Pensburgh.blogspot.com has joined forces with SBNation and can now be read at
PENSBURGH.COM
Please update your links, and if you aren't on my blogroll yet ask and ye shall receive.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Pens drop Caps 4-3 in OT
It's safe to say at this point that every time the Caps and Pens faceoff, you can expect a fight from Georges Laraque and Donald Brashear. Those guys genuinely hate one another.
What you can't predict is a come from behind victory. Frankly, I hate games like this. They leave me cursing and yelling and screaming one minute, and then cheering and praising and hailing the next. If my neighbors were actually capable of hearing, they'd think I had a combination of a bi-polar disorder and turrets.
Regardless, Pens took down the Caps in overtime tonight by the score of 4-3 in front of the home crowd. Crosby had two assists on the night, with some goal-age coming from the otherwise silent Sydor and new-comer Jeff Taffe. The game-winner in OT came courtesy of Sergei Gonchar who hit a wide open net on a slapper from the point via a Crosby dish. Get used to seeing Sydor on the lines again, as key defenseman Mark Eaton is out with a torn ACL. Therrien has so far experimented with who he plans to pair with Gonch, with Scuderi looking like the go-to-guy at the moment. If his juggling of forwards is any evidence to his ADD tendencies when it comes to line formations, then I'd expect to see every D-man on the team get a fair shot in pairing with Gonch.
The Pens played a very disciplined game tonight. However, much to the power play unit's chagrin so did the Caps. Each team only had two power play attempts and a total of three penalties on the game (including the Brashear/Laraque first period dance.) Pens went one for two with the man advantage, converting in a dire situation in the closing minutes of the third to send the game to OT. The Pens' PK unit killed penalties at an OJ Simpson-like 100 percent. Although not on the PK line, Gary Roberts explained how he'd do it if he was.
Pens are off now till the outdoor extravaganza that is the NHL Winter Classic. Or, as many are calling it, The Ice Bowl. Should Ty Conklin get the start in net for the Pens, this will be his second appearance in an outdoor game. Conk was in goal for Edmonton in the 4-3 loss to Montreal back in 2003.
What you can't predict is a come from behind victory. Frankly, I hate games like this. They leave me cursing and yelling and screaming one minute, and then cheering and praising and hailing the next. If my neighbors were actually capable of hearing, they'd think I had a combination of a bi-polar disorder and turrets.
Regardless, Pens took down the Caps in overtime tonight by the score of 4-3 in front of the home crowd. Crosby had two assists on the night, with some goal-age coming from the otherwise silent Sydor and new-comer Jeff Taffe. The game-winner in OT came courtesy of Sergei Gonchar who hit a wide open net on a slapper from the point via a Crosby dish. Get used to seeing Sydor on the lines again, as key defenseman Mark Eaton is out with a torn ACL. Therrien has so far experimented with who he plans to pair with Gonch, with Scuderi looking like the go-to-guy at the moment. If his juggling of forwards is any evidence to his ADD tendencies when it comes to line formations, then I'd expect to see every D-man on the team get a fair shot in pairing with Gonch.
The Pens played a very disciplined game tonight. However, much to the power play unit's chagrin so did the Caps. Each team only had two power play attempts and a total of three penalties on the game (including the Brashear/Laraque first period dance.) Pens went one for two with the man advantage, converting in a dire situation in the closing minutes of the third to send the game to OT. The Pens' PK unit killed penalties at an OJ Simpson-like 100 percent. Although not on the PK line, Gary Roberts explained how he'd do it if he was.
Pens are off now till the outdoor extravaganza that is the NHL Winter Classic. Or, as many are calling it, The Ice Bowl. Should Ty Conklin get the start in net for the Pens, this will be his second appearance in an outdoor game. Conk was in goal for Edmonton in the 4-3 loss to Montreal back in 2003.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Penguins vs Caps preview - Crosby vs Ovechkin II
Tonight the Penguins come back from the holiday break hoping to make it two in a row against the Caps at home in Pittsburgh. As is the case in any Sidvechkin game, the NHL hype couldn't be greater. Never mind the fact that if the playoffs started tomorrow both the Caps and Penguins would be watching the games from home.
