Party Penguins:

Phlyer fan after the final buzzer

There's something about the Pens and an afternoon game that makes me nervous. The guys just take some time to warm up when playing during their regularly scheduled nap-time.

The first period was exciting.... the way falling down a really long hill full of boulders is exciting. Three goals by Philthy in the first period did not look good. They were taking advantage with numbers for the most part, drawing the Flower out of position and then planting it in the empty net. I'm here to tell ya, I was all ready for a game 7 and the ensuing ulcer when Marc Andre Fleury and the Pens got a severe case of comeback-itis.

So... the second period starts, and it's not looking much better. Until Maximus puts on his duking mitts and goes after the recently suspended Carcillo. It seemed like Mad Max lost the fight, but something about his willingness to drop the gloves and go after the Philthy bad-boy lit some kind of fire under Geno's butt, or maybe it was the 'Shhhh' that Max gave the crowd on the way to the box, I don't know, and I don't care. Malkin starts beating on the goal-door, and Feds is there to bang in the left-overs. More 'scrumming' (translation: tag-team wrestling) and more people get to sit in the box of shame.You could feel the change but weren't quite ready to put away the hara-kiri knives just yet. Then 2 minutes later Eats, of all people, scores on a 3 on 1 breakaway. 10 minutes after that Crosby whacks one out of the air at the goal mouth and it was a brand new game at the beginning of the third.

In the third, Sarge didn't wait too long to put in the game-winning goal and then it was REALLY Tums-time. Let's face it, the guys have had trouble sometimes holding a lead, and Flower had already been bitten for three. But The Tower of Flower Power really turned up the intensity a big notch in the third, making several great saves and one 'Oh my God how the hell can a human move/bend like that?' save on Lupul with just 5:39 left to go in the game.

That one will go into the scrap book.

For the cap-off goal El Capitan refused to give up on an empty netter that first bounced off the side of the cage. He corralled it back in, whipped around the net, and with Cookie making room, buried it (and the Phlyers) into the back of the net. Then there was the strange, almost speed-ball type of calm/hyper-tense waiting period until the final buzzer sounded and everyone could slump back into their couches and freak out their neighbors by screaming 'YES!!!!!!' Then there was the sweet picture of rubbing the Phlyer's fans faces in it by making their team walk the 'handshake line' right in front of them. Sure it'd be sweet to have that at home, but there's an evil thrill in having it done to them, in front of them. We wouldn't be human if we didn't feel it. For a brief second I almost felt sorry for the fans, but then I slapped myself. 'This is Philthy! Screw 'em!' We wouldn't be Yinzers if we didn't feel that.... By the way guys, you can keep the sign.



Get Ziggy With It: Even with the phenomenal face-off upswing of El Sid (63.5% and 99 FO wins, leading the Play-Offs) the Penguins miss the presence of Mike Zigomanis at the dots. Leading the League at the time of his injury Ziggy was a point of confidence for the Pens when facing a draw in the defensive zone. But now, instead of sitting at home on his injured butt, Mike visited the Children's Hospital's Oncology and Adolescent wing with the team around Christmas and was hooked. He's been back several time to visit with the kids, have his picture taken, sign autographs, and talk about both his own, and the kid's experiences in hospitals. No one knows what next season will bring. Free agency and salary-cap aside, I don't know if Ziggy is the kind of player the Pens can use next year, but I do know that he's the kind of man they can use on the team.

No MSG, Please:

Would you buy a used car from this woman?

