osgood. Awesome.

- We don't think Crosby was expecting what happened in the above picture. Kris Letang just came over and tackled him to the ice. We've seen the replay over and over and Crosby just looks stunned. What made the whole thing priceless was Geno coming over and standing over Crosby yelling. What a sight.

- Not long after that, Crosby was involved in another goal with Chris Kunitz and Tyler Kennedy. We've been thinking all series that TK deserved to cash in because he has been working hard. He's just tons of energy, working hard along the boards and not afraid to take on anyone. Where he gets all that energy we have no idea. But in game 4, it really paid off. Kennedy got a turnover near center ice that he dished to Kunitz who then passed it to Crosby, who then passed it to Kennedy who was standing alone next to the net for a nice goal. How beautiful was that?! That was just insane. Osgood was the one stunned this time.

- Someone else on TK's line would get on the score sheet as well. Jordan Staal has played well as of late both defensively and with his line mates grinding away and keeping the puck in the offensive zone, but he hadn't scored. The Wings had two power plays back to back and Jordan Staal had a chance for a breakaway. With a smaller defender on him, he was able to keep him at bay and get a shot off and beat Osgood. What a play. That turned the entire game around. Not only was it short handed but it tied the game and set the Penguins off on a three goal scoring streak in less than six minutes. What a time for him to step up.

- Speaking of Jordan, are we the only ones who feel his confidence isn't always up there in terms of his play offensively? His defense is sound and he seems comfortable with that, as well as grinding it out along the boards, but when it comes to taking a shot it seems like he has no idea what to do with it. After his shortie it seemed like he was more confident. He took at least a couple more shots and looked like he knew what to do with the puck then. He has the talent, he just needs to use it. As well as believe in himself.

- Marc-Andre Fleury played great, rightfully earning him the number one star. He looks like he's getting into form and if  he can take one in Detroit in game 5...the sky's the limit. And maybe then the media and fans will let up on him. We never thought he deserved the criticism to begin with.

- Detroit looks tired. The Pens have really taken it to them overall, especially physically. The Pens also made the Wings frustrated, something that's just not supposed to happen to the Wings. These Wings aren't the big, bad force they were last year. Don't get us wrong, they are good and this won't be easy for the Pens, but they can and have worn them down. If you look at the Wings goals, they aren't too impressive. A couple soft ones, a couple bad bounces, not much of any real quality. The Pens can take this if they don't let up.

Game recap

Aftermath: Penguins 4, Red Wings 2

Post-Gazette

Yinz Luv 'Da Guins Game 4:

Go Pens!

Game 4

First off, sorry for the lack of posts. Our health isn't exactly spectacular lately. But how about that SI cover? We love SI but that just sucks. This series isn't over. Maybe the SI cover jinx will help out the Pens. We're just glad we didn't get that cover today, although the article is still in there. Eh.

Tonight is a critical game 4 and a chance for the Pens to tie this series up going back to Detroit and making this series a best of three. They can also make this not about last year anymore. All anyone wants to talk about is how the Pens are in the same situation as last year despite the glaring differences. They win game 4 tonight and this is a whole new series. They need to come out tonight like this is game 7 and take this. Being down 3-1 is a whole different world than being tied 2-2. It's crazy to think the difference between the two. Tie this up and you have the momentum going into Detroit, lose and you're down 3-1 and basically all but counted out.

We know that it's always said that there can't possibly be any more motivation in the Stanley Cup Final that winning the cup. Okay. But it's time to play with that Hines Ward mentality. Find something and have that chip on your shoulder. No one believes in you, you're the underdog, whatever. He's always found something to be mad about, something that drives him, and it's worked pretty well we think. After all, he owns many Steelers records now. One other thing they can take from Hines Ward, hit them before they hit you. The Wings looked awfully tired in the third period of game 3 and the Pens need to wear them down. They have every opportunity to win game 4, now it's time to do it.

Ya hungry?

Go Pens!

Pens make it a series

(AP)

How can you not win with Mike Tomlin in the house?