I don't want to turn this into a who's better match either. I really hate the constant Sid vs Ovechkin battle. Personally, I feel Ovechkin is lost on the Caps. He's an amazing player trapped on a crappy team. Similar to Sid's predicament in his rookie season, the team is struggling to get out of last place in the conference. However, unlike the Pens' 2005 season, the Caps failed to rebound the following year. Or even the year after that. Comparatively speaking, the Caps are the Pittsburgh Pirates of hockey. Ovechkin is to the Caps and Freddy Sanchez is to the Pirates. Rookie of the Year and Slugger of the Year can't do it all.
Ty Conklin has really been holding his own in net, much to my surprise, but I'd expect Sabu in net tonight. Conklin goaltended that almost unspeakable display in the 5-4 Bruins shootout match that nearly led to a loss, but we'll just remember that as a win and move on from there.
Then there was the other 4-2 win later in the week against - you guessed it, Boston. Seems Therrien wants to make Conklin the go-to-guy for Boston matchups. Don't blame him when the kid goes 2-0 in two games against them...
Sid is both hot and cold so far this month. Clearly not his best play of the season, but after all, he's only human. Perhaps the thrill of competition against Ovechkin will really help Sid take off again.
Scary Gary nets two in the last game against the Bruins. Laraque gets another. Now all we need is the first two lines to score. I don't know about you, but I'm missing Max Talbot right about now. Some quality scoring depth would work wonders for this team. That and some solid goaltending...
Lastly, when talking about the aspect of a pattern and potentially falling into a somewhat superstitious state, let's not consider the last six games. (I'll just throw it out there anyways.) If you needed further explanation, then here you go.
L-W-L-W-L-W-(?)
Here's to a W...
I don't want to turn this into a who's better match either. I really hate the constant Sid vs Ovechkin battle. Personally, I feel Ovechkin is lost on the Caps. He's an amazing player trapped on a crappy team. Similar to Sid's predicament in his rookie season, the team is struggling to get out of last place in the conference. However, unlike the Pens' 2005 season, the Caps failed to rebound the following year. Or even the year after that. Comparatively speaking, the Caps are the Pittsburgh Pirates of hockey. Ovechkin is to the Caps and Freddy Sanchez is to the Pirates. Rookie of the Year and Slugger of the Year can't do it all.
Ty Conklin has really been holding his own in net, much to my surprise, but I'd expect Sabu in net tonight. Conklin goaltended that almost unspeakable display in the 5-4 Bruins shootout match that nearly led to a loss, but we'll just remember that as a win and move on from there.
Then there was the other 4-2 win later in the week against - you guessed it, Boston. Seems Therrien wants to make Conklin the go-to-guy for Boston matchups. Don't blame him when the kid goes 2-0 in two games against them...
Sid is both hot and cold so far this month. Clearly not his best play of the season, but after all, he's only human. Perhaps the thrill of competition against Ovechkin will really help Sid take off again.
Scary Gary nets two in the last game against the Bruins. Laraque gets another. Now all we need is the first two lines to score. I don't know about you, but I'm missing Max Talbot right about now. Some quality scoring depth would work wonders for this team. That and some solid goaltending...
Lastly, when talking about the aspect of a pattern and potentially falling into a somewhat superstitious state, let's not consider the last six games. (I'll just throw it out there anyways.) If you needed further explanation, then here you go.
L-W-L-W-L-W-(?)
Here's to a W...
Monday, December 24, 2007
Why does Don Cherry even talk?
If you've ever seen a Hockey Night in Canada broadcast then you've no doubt seen the likes of one Don Cherry. And, if you've seen this said 'broadcaster' (and I use the term loosely), then you'd see how the so-called eccentric and outlandish host loves to take the focus off of hockey and place it on himself and his drag queen-like wardrobe.
Seated next to Don Cherry is Ron MacLean. Watch MacLean for five minutes and you just know the guy is a walking encyclopedia of hockey knowledge. Not to mention, from stories and books I've read, he's also the more approachable one of the two. Coincidentally, he's also the lesser paid.
