Pens 3, Rangers 1

The guys did it again! Apparently the Rangers haven't taken any time whining about the loss like a bunch of Caps fans, but we'll get to that in a minute. Key points:

1. Sid extends his point streak!
2. The Pens really made the Rangers defense pay for every mistake that they made.
3. Speak of defense, now that Michalek and Martin have turned into the players that everyone expected when they were both signed in the off-season, the Pens' D is a force to be reckoned with, both offensively and defensively. (That was probably the longest run-on sentence ever)
4. What else can anyone say about Letang? If he isn't a write-in on your all-star ballot, he should be. (And while you're voting for defensemen, vote for Liles while you're at it.)
5. Why the hell hasn't Comrie been traded yet?
6. I hope that Conner stays in the line-up and doesn't go back to WBS. The third line impresses me more and more every day.
7. I just had to laugh at Steiggy and Errey's bad jokes about Avery's picture in the Rangers media guide. Apparently, he's wearing a pair of blue-tinted sunglasses in the picture, prompting the comments, "He's a spectacle" and "He's a shady character". Say what you will about them, but at least they're amusing.
8. I will never stop hating Avery.

That's it for that. As I said earlier, the Rangers are bitching about the officiating. See here....and here.

In Avs news, everyone is still injured, but somehow they still manage to kick ass. Bad news on the injury front though...now Chris Stewart is out 4-6 weeks with an injury to his hand from a fight. Great. As for tomorrow's game against Atlanta, Winnik should be able to play, Foote is doubtful, Anderson will not be playing until Friday, and Galiardi and Van Der Gulik are still out indefinitely but are skating at least. Tomorrow night's game should be interesting, and I plan on watching it, since I might actually have time to for once. On another note, this just makes me sick...or wish I lived in Colorado. (I hope the link works) In case you can't see it, the Avs are having a Cyber Monday deal going. It's a holiday pack of one ticket to each of 5 different games, a puck autographed by either Liles, Stewart, or Duchene, an Avs scarf, and priority playoff seating...all starting at...$89! Lower bowl is $376, but still...that's just obscene. Well kids, that's all I have for now. Go Pens! Go Avs!

Pens 2, Sens 1

Wow, it's been about a week and a half since my last post already? Sorry guys, I've been pretty busy lately. I've had time to watch the games, just not enough time to write recaps though. I hope you all have had a good Thanksgiving with lots of turkey, merriment, and I hope you all took part in the tradition of listening to Alice's Restaurant. Time for key points:

1. What else can be said about Sid and his determination? After the Pens' slump, he has been playing like he's possessed.
2. Where are all the Fleury haters now?
3. This game was definitely more exciting than the last one against Buffalo. As much as I love hockey, I had trouble keeping eyes open for that one. That may have just been lack of sleep though.
4. I still don't see why Bylsma split up Malkin and Asham again. Those two had some amazing chemistry going on.
5. Why do normally shitty goalies have good games against the Pens? Like Leclaire...
6. I still love the Test Tube-Kennedy-Conner line, and I love the fact that they're seeing time on the power play. Kennedy lead the game with 6 shots. I think that we'll start really seeing some production from this line soon.
7. Speaking of the power play, all of a sudden it's good again. I hope it stays that way.
8. I still hate Chris Neil. How great was it that Fleury stuck up for himself the way he did in the 3rd period? I loved it!

And that's it. Another matinee game today, but I have to work, so I'll see it when I get home. Things are getting a little less hectic, so I'll start to have more time to do my recaps again...this last week had been sheer hell. Catch ya kids later!

Pens 2, Rangers 3

Sorry about the lack of weekend recaps...I was scratched due to illness. Key points:

1. So we know Comrie can fight...if we can just get him to start scoring goals.
2. Steiggy and Errey were in rare form. The money quote was Steiggy, "Sometimes I see things that aren't even there!" Honestly, I really don't mind them. At least they're entertaining. I had the misfortune of having to watch FSN Detroit the other night when the Avs played the Wings. If I ever have to watch their broadcast again, the mute will be on the whole time.
3. The Pens played very well for most of the game. They HAD this win. Everyone was playing with confidence, the defense was clicking...and then Michalek, as Seth from Empty Netters said, "forgot how to skate".
4. How big was Lundqvist? If he would have gotten a shutout, he would have deserved it. Stupid move breaking his stick and chucking it down the ice though. The Rangers' defense also played very well.
5. I like Chris Connor more and more every game. He's fast, and he's a good pairing with Test Tube and Kennedy. I can't wait to see more of this line once Kennedy is back in the lineup.
6. I don't even get excited about the power play anymore. At least it's more organized than the Avs' penalty kill, which is probably one of the biggest disasters ever known to mankind.
7. This sums it up:


At least something went right:
Avs 6, Blues 3

I didn't have a chance to watch this game, but it looks like John-Michael Liles is still tearing it up. 2 goals and an assist! Something of note from the highlights:



Duchene's first fight!