Whew! What a game. We don't think our hearts ever stopped pounding the entire time. Talk about being on the edge of your seat. This was basically a must-win for the Pens, and in the third period they came out victorious. You will now hear until game-time on Thursday that the last five Stanley Cup winners lost game 3 and that this is the exact position the Pens and Wings were in last year. The Pens win game 3 and we all know what happened in game 4. That was last year, this is now. You can't argue that the Pens are a much better team and have shown they can play with the Wings, whereas last year, well...not so much. This was not the best game the Pens could have played by any means, but two defensemen and Max Talbot stepped up big and sealed the win for the Pens.

It's now all about game 4. Win game 4 and the Pens are going back to Detroit with all the momentum and it's a best of three. Sounds pretty good, right? Of course the Pens can do it. But if you listen to the doubters, this is last year and the Wings are too scary. You can bet your money that the Pens aren't listening though. This may just be their year. Besides, no one ever said it was going to be easy. Hang on because we've got ourselves a series.

Game recap

Aftermath: Penguins 4, Red Wings 2

Pens at the Post-Gazette

Thoughts up later.

Go Pens!

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 lose again, Wings up 2-0

(AP)

The Pens lost to the Wings again 3-1 to go down two games in the Stanley Cup Final. There is so much to talk about we'll be back later today. But you can get excited about some talk about Geno (above), Zetterberg's illegal activities, how bad NBC sucks, Sidney Crosby, MAF, getting your mind right, and last but not least...how the Pens have been the better team. Yeah, we said it.

For now, we feel like shit. Time to sleep. See you later.

This may be kind of depressing but Yinz Luv 'Da Guins, Game 1:

Go Pens!

Pens lose, no need to panic

(Getty)

The Pens lost the first game of the Stanley Cup Final to the Wings 3-1. But seriously, there's no need to hit the panic button. The Wings got some, almost unbelievable, bounces for all three of their goals, especially the first two. Were we the only ones who thought this felt like the Washington series? You know, the goalie makes all the key saves and they just can't get one past him, but the bounces are plentiful on the other side. Unfortunately the Pens weren't on the receiving end of the bounces last night, but that doesn't mean it has to stay that way. The Pens did not play their best game, and they were not out-played last night. This is a far cry from last year's final. Again, let's not start a riot.

We've already seen the crap on the internet. OMG! Blame Marc-Andre Fleury! He makes a huge save on Ovechkin and you're slobbering all over him like a dog with a bone, and then some weird bounces happen and you're throwing him under the bus. You know who you are.

For once, we're livid and we're not letting it go. The Pens lost and now we've got a bunch of people freaking out. Most are blaming MAF, some are blaming others, but no matter what, the Wings got the bounces and the Pens didn't. No, the Pens didn't play their best game but they were still right there with the Wings. Yes, they lost and it sucks, but get over it and get ready for game 2. No matter how much you whine (cheese anyone?), it's not going to change that the Pens are down a game in this series. It's ONE GAME! Calm the heck down and have some faith for once. After all, how many times have you seen the Pens mount comebacks either in games or in series'? Or how many series have they came out a tad flat and end up on top of their game? Road teams are generally happy to get a split and the Pens have a chance to do just that tonight. Win tonight and we're going back to Pittsburgh with a tie series and all the momentum in our building. Sounds good to us.

(This rant is why we don't read message boards or other such things on the internets. It's infuriating.)

Game recap

Aftermath: Wings 3, Pens 1

Pens at the Post-Gazette

- The Pens kept up with the Wings, and even took it to them at times. They need to get more shots on Osgood. It will go in. We even saw on the internets where Osgood was a good, dependable goalie. LOLZ. He benefits a lot from the defense in front of him. Do we think he's horrible? No. But he isn't exactly fabulous. We have Malkin and Crosby. It's time to show him what world-class talent looks like.

- Malkin played well last night, and yes Mom and Dad were there. But that breakaway chance? Ouch. Geno, we love you, but can't you bury those once in a while? Please?