Don Cherry is notorious for going off topic, ranting and raving about anything but hockey. He is, on a similar note, known for doing just the same about a specific athlete or team. In Sid's rookie season Cherry was never short to say with utmost sincerity that he felt Crosby was taking dives. He even went on to say how much of a baby Crosby was. Although in some instances it's hard to say Sid wasn't going for an Oscar, there were also many times when high-sticking calls went uncalled. All arguments aside, Cherry just loves to be right.
And so this brings me to a recent edition of Hockey Night in Canada. In last night's airing, Don Cherry explained how he felt Chris Simon's stomp on Jarkko Ruutu was justified because he "asked for it" and "got it."
In fact, Cherry had a meltdown on television. Even MacLean got to a point where he threw his arms in the air, rolled his eyes and said without saying, "Please get me off the air with this guy." Whenever MacLean would make a sensible hockey argument I.E. Explaining how Cherry had no knowledge to suspect the Islanders' Ted Nolan of trying to undermine his former Buffalo Sabres club. With that, Cherry wanted to end the segment two minutes sooner than planned.
Cherry was quoted as saying, "You ruined the whole thing." Too bad he feels MacLean can't impose his own views. If the show operated in a non-biased reporting sense, then Cherry wouldn't get a word out.
About a week about, Hockey Night in Canada ran a special on Boston's Andrew Ference. (You may remember him from Sid's first fight.) Regardless, the special was not on Ferrence's play on fighting abilities, but instead on his humanitarian work with children in developing countries during the off-season. Rather than condone Ference for his actions that continue to give hockey a good reputation, Cherry said, "“That was sickening last week by the way."
MacLean, clearly caught in the middle of a Cherry's bi-polar world replied with a confused “What? What is going on with you here?”
“What is this stuff?” Cherry asked. “It's Hockey Night in Canada. And we're talking about saving the world and all that stuff. Let's talk about hockey.”
Funny...take a look at this picture and ask me if the guy can talk non-biased, fact driven hockey.
Didn't think so.
Read the entire article about Don Cherry's BS antics here
And if you ever doubted how Cherry loves to turn the conversation towards him and hog all of the attention, here is a good example. In addition to how he loves to stand by his nonsensical words, this clip followed insults he made on Russian National hockey.
Seated next to Don Cherry is Ron MacLean. Watch MacLean for five minutes and you just know the guy is a walking encyclopedia of hockey knowledge. Not to mention, from stories and books I've read, he's also the more approachable one of the two. Coincidentally, he's also the lesser paid.
Don Cherry is notorious for going off topic, ranting and raving about anything but hockey. He is, on a similar note, known for doing just the same about a specific athlete or team. In Sid's rookie season Cherry was never short to say with utmost sincerity that he felt Crosby was taking dives. He even went on to say how much of a baby Crosby was. Although in some instances it's hard to say Sid wasn't going for an Oscar, there were also many times when high-sticking calls went uncalled. All arguments aside, Cherry just loves to be right.
And so this brings me to a recent edition of Hockey Night in Canada. In last night's airing, Don Cherry explained how he felt Chris Simon's stomp on Jarkko Ruutu was justified because he "asked for it" and "got it."
In fact, Cherry had a meltdown on television. Even MacLean got to a point where he threw his arms in the air, rolled his eyes and said without saying, "Please get me off the air with this guy." Whenever MacLean would make a sensible hockey argument I.E. Explaining how Cherry had no knowledge to suspect the Islanders' Ted Nolan of trying to undermine his former Buffalo Sabres club. With that, Cherry wanted to end the segment two minutes sooner than planned.
Cherry was quoted as saying, "You ruined the whole thing." Too bad he feels MacLean can't impose his own views. If the show operated in a non-biased reporting sense, then Cherry wouldn't get a word out.
About a week about, Hockey Night in Canada ran a special on Boston's Andrew Ference. (You may remember him from Sid's first fight.) Regardless, the special was not on Ferrence's play on fighting abilities, but instead on his humanitarian work with children in developing countries during the off-season. Rather than condone Ference for his actions that continue to give hockey a good reputation, Cherry said, "“That was sickening last week by the way."