I was getting ready to post today (sleeping on the couch) when it occurred to me, that sending my Zombie Witch Doctor (Certified Professional) to the Igloo wouldn't help take off the curse that's been plaguing the Pens in Madison Square Garden (House of Hate) this year. The Pens are 0-2 there this season and, other than the play-offs last year, they haven't won there in two years. I tried to contact my Zombie Witch Doctor, and was promptly told to go do something to myself that I'd always considered anatomically impossible. (I'm just not that flexible) After further negotiation, (begging and pleading) and the purchase of one of the Voodoo Dolls (looks just like Jagr), at her roadside stand she agreed to 'do what she could'. Actually if I'd been thinking I'd have remembered how many Zombies already live in New York, and just made a phone call. (they're in the Yellow Pages) If that doesn't help I'll have to give her a talking-to (She scares me)

Stuff Not Zombie Related: Mike Zigomanis (Ziggy) has been placed on Injured reserve according to PP.com. I don't pretend to understand all the strange, other-worldly intricacies of the CBA, or the aliens that wrote it, but putting Ziggy on IR must have something to do with Salary Cap, because all it seems to mean to us is he definitely won't play for the next week. After 15 games what's one more week? The Pens could really use his face-off win percentage. (duh)

TK also mentions in the article that he's 'Feeling sore, but good', and despite his 13 minutes of ice-time it'll still take a while to get his 'legs under him'. (who are they under now?)

Update-ish: Tyler Kennedy will evidently be boosted up to the first line. This could be a good thing, but might take a while to develop. TK's speed and lack of concern for his bodily parts could open up some chances for El Capitan and Super-Duper. Also it's going to cause someone fits to have the three fastest skaters on the team on the same line. Having someone willing to crash the boards (and anything else) will keep Sid from having to hesitate about getting caught low and not be able to get back on defense. He can cruise high in the zone and cut off the pass or defend the rush. No one has to tell TK to go to the puck, because he'll already be there. I don't often make predictions, but it wouldn't surprise me to see a multiple point game out of that line. If not tonight, then soon.

Therrien is not saying who he's going to send in tonight out of the 8 (count them, 8) defensemen he now has at his disposal. With Boucher now healthy enough to join the line-up HCMT almost has enough defensemen (for a while) to start a new team. (I hear angelic music in the background) Right now PP.com has Eaton and Boucher as scratched, but that's just someone's guess.

Some Time for Sergeants: When I saw this article about how the Pens are missing Sergei Gonchar, I thought, 'Well, Duh. But it actually had more to do with how they're missing the presence of the Veteran Defenseman, more than his goals or play on the ice. (though they're missing that too) I forgot to remember what I already knew (huh?) Sarge is more than a force on the ice, he's a stabilizing influence on some admittedly young players. He's the ultimate 'Been there, done that, calm down it'll get better' guy in the locker room. Frankly, the guys might need that more than his ice-time (which they need a lot). The frustration these young guys are going through isn't going to make the come-back trail any easier, or quicker.(PPG's similar article) There's still no time table for Sarge's return, but he'll see the doctor next week and take it from there. Gonchar and his wife are expecting the arrival of their second daughter sometime in March, leaving Sarge and the Cat (Why name it? They never come when you call) as the only males in the house. (4 sisters growing up, I feel your pain Sarge)

Staying the Course: Ray (you gotta love him, he looks like a Smurf) Shero has no plans to make any major deals.... well, let me rephrase that, what he actually said was, "I would not make a trade now, that I wouldn't have made in the first 20 games.". That still leaves the possibility that someone already at the ticket counter may still be on the way out. There's not much in the way of 'blockbuster trades' going on right now anyway. But Ray doesn't think that a trade is what the team needs to get better. I agree. Won't keep me from being as frustrated as a married sailor watching the ever tightening spiral of flush-water that is the season at the moment. But I agree with him, freaking out at this time of the season and bailing on the guys isn't going to solve anything. Stay the course, Ray, and try to ignore all the cursing I'll be doing, it's just a Pensaddict venting.

Younger Hockey: I haven't been watching much since the US team was torpedoed by Canadia and some Former-Russian Country team in successive nights, but Team Canadia and Team Sweden will meet tomorrow night in the gold medal game. The Coach most well known for his motivational speeches, Pat Quinn, thinks that Sweden looks like the better team 'on paper'. Much more of his brand of motivation and the Canadian team will concede with a 5 goal lead.