- Sidney Crosby will play better in this series. He was not bad last night, but he wasn't exactly the Sidney Crosby we've gotten used to in these playoffs. It's time to show Zetterberg who the better player is. That hit around center ice last night should've sent a message. Now it's time to perform. He will put this team on his back if he has to. After all, he doesn't want to be in this photograph again. Although that backhander he got off in the second period around a defender. Wow. How do you get that much on that shot in that situation? Ridiculous.

- Speaking of performance, Jordan Staal, please bury one of those shots! He looks nervous and sloppy, or like he doesn't know what to do with a puck. His defensive work is great and he sure knows how to grind it out. But offensively he needs to step it up.

- Orpik with free candy to old buddy Hossa. Enough said.

- Fleury needs to stay loose, confident, and keep doing what he's doing. Those bounces were not good and he wasn't entirely faultless, but he will step up and adapt.

- We have to admit we don't like all the hitting so far. We love a good hit, don't get us wrong, but it's way more physical than we ever anticipated. Yes, this is the final and you win four or you go home, but geez. We're not sure how much we liked the penalty calling, or lack thereof either.

Are you ready for game 2?

Go Pens!

Stanley Cup Final - Game 1

(AP)

That picture is quite possibly the scariest picture of Sidney Crosby we've ever seen. If he plays like that look on his face, the Red Wings are in trouble. He's been playing like a man possessed the entire playoffs and there's no reason to believe he won't be more so this series. He is going to do everything he possibly can to get the Pens where they want to go. We all know where that is.

You should all know by now we're not much for previews. One, we'd probably suck at it. Two, maybe this is a bad way to look at it, but at the end of this series someone is going to win and someone is going to go home unhappy. We know, what a lazy way to get out of a preview, but seriously, us coming up with some sub-par preview would pale in comparison to all the wonderful articles you could read that will get you even more pumped up for the game tonight (see below).

Speaking of pumped, we don't think we've ever been this pumped. Not before last year's final, not before the Steelers' two recent Super Bowls, uh...not before a Pirates season? We tried. But in all honesty, something feels right this year. We don't know what it is, it just is what it is. Did you get that? We're not even sure we did. But even right now at 3 a.m. we're tired as heck but absolutely pumped for the game tonight. And a bit anxious. But what is a big game/series without a little anxiety? No fun, that's what. If the Pens win the cup, we'll probably bawl like babies. Who's with us?

Your ever-so-awesome series preview not written by us.

Pens home page  The Pens have some awesome articles you should really check out.

Pens at Post-Gazette  The other place you need to go for pre and post-game coverage

Ya hungry?

Go Pens!

Pens win Game 4, sweep Carolina to head to SCF

(Getty)

Woohoo! The Pens are going back to the Stanley Cup Final again this year after beating the Canes for the fourth time by a score of 4-1. How awesome does this feel? We don't know how we're going to wait until the finals start. If the Wings don't beat the Hawks tonight to take the series, we're looking at waiting until June 5th more than likely. That's way too long.

Game recap

Aftermath: Penguins 4, Hurricanes 1

- Once again the Canes had all the momentum at the beginning of the game and even got a goal from their star player who hadn't scored all series not even two minutes in and they still manage to lose. Obviously we're not complaining but they had to just be out of gas. We fully expected this series to be a lot harder than it was.

- Fleury may have given up that goal early, but he was solid the rest of the game. That stick save in the first period was awesome. People like to complain about Fleury a lot, but he's shown he's clutch. And he wins games. How can you complain about that?

Fleury save about 1:20 in.

- Sidney Crosby and Bill Guerin are looking really good right now. Last night we had a pass from Crosby to Guerin on a 2-on-1 for a nice goal. The game before, basically the same thing but reversed. We have to admit we weren't all that impressed when we heard Guerin was coming here but he sure has been valuable in a lot of ways. Does anyone think he plays like he's 38? We don't. Sidney Crosby can do that to you.

- How can you argue with keeping Boucher in the lineup instead of Dupuis? He's played well and that pass to Feds last night for the Pens' first goal was nice.