Well, let's just focus on kicking the Canucks' asses tomorrow night! Go Pens! Go Avs!

Pens 5, Lightning 1

They finally got back to their game! I just had a feeling that this would be a great game for Fleury...now for the key points:

1. Apparently the fans at Consol had a Fleury chant going before the national anthem. That's class right there. Meloche told him not to rely on the pokecheck...thank you for voicing the opinion of every Pens fan.
2. The defense looked much better, especially Michalek. Now he looks like how I expected him to. You couldn't really blame him much for the last couple of games since he was just coming back off an injury,
3. If I had to hear Steiggy and Errey say "1-3-1" one more time, I would have had to mute my television.
4. The Conner/Test Tube/Kennedy line looked pretty good. Keep Conner and trade Comrie. (I'm sorry to say it, since I had really high hopes for Comrie in the preseason, but he's just been terrible.)
5. The turnover problem wasn't glaring in this game, but it's still something they need to work on. When Martin almost turned the puck over to Stamkos, I nearly had a heart attack.
6. At some point, Steiggy and Errey were talking about how great the lighting is at the arena. From firsthand experience, I can tell you, it's like watching a game played on the sun. I've never seen that bright of lighting in an arena.
7. The Pens finally look like they might have some chemistry going. With so many new additions this year, the lack of chemistry at the beginning of the season comes as no surprise.
8. Max, Dupuis, and Adams all looked fantastic this game.
9. Goligoski seems to be back on his game after looking like shit for the past few outings. I hope he can keep it up.
10. Fleury was just a beast. I had a good feeling about him for this game, and even though it wasn't a shutout, it was close. He made the key saves at key times, and it helped that he had defensive support. Congrats on your 150th career win!
11. There were a lot of bad penalties taken in this game, but the penalty kill came up big. It could have been WAY worse considering how well the Lightning's power play has been this season.
12. The way he was playing all game, you knew Max was going to score.
13. Can Dupuis really be considered a secondary scorer anymore?
14. Congrats Engelland on your 1st NHL goal, which surprised the hell out of everyone watching this game.

What a huge win for the guys last night! Hopefully this will be a confidence booster, especially for Fleury. Now let's just hope that the consistency issue doesn't rear its ugly head.

In Avs news, they won 5-1 against the Jackets last night, and surprisingly no one got injured. Yay!

Bad news: I'm sick as hell.
Good news: I called off work, so now I get to see the game live tonight. Hooray for raking up a ridiculous amount of sick time!

Go Pens! Go Avs!

A shutout for Fleury!

You heard it here first...crystal ball time! Go Pens!

Pens 4, Bruins 7

Typing that just makes me want to puke. The Pens completely blew the 3rd period, and I was forced to relive the same type of shit that the Avs failed at last year. Actually, now that I think about it, there are a lot of parallels between the Avs and the Pens this year. Lack of defense, shitty power plays, and lots of offense coming from the defensemen (that last one isn't bad though). Anyway, key points...

1. Good to see Lovejoy back in the lineup...sad to not see Engelland though.
2. The Pens totally had this game. The first two periods, they had good puck possession, kept the puck in the offensive zone, and actually shot the puck for once. Amazing what happens when you put shots on net.
3. Speak of shots, Dupuis and Kennedy both did a fantastic job shooting the puck.
4. The ridiculous amount of turnovers needs to stop. Make sure that when you pass the puck, there isn't a guy directly in the lane.
5. Recchi doesn't look like a 42 year old man, that's for sure.
6. Chara's slapshot scares me. I would love to go to a Pens/Bruins game and sit right behind the net, just to see how fast he shoots the puck firsthand.
7. Congrats Arron Asham on your first fight and goal as a Penguin! Asham is one tough dude. Plus, how awesome was this?