Ramble on, Ramble on: Rob Rossi over at the Trib seemed to have some problem filling out the space he needed in an article, so he called his Trib-pal Joe Starkey in to give him a hand. They both proceeded to keep babbling about in circles about everything from hardest places to play, best places to play and so on and so forth, until I couldn't remember that the article started out talking about how MSG is a tough place to play, but some of the Pens (Crosby, Geno, Whitney) actually like playing there. (yep, they're crazy) Oddly some of the current and former Rags don't like the 'attention' from the fans at MSG. (don't they put that in Chinese food?) Then, evidently because the article hasn't covered two pages yet, he calls in John Bombulie (hell of a name) to cover the prospects coming up through WBS. (spoiler: Lovejoy is a good defenseman) (what insight, what knowledge). Then, all the way at the bottom of the article they mention that Monday's game against the Rangers will be on VS at 7pm. (Good thing I've got a schedule.... uh... never mind).

I'll probably post more on this Monday evening, (hey, I did that) but don't look for any more interviews until the Pens stop acting like someone killed their collective Kittens.... If I wanted to look at someone who looked like that, I'd look in the mirror, ya know?

Updated, Thanks Spanks and Le-tanks:

I just want to thank Chris for giving me the keys to The Shop. There aren't enough words to express the gratitude. That being said in complete sincerity I can only add: It's MINE! Mine I Tell You!! Muahahahahaha!! (ok psychotic break over, back to work!)

At the top of every one's list today is Sean Avery's comments and 'indefinite' suspension, so let's deal with that and then move on. As you may have noticed by the pic to the left I'm something less than a fan of IFSA as Jodie puts it, (I F----n Hate Sean Avery. You can substitute your own favorite F word). He said some crude things about a couple of ex-girlfriends and their current relationships with hockey players, and in usual worm-like fashion he sought out a reporter in the locker room to make his comments. In swoops Gary Bettman who will ignore SA's bigoted and demeaning public comments about fellow players, but won't stand for him besmirching anyone with a publicity agent in their pocket. Final score? Say anything you want 'in house' but don't bite the hand that feeds the League. Public opinion means more to Bettman than disgruntled employees(or possibly even his left arm). Chalk another 'not too flipping smart' award to Avery, nuff said. Also translate 'indefinite suspension' to 'you'll play when I feel like letting you play' and it's not so much a punishment as a way to get SA (stupid a--) out of the way until Gary can see which way the PR wind is blowing.

Pens Stuff: Ok, on to things that actually matter. Marc Andre Fleury is only one of three Pens that practiced today, conditioning and he took some shots from Ryan Whitney. He's classifying his 'undisclosed' as back to 'day-to-day' rather than 'week-to-week'. Just out of my own head (after all what would want to stay in there?) it could be a Black, Gold and White Christmas this year as we all hope to get MAF and Whitney and now Boucher and Kennedy (who's undisclosed is also hurting) before the Big Guy with the reindeer gets here. (please, SC, don't check that list even once, just gimme!) Janne Pesonen and Chris Minard were called up because of Ziggy and TK getting 'undiscloseds' last night. Mike Zigomanis is listed as probable for the game though. Sabu is probable to start in net tonight.

Evgeni Malkin bought a house in Pittsburgh, but the guys at NHL.com think it's more wonderful that he's answering questions in English. (I gotta admit, that is pretty cool) It's gotta help communication on the ice, having Geno actually talking to his guys rather than Sarge translating for him when they get back to the bench. Of course he's still cursing in Russian, so Sarge probably still has some things to translate for the guys.

The PPG Q&A is asking some goalie type questions again. Basically the reader wanted to know why the Pens can't keep both Sabu and Flower. Molinari trotted out the bankbook logic stating that since Sabu is playing so well chances are that he'll get an offer that the Pens won't likely wish to match. This is true, Sabu is playing very well this year and it's quite likely there'll be a team that wants that kind of talent in front of their net and they'll offer him several large-ish bags of money to do so. The thing that Dave kinda missed was the fact that Dany wants to be a no.1 goalie, and with The Tower of Flower Power planted in front of the cage that's not likely to happen for him here.

