Penguins Off Life Support!

The Pittsburgh Penguins have been taken off life support and are well on the way to recovery, with their series turning game 3 win.

The Penguins and Red Wings provided the viewing public and the millions at home, the most exciting game of this season's Stanley Cup playoffs. This was the type of game, that everyone had expected from these two teams going into the series.

Sidney Crosby put on a clinic, punctuated by his 2 goal performance. He put the team on his shoulders and shook life back into this series. He looked like a man possessed, with the sole mission of proving he's still the best player in the world. He also continued his ever developing chemistry with Marian Hossa, who has been a two way fiend in these playoffs and assisted on both Crosby goals.

The Penguins physically abused the Wings, lead by the ever scary and intensity driven Gary Roberts. The Penguins took their cue from Roberts and pounded the Wings in the corners and all over the ice. Brooks Orpik, alone made 4 bone crushing hits in one of the most physical performances I have ever seen.

The physical play displayed by the Penguins might have delivered a server blow to the Red Wings hopes, with perennial crease disturber Tomas Holmstrom, leaving the game with an undisclosed lower body injury. He spent the whole night battling with 6 foot 7 Hal Gill, taking several cross checks to the back in the process. If he is to miss any significant time, this would be a crushing blow for the Red Wings.

Marc-Andre Fleury rebounded from two mediocre performances and backstopped the Penguins with the poise that the Pens had become reliant upon through the first three rounds.

The Red Wings will take consolation out of this game, that they played well enough to have a legitimate claim that they could have won this game. They rallied twice in this game and hit a post at the end that could have tied the game up. The Red Wings were not dominated, like the Penguins were in the first two games, which just goes to show how great of a team they truly are.

This series is far from over, with a win on Saturday the Penguins will tie the series 2-2 and will have taken all momentum away for the once unbeatable looking Red Wings. The Penguins will go into game 5 in Detroit with the belief they can beat them. However, if the Pens were to lose on Saturday, the Penguins will surely start believing that this just isn't their year. I for one believe the Penguins will win game 4 and make this series one of the best in NHL history.

On a solemn note.....

Promising Vancouver Canucks defenseman Luc Bourdon, was tragically killed today, whilst riding his Motorcycle in his native New Brunswick Canada. Luc and the Penguins own Kristopher Letang played together for Val-d'Or and Canada during their Junior careers and formed a formidable duo.

This 21 year old young man, will be sorely missed by anyone who watched him develop into one of NHL brightest prospects. My thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family. I hope the Canucks will find a suitable way to celebrate Luc's life. I suggest doing what the Penguins did and retire his number to the rafters.

R.I.P Luc Bourdon 2/16/1987 - 5/29/2008

Are the Penguins Dead?

The Pittsburgh Penguins again were taken to task by the Detroit Red Wings, in Monday night's Stanley Cup Final's game two. Again, the Pens were outclassed and outplayed by the veteran Wings team that are sitting pretty with half their job done. But, this series is far from over and anyone who thinks a sweep is a foregone conclusion, is setting themselves up for a rude awakening.

The Red Wings have without a doubt have received the lion's share of the calls, this is likely to change in Pittsburgh. The home team usually gets the benefit of the doubt from the referees and that should continue as the Pens head home.

Pens coach Michel Therrien during last night's post game press conference, called attention to the obstruction and interference perpetrated by the Wings in game two. This is the type of gamesmanship that normally results in more positive calls being made by the refs.

You have to take some hope out of the fact the players didn't go down quietly. At the end of the 3rd period the Penguins look like they have finally had enough. You may not condone the cheap shots that Gary Roberts and Max Talbot took on the recently returned Johan Franzen, but it sure shows that they aren't going to just go down without a fight.

The Pens players in their post game comments singled out Niklas Kronwall and Chris Osgood for their underhand tactics. Kronwall has been taking liberties, by leaving his feet on his open ice checks. His actions should be resulting in charging calls, but none seem imminent. Chris Osgood has been flopping around the ice and took a Olympics worthy dive in the dying minutes of the game, in a classless attempt to get call in a game that was already over and done with.

Lets put the manner of how the Wings schooled the Penguins in the first two games aside. The Red Wings in essence have only held serve and it is generally expected, that the home teams should win at home. However, usually the team that wins the Stanley Cup, is the first team to win on the road and we haven't seen that yet.

The Penguins need to come out in game 3 with the same intensity they had at the end of game 2 and really physically punish the Red Wings, who up until now, have not seen any kind of pressure from the Pens. The Pens if they are to win this series, quite simply have to win both games at home, otherwise they will be watching Lidstrom and Co. drinking from the cup.

That may seem like a tall order, for a team that has been owned in the first two games, but lets not forget the Penguins haven't lost a home game since February. If the Penguins can pull off what right now seems an impossible task and win both home games, the series will be wiped clean and the cup will be decided by a new best of 3 series. The Penguins will have the momentum going in and the pressure would be squarely on the Red Wings shoulders.

The hope may be fading but the hope is still there and if the Penguins can win game 3 that will go a long way to given the confidence they are sorely lacking coming out of game 2.

If experience tells us anything, an angry Pittsburgh team is a dangerous team, just ask the Philadelphia Flyers and Derian Hatcher and no one should doubt that the Penguins are one pissed off team right now.

Pens Schooled by Experienced Wings!

The display the Pittsburgh Penguins put on last night in game one of the Stanley Cup Finals, can be summed up with one word, disgraceful. But that would make for a short blog, so I will attempt to dissect their awful performance. Lets not take anything away from the master class the veteran Detroit Red Wings put on last night, but the Penguins didn't make it difficult on them either.

The Pens defense was overwhelmed by the fast forechecking Wings' forwards, who were continually winning the battles to the puck. A perfect example of this lead to the 2nd goal, when Hal Gill was out muscled by wings crease invader Tomas Holmstrom.

The Pens offense was nonexistent, they were pressured all night long by Lidstrom and Co. and were turning the puck over like it was going out of fashion. The Pens stars took the night off, from Crosby and Malkin being virtually invisible, to Jordan Staal uncharacteristically turning the puck over and going for an inopportune line change, that directly lead to the game's opening goal.

The game was put out of reach when the Red Wings scored their third goal early in the 3rd period, killing any possible comeback by the Penguins, not that they showed much sign of it anyway.

The only saving grace for the Penguins was the continued excellent two way performance of impending free agent, Marian Hossa. He has been a beast for the Penguins in the playoffs and with every passing performance, inching closer to persuading Penguins GM Ray Shero to pony up the cash, to re-sign him in the summer.

No one should be surprised by this performance, as the Penguins have made a habit of under performing in games ones of these playoffs. However, in the past they have gotten away with it, because the opposition were of lesser caliber. The Red Wings are on the same level as the Penguins and rightly punished them for their lackluster performance.

If the Penguins are going to compete for the Cup they must turn things around and come out firing on all cylinders in game two. It may be the homer in me, but I believe they will win game two and go on to win the series in 6. I believe although the Red Wings have the experience, over the long haul of the series, the Penguins have too much firepower and youthful exuberance for the aging Red wings and Chris Osgood to withstand.

Return From Blogosphere Oblivion!

After a long hiatus from blogging I am returning with a bang. I've updated the look of my page and decided to focus primarily on my beloved Pittsburgh Penguins.

After spending my time searching for a good Penguins blog, I found that they are slim and far between. So I decided I would try and fill that void.

I will continue to make comments on the odd non-Penguins development, but my main focus will be on Penguins' trades, rumours, news and all things Black and Gold.

I hope you guys like my new format and enjoy what I have to share with you all. Feel free to comment and join in.