- We have to give a lot of credit to Cam Ward. He was by far their best player in the entire series and, a lot of the time, the only one who showed up. He made a lot of great saves and tried to keep his team in games and he was just not backed up. He just couldn't do it all himself and when you're left out to dry like he was over and over, goals are going to get scored. He took a lot of the blame but we don't think he deserves to. Hardly any of the blame should be placed on him.

- Crosby is close to the playoff record for points and he dishes off the empty netter to Craig Adams instead of going for it himself. What a player. Now Adams has three goals in the playoffs, two of them empty netters. Although that empty netter directly off the faceoff was awesome. That's skill.

- Sidney Crosby touched the Prince of Wales trophy?! He's shocking us all this year. First the hat and now this? Is he sick? We definitely think the whole not touching the trophy thing was a little over the top. Besides, Mario Lemieux touched it both times before winning the Stanley Cup. How can you argue with that? The trophy even got a nice ride home.

Picture is from the Penguins Facebook page and thanks to Seth from EN for finding it.

The Prince of Wales trophy presentation:

Max Talbot's phenomenal interview with Dan Potash after the game:

Interviews with Sidney Crosby, Bill Guerin, and Marc-Andre Fleury:

Pens coverage at the Post-Gazette

Who's next? Bring it.

Go Pens!

Game 4

The Pens have the chance to sweep the Canes and end this series tonight. How nice would that be? Quite the turn from the Washington series. If the Pens continue to play their game and the Canes continue to have LOMS (loss of mind syndrome), this should be over tonight. It still amazes us how the Canes have allowed Crosby and Malkin to do as they wish while they stand around mesmerized at their talent. But by all means, don't stop now. It's time to end this thing.

Game preview

Game 3 Yinz Luv 'Da Guins:

Go Pens!

Pens win Game 3, up 3-0

(AP)

Did anyone think it would be quite like this and that the Pens would be up 3-0 on Carolina? We definitely did not. The Hurricanes came out pretty strong and got the first goal fairly early in the game. Things weren't looking so good early for the Pens. If we only knew what was to come. Geno would score twice, Crosby once, and there would even be a crazy empty netter directly from a faceoff. Cam Ward was by far the best player on the ice for the Canes and was the only reason this game wasn't much, much worse. Carolina seemed to be caught standing around an awful lot. We know Sid and Geno are pretty spectacular but there's no excuse for standing around. As far as we're concerned they can continue to do it and the Pens will take win four and be on their way. The amount of mistakes the Canes made was quite ridiculous, but like we said, they can do it all they want as far as we're concerned.

Game recap

Aftermath: Penguins 6, Hurricanes 2

We apologize but we'll have to finish this post sometime later as we don't have time now.

Go Pens!

Game 3

The Pens head down to Carolina tonight for game 3. The crowd should be good, Bill Cowher might be there after all (ack), and it will get the Canes going. We all know the Canes aren't going to lay down and take a beating, they've been resilient in the playoffs. It should be tough but if the Pens can play their game, we don't see why it should be any different than game 2. Although, if there's any chance we can get the crowd to do a few Crosby sucks chants or throw some popcorn on Geno, we'd be in good shape.

Game preview

Yinz Luv 'Da Guins - Game 2:

Jim's Bill Cowher is great.

Pens coverage at the Post-Gazette

Get ready.

Go Pens!

Pens take Game 2, up 2-0

(AP)

Whew! What a game. It was hard to settle down in this one, but what else is new? Crosby starting the scoring less than two minutes in felt good. But that didn't last long. It was back and forth goals until about half-way through the third period and then Geno decided that enough was enough and the Pens were going to win this game to take a 2-0 lead on this series. Who would have thought a 7-4 Pens win?