Goofy Things You Never Thought You'd See: The latest in a series of slightly strange Jumbotron vids is this gem. Playing on Le-tank's name and stealing a 30 year old Tang commercial is kind of hokey, but it's harmless hokey I guess.

Tonight the Pens collide with the Hurricanes, and strangely enough I'm kind of hoping they're trailing going into the third period. Be prepared for 6798 Staal brother references. I know that's why there were only 258 last night, Stogie and Error were saving them up.
After Game Stuff: Syko went...... well, psycho tonight scoring two goals and coming within a whisker of the HT when Geno slipped him the puck on a 2 on 1 but Leighton put a stop to it. El Capitan had a 4 point night creeping ever closer (39) to Geno (41) On a further El Sid note, Sidney Crosby is now leading the Eastern Conference All Star Team voting. The Tower of Flower Power has taken a huge jump in the polls recently as well. The Pens actually scored 2 POWER PLAY GOALS. (somebody pinch me!) Satan scored, Fedotenko scored (now I know I'm hallucinating) I couldn't tell you how many times the Flightless Ones stole the puck in the 'Canes zone. Sabu looked very good in net making some amazing saves while making the other Staal look silly while doing it. Someone must have had words with Stogie and Error about the gratuitous Staal brother references because they're way down, although they did manage to work in Jared Staal in case it was just the Major Leaguers you were getting tired of hearing about.

Is there a Flower Doctor in the house?

Shelly Anderson, over at PPG, (who's never done anything to me) is starting to get on my short list of Quick Karma victims. I know she's only reporting what she knows and it's information that I lack, but she's also setting herself up as the identity for my frustrations. Once again she's reporting that Marc Andre Fleury has not been able to complete an entire work-out and that his 'undisclosed' is evidently still hurting him. She goes on to say that past and future FPL member Ryan Whitney not only completed an entire practice, but his tender tootsies withstood a conditioning workout as well. (It's this kind of good news that keeps her off my list)

Evgeni Malkin still leads the league in scoring, Mike Zigomanis is tops in face-off wins, and Alex Go-Go is leading the league in Rookie Defensman scoring.

Dave Molinari, also at PPG, thinks it's possible that Sabu will be tendered a longer term deal in light of his recent excellent efforts. Sabu leads the league in Goals against and is third in Save Percentage after getting enough ice time to qualify. I think this makes Dany just too tempting for a struggling team with a melt-down goaltender. I'd love to see Sabourin stay a Pen, but I've got to admit I'd much rather see him get his shot to lead a team. (not too far, and definitely not against us) It pains me to say it, but I think this is the last year for Sabu-tage in a Penguins uniform.

HC Michel Therrien is shuffling the Power Play lines again. I'm not sure new combinations are what are needed. Rather, a different approach to the PP, working harder, not fancier. But then again, I'm not the coach of a SCF hockey team, so what do I know?

Other Stuff: If any of you remember Claude Lemieux listen to this. And for those of you who don't, think of a Canadian Yaarko Ruutu with less funny and more nasty. Claude at the age of 43 has persuaded long time friend and General Manager of the Sharks, Doug Wilson to give him a shot with their AHL Worchester affiliate. A try-out contract for a guy that's won 4 Stanley Cups with 3 different teams, but hasn't played since '03.

Ryan O'Byrne has joined the happy crowd of players to score goals in their own net. I'm looking for postable vids, but from what I've seen it was a complete brain-fart. He was passing of the wall to Carey Price who had left the net for a delayed penalty. Ya gotta feel for the guy. More to come as it occurs to me....

