New Arena Update

The first building has been demolished to make room for the new arena. Here is a picture from the Pittsburgh Tribune Review of an unusal contruction mishap that occured while the building was being knocked down:

Crane 1, Silly Little Car 0

Finally Back

I've been unable to write for the last few weeks due to circumstance beyond my control...so here is a late analysis of the Pens/Sens playoff series:

Blah.

Enough said...

But seriously - Pittsburgh was outplayed from the very first drop of the puck. They looked dazed and confused for much of the series. This could have been due to the fact that they were being hit at every opportunity Ottawa had, lack of playoff experience, Therrien being badly outcoached or, most likely, a nasty combination of all three. Crosby played the last month on a broken foot. Whitney had surgery on his wrist from an injury the occured before the playoffs. That explains a couple of other issues...

As they always say, there is next season...

Ray Shero better get on the phone and find a couple of defensemen that are able to clear the puck out of the defensive zone and get it onto the stick of a forward. Oh, and where was Georges Laraque? There's been rumors flying around town that he was injured. His back may have been bothering him from mid March. All I know is that the Sens hit. And they hit hard. And they were not worried about any retribuion.

Ottawa is keeping up the same tempo in the New Jersey series too. This is a different team then the one that dropped out of the playoffs early in the past few years. Sens and Sabres in the Conference Finals is where my money is.

I will keep up with any news and ideas over the off season. Only 4 months until training camp opens!!

Live-Blogging Game 2

15:34 (1st T V timeout of the first period)

Nice start for the Pens. Ryan Whitney gets a power play goal 3 minutes into the first period. Power play goal. His first career playoff goal.

Refs are calling the game very tight. I'm curious to see if this is going to continue throughout the game.

Lots of hitting from both teams. The Sens were the only team hitting in game 1.

First bourbon and Pepsi almost down...

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15:38

Schubert bit the ice...

Talbot leveled him. No call by the refs is the right call

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15:41

First bourbon and Pepsi finished.

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15:47

Just an observation...Ed Olczyk (NBC color commentator for the game) is rooting for the Penguins. He's made several comments about how much better they look and how they are controlling the game. Got another bourbon and Pepsi during the break.

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16:00

Pens need to stop taking penalties...but at least they keep killing them!

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16:04

First intermission. Ottawa power play 0 for 3. Pens power play 1-1. Both teams are aggressive and ready to play (unlike game 1).

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16:14

The second period is about to start. I hope the Penguins are not feeling too comfortable. The first period was definately theirs but Ottawa is going to come out gunning for them. Hope the refs keep the game under control.

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16:25

Sens are bringing the physical game. Nice scrum behind the net. This is getting good!

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16:30

Spezza tied it up at 1. What a great sequence though. Wide open play of a 4 on 4.
Bourbon is gone...switching to vodka

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16:54

Another Senators power play and they scored a few seconds into it. 2-1 Ottawa. Maybe the Pens could get a power play? Sens have had 6. Pens only 1...

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16:57

And Ottawa goes back on the power play. Ruutu took a stupid penalty...

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17:01

Second period has come to a close. The score remains at 2-1 Ottawa. Pittsburgh is playing a much better game than in game 1. They are definately missing some discipline though. Stupid penalties could be the difference in this game. Pittsburgh needs to come out of the locker room a more disciplined team, ready to hit and ready to take over control of this game. If they don't, they will be down two games to zero.

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17:13

Third period is starting. Pens have to stay out of the box and keep being aggressive.

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17:!4

Armstrong and Comrie go at it. Not much of a fight but this could change the momentum.

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17:21

Roberts ties up the game with a power play goal. Tie game 2-2

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17:55

Pens win 4-3. Last 3 goals by Kelly (Ottawa), Staal and Crosby
Series is tied at 1 and heads to the Igloo for the next 2 games. Game 3 it Sunday at 6pm. Go Pens!

"It's a great day for hockey"

- Badger Bob

Let The Playoffs Begin!

The Penguins have landed in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2001. They will face the Ottawa Senators at Ottawa beginning on Wednesday 4/11/07. Games are scheduled as follows:

Wed 4/11 at Ottawa 7pm
Sat 4/14 at Ottawa 3pm
Sun 4/15 at Pittsburgh 6pm
Tue 4/17 at Pittsburgh 7pm
Thu 4/19 at Ottawa 7pm (if necessary)
Sun 4/22 at Pittsburgh 1pm (if necessary)
Tue 4/24 at Ottawa 7pm (if necessary)

Ottawa won home ice advantage for the first round even though they were tied with the Pens in points. The first tiebreaker is number of wins and the Senators had more in the regular season.