Game recap

Aftermath: Penguins 7, Hurricanes 4

- What a night for Geno. He was playing unbelievably awesome (Geno's word) hockey last night and scored a hat trick. The first goal he scored after jumping on the ice was a little nuts in our opinion. He made it look so easy. Jumps on the ice, goes hard to the net, shovels a puck past Ward and celebrates. Easy as pie. Right. And then if you thought he was done, you were so wrong. The crowd started a GENO! chant just before his second goal. Talk about perfect timing. Then right before his third goal we were like, okay Geno, time for a hattie! Oh yeaaaaah! What a shot! A no-look backhander? That's a Sidney Crosby move! We have to say it again, what a shot! The Versus announcer's call was pretty amusing, OH MY WORD! Lol. That was actually a play called "the Geno." Dan Bylsma said it isn't called the Geno for nothing. Talbot also said Geno told him what he was going to do and he did it. Lucky? No.

- How cool are Geno's parents? They get cooler every game. Geno's Dad was practically in tears after Geno's third goal and gave Mom a big kiss on the side of her head. What down to earth people. It's so nice to see something like this. Could  they fit in any better in Pittsburgh? We hope they never have to go back to Russia. Geno plays out of his mind when they're around. We couldn't find the Versus interview after the game with him but he was asked about his parents being here for this and he cited his Mom's good food. What a guy. He also said that his backhander goal was lucky. Yeah, okay Geno. His parents need to take the trip down to Carolina for sure.

- "My parents are superstars now." - Geno  Quote of the night for sure.

- Sidney Crosby: what a player. His drive is unmatched. Except maybe sometimes by Geno. He was out there doing everything and taking a beating doing it. He opened the scoring for the sixth, yes sixth, time in the playoffs. That's insane. We may be biased, but we're also not stupid. We'd take Crosby (or Malkin) over Ovechkin any day.

- Chris Kunitz finally had a goal! A nice one at that. His goal with 7.4 seconds left in the second period broke the tie and put the Pens up 4-3. We thought he had played well in the playoffs although putting in a goal or two is always good too. Now he finally gets off of people's bad list. At least for now.

- We don't know what it is with Max Talbot, but he scores big goals in big games. Geno got him the puck on a breakaway and Max decides to take a page out of Geno's book and blast a slap shot by Cam Ward. Nice.

- The Pens went 3-for-3 in killing penalties, including some 4-on-3 time. We liked how aggressive they were and they even got a couple chances to score shorthanded, including a Jordan Staal breakaway chance. Speaking of which...

- Are we the only ones that think Jordan Staal needs some confidence or something? His defensive play is great but his offense? Not so much. We're not saying he needs to bury that chance 100% of the time but geez. He's had quite a few chances to score in these first two games and the shots either haven't been good ones, he fans on it, or he decides to pass when he really should just shoot. Our answer is confidence and maybe he needs some but who knows.

- What happened to Miroslav Satan? He's looked really good in the playoffs. That one-on-one chance against Ward that he buries after some sick moves and now he's fighting?! Seriously, what's going on? He definitely deserves his spot in the lineup. We thought he always shied away from hits or fights. Not anymore obviously.

- Marc-Andre Fleury wasn't as sharp as he could have been, but he made the stops he needed to make. That big toe save early in the game was awesome. His love of his posts also obviously comes in handy at critical times. After a good shot hit the crossbar, Fleury could be seen giving it a nice pat down for it's fine work in saving that goal. You treat it well, it will treat you well back.

- Tyler Kennedy may not be scoring goals every night, but he continues to amaze us night in and night out. His energy is nuts. We have no idea where he gets it but it's pretty awesome. If he's racing to the puck, there's a good chance he's going to get possession of it. His work along the boards is great and he's not afraid to hit someone. He also had a heck of a shot on that empty netter. ;)

- Lastly, what is with the crowd? This is the Eastern Conference Finals, you need to be louder. There were plenty of times where we were like, WTF?! You're supposed to be jacked the entire game and you had plenty of goals to be jacked about. They were good at times but overall it was pretty unimpressive. Kind of embarrassing.

Geno's hat trick:

Geno's post-game comments:

Penguins at Post-Gazette

Go Pens!