Meet Me in St. Louie, Louie:

Marc Andre Fleury allowed 3 goals on 22 shots in the Gateway City to give the Blues the blues. The Tower of Flower Power had a solid, sometimes flashy excursion between the 'arches' in St Louis, despite allowing 2 goals on only 4 shots in the first, at which point many bridges in the Golden Triangle where crowded with despondent, soon to be damp, Pensaddicts. Flower and the FPL tightened up, and shut down the Blues and their #1 PP for most of the rest of the game. MAF will be at BC Sports in the Ross Park Mall from 12:00-1:30 Sunday to sign autographs (if you buy a little 50-60 buck autograph ticket), sorry, slipped up on this one and didn't get the news until late.

Recap-ish: The 'Saved by Zero' commercial must die the death. Ok, that being said, about halfway through the first, Wolverine (Jackman, get it?) scored off a sneaky boomerang shot that didn't stay in the goal for more than a second, I was hopefully waiting for the replay, but it betrayed me by showing that the shot actually went in. Later, on a bad call/hipcheck/trip on Brooksie, Malkin (who let's face it, doesn't count face-offs as one of his skills), won two or three in a row to help the PK hold the enemy shotless. That shotless PP thing lasted for the first two periods. Pessonen's gold helmet tangent in the FSN booth, and how Steggies nephew is a better researcher than Steggo. Just when I was about to throw something at the screen during a Pens PP, Le-Tank flips a pass to El Sid who slips it to Satan who picks up his own errant pass to show Chris Mason the power of the Lord of the Infernal Realm with a nice wrist-shot over his shoulder. This would have been much cooler if Oslie hadn't scored off a good McClement pass 25 seconds later. (Cue cheesy Hee-Haw song) Intermission Question: Do they just shuffle those penguin/Potash commercials, or does someone actually watching the game pick them? And why do Potash's penguins get more play than the Pittsburgh Penguins during the break?

Second Period start reads like an FPL report. Scuds made a nice diving play, Le-Tank gets slashed by the God of wine and song (Baccus), no call. Go-Go scores on a nice wrister from near the blue line. Blues try to quick-counter again but the apparent goal was waved off on a high stick pass. Tank comes back and Flower makes a glove save on a shot that I didn't even see on slow-mo replay. Bobbo and Steggo go off on yet another tangent talking about how Alex Pietrangelo pronounces his name different than Frank to cover Steggie's butt for mispronouncing Frank's name all these years until we almost miss Brewer's holding Sid. Just about when you think the PP is hopeless, Geno slaps one from the blue line, through McKee's legs and past a confused Mason to make the score 3-2. Then 30 seconds later TK smacks his own rebound off Mason's butt to make the game 4-2. A few minutes later, Golden Helmet revved up Spaceballs I and mashed some Bluenote into the boards. Kevin and Vince over at Pessonen and the Pens are probably doing back flips watching this. Mason almost brainfarts one into his own goal, Errey almost has an aneurism talking about it. Just before the end of the period, Syko goes psycho on a Blues defenseman who was taking stick-liberties with El Capitan. As exciting as the second was, Error and Stogie want to talk about how Alex Pietrangelo is his own grandpa or the strange, almost West Virginian way that Alex and Frank are related..... I listened for 10 minutes and still don't understand it.

The Third Period was much more relaxing to watch, even though I wasn't counting this one as a win until it was in the bag. Chris Holt, the Blues backup goalie made a spectacular save... from the bench. And then we learned that it takes 4 blues players to take on one Energizer Bunny (TK) and Zigomanis is more than a face-off specialist. Ziggy was working his butt off, blocking shots, stealing pucks and taking shots. Orpik became the defensive beast we all know him to be and put Kariya on his butt. Later, Berglin picks up his own rebound and flips one past the Flower and things are tense while everyone waits for yet another melt-down, until 40 seconds later when Maximus (keep the French-Manchu, it's working) makes a deal with Satan to score his second goal of the year off of a nice clear by Orpik. MAF with some nice work in the final minutes and an empty net gift for Staal from Geno sealed the deal. 6-3

Wrap-up, wrap-up: Got to give the Pens credit. Even though the PP seemed to be more lucky than good sometimes, the PK was simply awesome shutting down the Blues, who despite some problems have a stellar PP. They didn't go into a shell at all in the third, keeping up the offensive pressure and scoring goals. The Zebra patrol seemed to have a bit of a problem seeing some fairly blatant slashing penalties, and the FSN duo had a bit of a problem repeating the word 'jump' 654 times and I now feel like a member of the Pietrangelo clan due to the genealogy laid out by Steigerwald.