MacLean, clearly caught in the middle of a Cherry's bi-polar world replied with a confused “What? What is going on with you here?”
“What is this stuff?” Cherry asked. “It's Hockey Night in Canada. And we're talking about saving the world and all that stuff. Let's talk about hockey.”
Funny...take a look at this picture and ask me if the guy can talk non-biased, fact driven hockey.
Didn't think so.
Read the entire article about Don Cherry's BS antics here
And if you ever doubted how Cherry loves to turn the conversation towards him and hog all of the attention, here is a good example. In addition to how he loves to stand by his nonsensical words, this clip followed insults he made on Russian National hockey.
Pens drop Bruins 4-2
No, Sid didn't fight again. He didn't score either. He did, however, tally an assist on the night in the Pens' 4-2 victory over the Bruins.
Tonight's scoring was led by what some may deem an unlikely roster. How often do you see Gary Roberts score not only once, but twice in a game? Not to be out-done, Georges Laraque said he wanted a piece of the pie too with a goal in the second. Malkin - well, he scores frequently. In this game he did so just to secure the win.
Notch another win for Ty Conklin as well. Conk is 2-0 on the year, despite his poor efforts to relieve Sabourin in the Flyers beat down two weeks ago. Tonight's win against the Bahstonians was by far an easier game to handle than the 5-4 shootout win four days ago that nearly turned into an upset.
The Pens head into the holiday break with another win, putting their record at 7-5 on the month with only two more games remaining in December.
The Winter Classic is building a lot of hype, and I really look forward to what the overall take on it is on a day otherwise known for its college bowl games. Rumor has it the Pens will play outside again next year, only against their cross-state rivals on neutral territory on state college grounds. Check out the article here. (Thanks to The Sidney Crosby Show for finding it.)
Perhaps this will lead to more outdoor games along similar lines. Although I'm sure a Panthers vs Lightning outdoor game is completely out of the question, I don't see why a battle of Ontario wouldn't be considered.
The Pens return to action on Thursday against the Capitals. Game time 7:30 p.m.
Tonight's scoring was led by what some may deem an unlikely roster. How often do you see Gary Roberts score not only once, but twice in a game? Not to be out-done, Georges Laraque said he wanted a piece of the pie too with a goal in the second. Malkin - well, he scores frequently. In this game he did so just to secure the win.
Notch another win for Ty Conklin as well. Conk is 2-0 on the year, despite his poor efforts to relieve Sabourin in the Flyers beat down two weeks ago. Tonight's win against the Bahstonians was by far an easier game to handle than the 5-4 shootout win four days ago that nearly turned into an upset.
The Pens head into the holiday break with another win, putting their record at 7-5 on the month with only two more games remaining in December.
The Winter Classic is building a lot of hype, and I really look forward to what the overall take on it is on a day otherwise known for its college bowl games. Rumor has it the Pens will play outside again next year, only against their cross-state rivals on neutral territory on state college grounds. Check out the article here. (Thanks to The Sidney Crosby Show for finding it.)
Perhaps this will lead to more outdoor games along similar lines. Although I'm sure a Panthers vs Lightning outdoor game is completely out of the question, I don't see why a battle of Ontario wouldn't be considered.
The Pens return to action on Thursday against the Capitals. Game time 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
My Return - Pens go 2-2
I'm back from my Northern ventures. In the past week I've tried to pack as much excitement and activity into seven days that I was hardly able to keep up on the news. In my visits to Toronto, Ottawa, Niagara and Buffalo, I was fortunate enough to at least have comprehensive hockey coverage to at least keep me in the loop of things.
Not at all shocked by Chris Simon's stomp on Ruutu. There had to have been something mentally wrong with a player to begin with if he's going to take a baseball swing at another's face. Last season I partially thought to myself, "Well, the trainers did say he acted out of character in part to a concussion sustained on the previous hit. Even still, that seemed like a stretch to me. But now I think it's safe to say that Chris Simon is certifiably insane.
Pens were victims to their first scoreless game of the season thanks in part to Lunqvidst and the Rangers. As upset as I was to see such a blemish come from the hands of the Rangers, I was just as equally happy to see Gaborik pop five goals past "King" Henrik a few nights later. The King looked more like a peasant.