Canes, Game 2

So, has it seemed like an eternity and then some since game 1? We think so. This whole schedule thing sucks for the fans. Way too long between games. But tonight is finally game 2 and it's time for the Pens to step-up their game and get a 2-0 lead to head into Carolina.

Game preview

If this doesn't pump you up for the game, we don't know what will:

If you haven't seen any of the other Benstonium videos, do yourself a favor and go to benstonium.com and watch some more. They have a lot of hilarious parody videos that you'll definitely love.

'Crosby Effect' Sets Agenda for Pens' Success

Pens coverage at the Post-Gazette

Enjoy the game. Go Pens!

Pens take Game 1

(AP)

What a way to start a series. A win and a big game from Marc-Andre Fleury. We don't think the Pens played their best game but they held on to beat the Canes 3-2. By no means are we saying they played badly, we just feel they have more in them, especially from the defense.

(AP)

The Staals would start the game on the ice together. In case you didn't know, they're brothers. Remember that. The game started out fast, no easing into this series. Both teams had chances and both goalies were good, especially MAF. He was sharp early and the game could have easily gone the Canes way by one or two goals without those awesome saves. How he does it we'll never know because we'll never have that flexibility or athleticism.

The Canes would take two penalties back-to-back to give the Pens four minutes with the man-advantage but the Pens wouldn't score. Then it was the Canes turn on the power play. Fleury would make some amazing saves to keep the score 0-0. Miroslav Satan would come out of the box and get the puck on a breakaway leaving him one-on-one against Cam Ward. We kind of held our breath and to be honest, didn't expect a goal there. But wow, what a move by Satan to score on Ward. Pens up 1-0.

(AP)

Geno decided that one goal wasn't enough for the Pens. A little over a minute later Geno would put a backhander behind Ward to make the game 2-0 just like that. Mom and Dad were proud. Please tell us they'll be in Carolina too.

(AP)

Marc-Andre Fleury was still on in the second period when he made another big save. But you knew the Canes were going to score eventually and they did with a little under seven minutes left in the second period. Pens up 2-1. But a little over two minutes later and you're getting nervous because it appeared the Canes scored again to tie the game. Not so fast. You can't come to the net and completely run over a defenseman and force him into the goalie and then score. Goaltender interference was called as it should have been. No goal. The Pens would have a power play but no goal.

This is where things get more fuzzy. We take notes or we'd be able to write nothing now because we'd forget pretty much everything. But then we start to suck at taking notes and have to think, WTF happened? Yeah, we know, fail. We should just live blog every game, we might be better at that.

As for some things we remember, Geno had a breakaway with over twelve minutes left in the third and was denied by Cam Ward. Unfortunately this wasn't much of a surprise because Geno, for whatever reason, just isn't good at one-on-one situations. Maybe he should just do the whole slapshot from in close like in last year's playoffs against Philly and work on that over the summer. We still love you Geno.

The Pens would get a power play and keep their streak of scoring a power play goal in six, now seven, straight games alive. Philippe Boucher would score to put the Pens up 3-1. The Pens would give the Canes a power play with a little over two minutes left in the game. Not a good move. This is the Canes team that likes to score big goals late, no need to give them more opportunity. Unfortunately they would get another goal to cut the lead to 3-2 with a little over a minute left. Fortunately, the Pens held the Canes off and won 3-2.

Series 1-0 Pens. Looks good to us.

Game recap

Aftermath: Penguins 3, Hurricanes 2

- The game was pretty entertaining with some fast hockey but we don't think we saw the best out of the Pens. We won't speak on the Canes because we haven't watched them enough, but it's not like they played badly. The Pens defense could be a bit better and we expect the power play to look better as the series goes on. We also felt there were a few lazy, sloppy issues but nothing alarming by any means.

- Baseball is going to drive us absolutely nuts. We had to wait for what felt like forever for the Pirates game to end and then the post-game show to end. It's now midnight and the Pens post-game show just got over. We know people still like the Pirates and we always watch how they're doing, but when there's playoff hockey going on, we don't want to see Pirates baseball. Yeah, they beat the worst team in the NL, congrats. And even better yet, there's baseball Thursday and Saturday for the next games. Yee-haw! Just turn over to FSN after the game for the Pens post-game. Yeah right.