Sidney Crosby will be awarded the Art Ross trophy for his league leading total of 120 points. Crosby becomes the youngest player in NHL history to achieve this distinction. Since 1988 the trophy has been awarded to 3 different members if the Pittsburgh Penguins, Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and now Sidney, a total of 12 times. The rest of the NHL has won the award 7 times. Pittsburgh has been exceedingly lucky to have players of the caliber capable of leading the league in scoring so often. Maybe they should rename it the Penguins Trophy...

Here's a great article about Sid on Yahoo Sports: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_ylt=ArvYPOOcGzQxOc6..2OiBLJ7vLYF?slug=jo-crosby041007&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Evgeni Malkin, a leading candidate for rookie of the year, lead the league in rookie scoring. He finished the season second on the team with 85 points. Congrats to Geno...

Jordan Staal, a very pleasant surprise from the beginning of the season, is also a candidate for rookie of the year on his defensive abilities on the penalty kill. Staal also led the league in short-handed goals with 7.

The Pens won the season series with Ottawa by winning 3 out of 4 games. Two of the games were won in a shootout, one by one goal on April 5th and an early season loss at Mellon Arena on November 10th. While this is a good sign of how the playoffs will proceed, much is being made in the media about the huge experience advantage the Senators have in post-season play while the Pens have very little. In my opinion, this has no bearing on the outcome of the series. Veterans Gary Roberts and Mark Recchi, both have their name on the Stanley Cup, will be able to impart their knowledge on the younger players like Crosby, Staal and Malkin. And as head coach Michel Therrien has said for much of the season, "These guys are just out there to have fun. They are too young to realize what they are accomplishing and having too much fun to realize the pressure they are under."

The series should be highly intense with some terrific offense from both sides. Both teams like to play an up-tempo game and are capable of scoring goals practically at will. There has also been some bad blood recently between them so look for some major scrums throughout. Georges Laraque could become a valuable member of the team very quickly if the Sens start taking liberties with the Penguins stars.

All in all it should be a very entertaining, high profile first round series. My prediction: Penguins in 6.

Pens vs. Sens Tonight

The Penguins are in Ottawa to take on the Senators in what could be the most important game of the season. The Sens are 2 points up on the Pens in the Eastern Conference Playoff seedings. A win for Ottawa would wrap up at least a fourth place finish for themselves, thereby relegating the Pens to fifth place, out of home ice advanatage for the upcoming playoffs.

Ryan Whitney returns to the lineup tonight. He sat out the game against Buffalo on Tueday night with a sore groin. He was badly missed on the power play unit. Pittsburgh was not able to convert a power play in 8 attempts.

There was some extra-curricular activites going on the last time these two teams faced each other on March 18th. Sidney Crosby was accused of cursing at Senators head coach Bryan Murray. Much was said in the media about how Sid should not act in that sort of manner since he is an elite NHL player. Sid thinks that the matter is closed. We shall see tonight...

Crosby still leads the NHL in scoring with 117 points. San Jose's Joe Thornton is 8 behind with 109. Looks like Sid will wrap up the scoring title even if he has sub par games for the remaining 2. Advance congrats to Sid for this huge accomplishment!

Pens Take Over First Place

With a 4-2 win last night over the Boston Bruins the Pittsburgh Penguins have taken sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division. While this may not last longer than 22 hours - the Devils play the hapless Flyers tonight - it is a terrific accomplishment on top of everything else this team has been able to do this season.

Armstrong, Christensen (2) and Malkin had the Pens goals. Crosby padded his lead in the scoring race with 3 assists. Sid now has a 12 point lead over San Jose's Joe Thornton (source:Yahoo Sports) and looks very likely to win the regular season scoring title. See full story here:

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/penguins/s_500244.html

Laraque vs Brashear Mar 27, 2007

Here is the Larqaque, Brashear fight. Didn't last all that long but here it is anyway. Looks to me like Brashear was scared!

Pens Clinch Playoff Spot!