Oh yes, holy crap, Crosby throws down! At first when I was checking a score online I was totally surprised to see Crosby in the box for a five minute fighting major. Before midnight hit I was able to find a TV and watch the action myself. You know what? The kid held his own. At first I thought he was a little late to drop his gloves, especially the right gauntlet he seemed to launch towards Ference's face. All in all though, the kid held his own. I don't care what anyone says; if you send the other guy away to the dressing room with blood trickling down, you made your point.
And finally Friday's game against the Islanders proved to be a disappointment. Why can't the Pens win games in their division? This is really going to kill them come the end of the season and the playoff race. Four wins...FOUR WINS out of the team's 17 are in the division. On a similar note, ten losses for a Atlantic Division record of 4-10-1. Not exactly what you'd call impressive.
But we have tonight against the Bruins to worry about. In their last meeting earlier this week Ty Conklin tallied his first win with the Pens, barely hanging on for the shootout victory. The Bruins managed to squeak a point out of that one, whereby at one time they were losing 4-0. Thanks to a collapsing Pens D and stupid penalties, the Bruins rallied back with two PP goals, one shorty and an even strength to send it to overtime and ultimately a shootout. Kudos to Conklin.
Happy to be home after a crazy week of traveling. I'll have some pics up soon, as well as some news as to where you can read Pensburgh in 2008. Till then, everyone enjoy the weekend, the holidays and the time spent with family. And remember - Ice Bowl at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo on January 1st, 1p.m. on NBC.
Not at all shocked by Chris Simon's stomp on Ruutu. There had to have been something mentally wrong with a player to begin with if he's going to take a baseball swing at another's face. Last season I partially thought to myself, "Well, the trainers did say he acted out of character in part to a concussion sustained on the previous hit. Even still, that seemed like a stretch to me. But now I think it's safe to say that Chris Simon is certifiably insane.
Pens were victims to their first scoreless game of the season thanks in part to Lunqvidst and the Rangers. As upset as I was to see such a blemish come from the hands of the Rangers, I was just as equally happy to see Gaborik pop five goals past "King" Henrik a few nights later. The King looked more like a peasant.
Oh yes, holy crap, Crosby throws down! At first when I was checking a score online I was totally surprised to see Crosby in the box for a five minute fighting major. Before midnight hit I was able to find a TV and watch the action myself. You know what? The kid held his own. At first I thought he was a little late to drop his gloves, especially the right gauntlet he seemed to launch towards Ference's face. All in all though, the kid held his own. I don't care what anyone says; if you send the other guy away to the dressing room with blood trickling down, you made your point.
And finally Friday's game against the Islanders proved to be a disappointment. Why can't the Pens win games in their division? This is really going to kill them come the end of the season and the playoff race. Four wins...FOUR WINS out of the team's 17 are in the division. On a similar note, ten losses for a Atlantic Division record of 4-10-1. Not exactly what you'd call impressive.
But we have tonight against the Bruins to worry about. In their last meeting earlier this week Ty Conklin tallied his first win with the Pens, barely hanging on for the shootout victory. The Bruins managed to squeak a point out of that one, whereby at one time they were losing 4-0. Thanks to a collapsing Pens D and stupid penalties, the Bruins rallied back with two PP goals, one shorty and an even strength to send it to overtime and ultimately a shootout. Kudos to Conklin.
Happy to be home after a crazy week of traveling. I'll have some pics up soon, as well as some news as to where you can read Pensburgh in 2008. Till then, everyone enjoy the weekend, the holidays and the time spent with family. And remember - Ice Bowl at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo on January 1st, 1p.m. on NBC.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
HOF
As I venture off to the Hockey Hall of Fame this week I don't necessarily expect to miss games, but I do fear updating here may be a bit difficult. So rather than promise and not come through, I'll return to action the weekend of the 22nd. I'll continue from thereon in - but with a new year comes some new changes. Keep an eye out for a newly formatted blog, as Pensburgh makes the jump to one of the biggest sports blog communities on the net.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)