Moronic Russian Quote of the Day: Alexander Semin has decided that since Ovie is out of the country he should do what he can to keep the Craps/Pens rivalry going. Either that or he feels safer knowing that it'll be Jan. 14th until he'll have to pay for his remarks about El Sid. You see Sperm the Worm has decided that El Capitan is just your average player hyped to the max. "I think if you take any player, even if he is 'dead wood' and start promoting him, you'll get a star. Especially if he scores 1oo points. No one is going to care about anyone else. No one is going to care whether he possesses great skill. Let's say you put someone in front of the net and let him deflect pucks in , and he scored 50 goal: everyone will say 'wow' and then hand him 10 mil per year." Uh.... 'dead wood' and '100' points don't normally go together. And all apologies to him, but that sounds a lot more like Ryan Malone than Troy and Trina's little boy. Just another case of a guy saying something contrivercial to get a rise and that becomes more important than the relative stupidity of the player making the comment. My advice? When you pay your dues, Alex, you'll get your props. Until then, keep your mouth shut and play hockey.

Warm up

Begin preparing yourself for 1,347 repeats of Bob Error telling us all that the two guys on the ice with the same last name are actually brothers. Then here's a lead in to tonight's match. First a little FSN love for the Flower:


According to several rumors, Marc Andre Fleury will be back in the blue paint tonight as the Pens face the Carolina Sprinkles tonight at the Igloo. Dany Sabourin played as well as could be hoped last game, and seems to understand his role and hopes of ice time and contracts. Personal note. I like Sabu, I like him a lot. He's one of, if not the best back-up goaltender around. I like him so much, that I have to agree that there's no way (knock on wood) that he's going to become a #1 goalie playing behind the Tower of Flower Power, and agree reluctantly with his assessment of his chances of being back next season. So enjoy him while we've got him folks.


Futility Report: If you happen to have been sitting in front of the Igloo since 6:00 last night, or are willing to mow down the 800 or so people that will be in line ahead of you, tonight is one of the Student Rush Nights. 600 tickets will be sold to College and High School students at some ridiculously low price. (I'd tell you, but it's waaaay to late for it to do you any good.


FPL report: Hal Gill will not be playing, due to some unspecified leaf-miner injuries sustained in Monday's game against the Beanie-Bears the Sequoia won't play. The FPL lines projected for tonight are.. (drum roll please) Brooks Orpik-Rob Scuderi, Kris Letang-Mark Eaton, and Alex Goligoski-Daryl Sydor. PPG.com has some nice things to say about FPL member Alex Go-Goligoski and honorary member Mike Zigomanis (Ziggy). Hey, if your defensive zone PP faceoffs were this good, yoiu'd be a member too.
Wishful thinking report: Chip Alexander over at The News and Observer in Raleigh (an obvious enemy propaganda rag) is suffering from an almost terminal case of wishful thinking. He's pinning his hopes on yesterday's after practice video as an assessment of El Sid's health. Got bad news for you there, Chip, you should have checked out today's vid:



He's also surprised that the Flower doesn't look at Carolina's stats, noting the 0-13 record on recent Rainsquall power plays. Hey Chipper, the guy doesn't even look at his own stats. I personally would rather have him over prepared, thank you. The Cookie Monster will also be out of tonight's match, but at least he practiced today with his bruised ribs. The projected lines for tonight via PP.com: Dupuis-Crosby-Malkin, Fedotenko-Staal-Sykora, Kennedy-Talbot-Satan, Bissonnette-Zigomanis-Godard.
One last note: Did you know that the Staals are brothers? PP.com is leading the pack with another intevitable heart-rending brother story. Sorry Bobbo, but you weren't the first, maybe next time...