Pens/Rags preview

This should be a great game.

Both teams are playing pretty well, with the Penguins coming off a shutout of Northwest division leaders Calgary.
The Rangers lost to the lowly Atlanta Thrashers 5-4in their last game, after leading that game 4-1.
That one point could be the difference between 5th and 6th in the division.

I've read that Tortorella lost his mind on the Rangers after they blew a 3 goal lead - generally when a coach does that it rallies the troops - hopefully it has the opposite effect.


It will be interesting to see Sean Avery in a blueshirt again - I can't wait until Gill or Orpik take him into the boards at mach 4.
One of my favorite moments during the playoffs last year was when Gill and Laraque took on Avery at the end of game 2 - when Avery looked up, you could see the look on his face was oh crap - get me the hell out of here.

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

and then he broke his spleen


Check it out around the 5:40 mark

Anyhoo, it will just be good to see someone rough the jerkwad up like old times

This just in - telegraph for Mr. Avery


My fearless prediction:

Pens 5
Rags 2

jeez - save it for the showers boys

Pens/Flamers preview

This is kind of a weird matchup for this time a of year - but whatev.

We'll take on all comers

The Flamers are going to win the Northwest division, but have been playing so-so hockey lately.
That makes sense, as they are just playing to not get injured before the dance.
Calgary has one of the elite goalies in the league, one of the most complete leaders in the league, and, is in my opinion, the toughest team - and the toughest to play against.
They are set up nicely to take a nice long playoff run.

But so are we

Since I last posted, the Pens easily took care of hot LA, and lost a close one to Philthy. The big reason the Flyers wins that game is because they clogged up the middle so well, and totally eliminated Gonchar on the PP - I'm glad we played them this close to the playoffs, so the coaching staff can figure out a way to counter what they did - just in case we meet them in the second season.

It seemed we couldn't stay out of the penalty box if we actually tried - which i don't think we did.

Biron played well above his actual talent level - that will happen with goalies form time to time.

Crosby and Malkin = 0 shots
First game in 12 that we didn't register a point.
12-0-2 run snapped

Last night the 'Canes won (again) to leapfrog the Pens and push us down to 6th place in the East.
According to www.sportsclubstats.com we still have a 95.7% chance to make the playoffs - which basically means we still have work to do.

If I (and the NHL) got their wish, that is where we would finish the season.

I want the Caps in the first round - it wouldn't get any better than that, my friends.

Here's a few pics to get the juices flowing for the Flamers game:

Thrashers/Pens preview

Tonight the Pens host the red-hot Atlanta Thrashers.

Red-hot and Atlanta Thrashers are not words not usually seen in the same sentence.

Atlanta has won a franchise best 6 games in a row!! This partially without the services of their best player. Kovalchuk may be back in the lineup for tonight's game.

The Thrashers have outscored opponents 23-9 during the winning streak.

Don't you love facing a loser team that is over-achieving at this time of the year?

Kari Lehtonen is (finally) living up to expectations - tonight is a good time to bring him back to earth.

The Craps fired 50 shots at him last night, so lets pepper the poor SOB again.

In that game, I got my wish, and the Thrashers scored a lot against the Crapitols.

Hopefully they scored themselves out, and we feast on Southern fowl tonight.

Geno has been sick lately, so that explains his lack of productivity - it reminds me of the last few games against the Flyers in the Conference Finals, and the first two games in the Stanley Cup Finals agains the Red Wings last year.

Sid looks like he is having fun again, so it wouldn't surprise me at all if he overtakes Malkin in the scoring race - should be fun to watch.

On a side note to the Thrashers:

There's only room for one team with baby blue jerseys in this league - ours are WAY nicer, have history, and we were here first, so go back to your "awesome" goofy third jerseys:

BAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Actually there is one possible way for these things to look good:

GO PENS

EDIT:
Ilya Kovalchuk did not make the trip to Pittsburgh, and will not play tonight.

EDIT Part Deux:
Apparently Johan "Moose" Hedberg will get the start tonight. Can the stars align more perfectly for this game - hopefully we can take advantage.

Sens preview

The Senators are coming to town. Normally, this would be a tough tough game, but this year it's a little different ...
There's one thing on the Sens' mind right now:

Their respective handicaps

Ottawa has been a yearly powerhouse for almost a decade, but those days are gone.

There is, however, one reason to still fear this team:

If these guys decide to care, they can be one of the deadliest lines in hockey

Fortunately for the Eastern Conference, those days are few and far between

There may be only one reason to fear this team, but there are a few things that are actually interesting about them, and that is only because there are hot chicks involved:

and

Carrie Underwood and Hilary Duff aren't bad either ....lol

No, I'm not gay - it was a joke.....sheesh


There are three reasons I'm glad we face the Sens tomorrow:

1. They are a good team to start a 8 game homestand with - to build momentum

2. It's a good time to start Garon, and give Fleury a breather.

3. Above hot chicks possibly in attendance spectating the game


Unfortunately, I'll be out of town, so I won't be updating until Sunday evening