Tuesday night, in front of a Washington DC crowd that consisted of nearly half Penguins fans, Pittsburgh beat the Washington Capitals to claim their place in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Final score: 4-3.

The game started out on a sour note with the Caps scoring 2 first period goals on defensive breakdowns. Pens coach Michel Therrien wisely called a timeout after the second goal and got his teams heads back into the game. The Pens promptly scored 3 unanswered goals and added a fourth late in the second period to wrap up the game. Washington scored a third goal late in the third period that probably should have been called back for goaltender interference.

Pens goals were scored by Whitney (2), Crosby and Ouellet.

Read entire summary here: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_499918.html

Pens toughguy Laraque had a short brawl with Washington enforcer Donald Brashear. A couple of fists were exchanged and Laraque ended up being pulled down on top of Brashear. Bob Errey called it a win for Laraque on the FSN broadcast. Will post a video if one is available...

Check back later this week for a playoff preview!

Pittsburgh Penguins 2006-2007 Highlights

A little highlights video...

What a Weekend!

I've been away for the weekend and out of touch with the blogging but the Pens made the most of it by beating the Atlanta Thrashers 2 - 1 and pounding the Boston Bruins by the score of 5 - 0. This puts the Pens at 96 points but still in 5th place since New Jersey has a game in hand.

Upcoming games: Tuesday 3/27 - at Washington Capitals, Thursday 3/29 - at Boston Bruins and Saturday 3/31 - at Toronto Maple Leafs.

4 out of the remaining 6 games are on the road so the Pens will have a hard time trying to overtake the Devils. Only 2 of the 4 away games are against teams that are not fighting for a playoff spot - but I'm sure the Caps and Bruins would love to play spoiler...

Georges Laraque vs. Colton Orr

Just found this on YouTube.

Rangers 2, Penguins 1

The Rangers were out to show their division rivals that they deserve the playoff spot for which they are playing. A listless Penguins team fell the NY Rangers on a late period goal by the score of 2-1. Jaromir Jagr shot a puck toward the front of the Penguins goalie, Jocelyn Thibault that was inadvertently swept into the net by Pens defenseman Rob Scuderi. See full story here:

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/penguins/s_498586.html

So the winning streak comes to an end. The had won 5 consecutive games before losing to the Rangers last night. That's why they are called streaks though - they must always come to an end. Since they were playing their 5th game in 7 days it was easy to see that the Pens were a tired bunch. They managed only 22 shots over the course of the game while allowing the Rangers to put 42 on goal. Thibault had a heck of a game though stopping all but two for a stellar save percentage of .952.

Next up is a Thursday night game against the Islanders on Long Island...I predict that Pittsburgh will be back in their familiar playoff form and will easily shut down the Islanders by a score of 4-1.

Penguins 4 Senators 3 SO

The Penguins moved into 4th place in the Eastern Conference with a 4-3 shootout win over the Ottawa Senators. Unlike the last few shootouts the hero if this one was not Sidney Crosby or Eric Christensen, it was Jarkko Ruutu. The Pens scored only 1 goal in the shootout and that goal was scored by Ruutu. Marc Andre Fleury stopped all 3 Ottawa attempts.

This was a tremendous win that put the Pens only 2 points away from the Atlantic Division leading New Jersey Devils. See full story here: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/penguins/s_498439.html

I'm absolutely thrilled that the team is doing as well as they are. They are playing some hard-nosed, in your face hockey that has not been seen in these parts for about 15 years. All 4 lines go out and give 100% effort on each shift. They have looked like they've been playing playoff hockey for the past 8 or 10 games. The possibilities of going deep into the Stanley Cup Playoffs seem to be getting better with each passing game.

Welcome!!

What a great time to start blogging about the Pittsburgh Penguins!
I've been interested in getting something going online and the thought never crossed my mind to write about the Pens. So now that it has...

This is a great time to start blogging because of the new arena deal, the abundance of young talent present on the Penguins roster and the fact that the team is likely to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which start in April, for the first time since the 2000 - 2001 season.

I will make all attempts to write a little about every game. And if any issues with the new arena come to light I will give my opinion on those. Please feel free to leave any comments or feedback with the links provided below each post.

I there is anyone that would like to help with editorial comment or game reviews please feel free to email me at jimjar@gmail.com and we can discuss.

LET"S GO PENS!