- Were we the only ones who saw a few "dirty" things going on? It wasn't a lot and we suppose it happens all the time but we guess we're in the mindset that we're not playing the Flyers or even the Caps. We should probably feel lucky for that.

- A little bit on the same line, Eric Staal decided to shove Fleury's stick away more than once before they scored their goal. Most people, including Fleury, thought that should have been a penalty. Yeah, we know, they can't catch them all but if it leads to a goal it's a little upsetting.

- We'll have to find the video of Marc-Andre Fleury in the post-game press conference. What an accent first of all, and second he was a little confused on whether to use the word bum when describing that late save on Eric Staal. No guarantees on tonight though, we have to go soon.

- Big Ben was in the house praising Sidney Crosby. Was it just us or did Ben look...a little chubby in the face? Someone been eating too much cheesecake? James Farrior was also in the house but of course Versus wouldn't show you that. Seth said in his live blog that Ben got a nice applause but Farrior received the better of the two. Hmmm? The Steelers, minus James Harrison, will head to the White House on Thursday. If you haven't read his quotes on this, we'll try to find them later. Kind of weird and doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Pens coverage at Post-Gazette

How are we supposed to wait until Thursday for the next game?! What a cruel schedule.

Go Pens!

Pens win Game 4, Tie series at 2

Wooooooo! We hope we get to start two more posts like that because we have a series. The Pens once again played strong and beat the Caps 5-3 to tie the series at 2-2. Things didn't look good less than a minute into the series when Fleury let in a pretty soft goal and just like that the Caps were up 1-0. The Pens wouldn't stay down for long though and on a power play, Gonchar shot a slapper from the blue line to tie it up at 1. From there on out the Pens played pretty damn well, including holding Alexander Ovechkin to only two shots. When has that ever happened? The Pens would end up getting five goals from five different players including Bill Guerin and Max Talbot.

Short recap from us and probably like that for the next game or two. Gotta get some sleep for a busy couple of days.

Game recap

Aftermath: Penguins 5, Capitals 3

- Have the Pens figured out Varlamov? His coach thought four of his five goals were questionably soft. This is the first game in the post-season he's allowed more than three goals. With a game tonight less than 24 hours after last night's, we're hoping they have or that fatigue will be an issue. Time to steal a game on Washington ice.

- Alexander Ovechkin's knee to knee hit on Sergei Gonchar was obviously a topic of discussion. Ovie isn't exactly an angel on the ice and has been known to take runs at people. Was this one of those times? He's friends with Gonchar so you could argue it was an accident based on that but to us that's not enough to say Ovie wouldn't do it. It sure looked like he stuck his leg out to us and at the very least it should have been a knee on knee penalty. Instead he gets a tripping penalty. What a joke. The league will review it and decide if any action should be taken. He better at least get fined for that. We highly doubt they'll suspend him only for the fact that he's AO, which is sad.

- Gonchar's loss will be felt but the Pens can still win without him. Someone has to step up. The Pens have the momentum going into Washington and they need to keep it that way. Hopefully the injury isn't as bad as it seems.

- The Pens getting goals from five different players is extremely promising. They were having trouble getting scoring from anyone not named Crosby. The whole team needs to contribute in order for them to be successful. We now need Kunitz to get a goal.

- What is it with Max Talbot and big goals? He sure knows when to score them. He's not who you think of to get you a big goal but he sure can come through for you. He had a couple of chances before he scored the Pens' fifth goal to put the game away and he said Geno shook his head at him. We think Geno forgave him after that goal.

- The Pens holding Ovie to only two shots is pretty amazing. That doesn't happen very often.

The Pens need to ride the momentum into Washington for Game 5 and keep getting to net and throw as many shots at Varlamov as possible. Taking the game in Washington could be the end of this series and the chance for the Pens to clinch at home.

Game preview

Go Pens!