8. Engelland, I mean, the Pens, now lead the league in fighting majors. I'm kind of surprised by that, honestly.
9. Malkin keeps looking better and better, as long as Steiggy doesn't mention a meteor hitting him or something. I think we should wrap Geno in bubble wrap.
10. I blame the loss on Steiggy...Aubrey, you're right, the man truly is cursed. I'm going to sew his lips together.
11. Funny how people are just starting to realize that the Pens' problems run deeper than just Fleury.
12. On the plus side, the Pens registered the most shots in a game so far this season.
13. Rupp has been playing like a beast. He just seems more involved this year.
14. Goligoski looked like he was half-asleep.
15. Steiggy and Errey miss Staal...so do I.

And, in other shitty news, Galiardi and Van der Gulik were both injured in Tuesday's game against the Flames. I'm wrapping the rest of the healthy Avs in some bubble wrap. Good news though, the Avs have extended their affiliation contact with Lake Erie. I plan on going to my first Monsters game at some point this season with one of my co-workers and her sister...more on that once we have everything planned out. We'll be an interesting group though, one Pens/Avs fan, a Bruins fan, and a Habs fan. Could be entertaining, and kind of sounds like the beginning of a bad joke.

Well, now we have to focus...how do we stop Stamkos Friday? Interesting fact I was able to dig up on Stamkos...he only makes $875,000 a year. It'll be interesting to see how much he makes after his contact expires. Well, that's enough for this extremely disorganized post. Go Pens! Go Avs! Just remember, things could always be worse...

I throw in the towel...

Sort of. I'm finally going to admit that due to time constraints, I will be almost solely be doing Pens recaps. I haven't had the chance to watch an Avs game for almost a week and a half now, so I'm mainly going to focus on the Pens. I'll still recap Avs games when time allows, but for now, it just isn't gonna happen. If you want Avs news and such, I recommend Mile High Hockey. They're much better writers than I am anyway. Pens recaps will start again this week. Also, congrats to Test Tube!! Way to score in your first ever shootout, and win it! Well, see ya in a few kids!

Pens 2, Stars 5

Sorry for the hiatus, but I needed to get caught up on school work. The Pens just played sloppy overall in this game, and who would have thought that all of that nastiness would have gone on? And who would have thought that none of the fights involved Godard or Engelland? This game was just full of surprises I tell ya, including that surprise that the Pens lost by such a large margin. Key points:

1. Brent Johnson looked a tad shaky. He made some great saves, don't get me wrong, and the defense didn't do a great job of helping him out either.
2. If I was playing, I'm too A.D.D., and those glowing boards would throw me off...
3. How unlucky is Jordan Staal? You'd think that the Pens were the Devils with luck like that.
4. Michalek and Martin really need to step their games up. Michalek can be forgiven a little given that he's just coming back from an injury, but Martin's play has really declined.
5. Congrats Pascal Dupuis on the birth of your daughter!
6. Once again, the defense has failed us.
7. The offense wasn't that great either for the most part. Given that Dallas' defense typically blows, the Pens should have been able to generate more offense. You need to be in the offensive zone to score goals, you aren't playing against Vesa Toskala.
8. Even with the Stars' shitty penalty kill, the Pens STILL couldn't score on the power play...including a 5 on 3. I think that makes them 0/1,000,000 now, but I lost track.
9. Do the guys listen to the broadcast on the bench? I just think it's creepy how not long after Errey suggests that the Pens need to get more physical, all hell breaks loose.
10. Tyler Kennedy can be a good enforcer when he wants to be. And apparently, so can Sid. Great leadership, sticking up for Letang like that.
11. Steiggy actually made me LOL when he referred to the power play as "the power shortage".
12. Let's give credit where credit is due: Loui Eriksson is damn good.
13. Another nominee for the Douche of the Year award: congratulations Brenden Morrow...you're a dick. Now take your place alongside Wayne Simmonds, Chris Neil, and Luke Schenn, we'll announce the winner at the end of the season. The prize is Engelland's fist in your eye.
14. Not everyone sucked, Adams, Goligoski, Kennedy, and Talbot all did a good job in my opinion.
15. If Asham is going to take so many penalties at the end of the game, one of them should be for fighting.

Wow, I'm a little angry today. Hopefully the Avs can make me feel better by kicking some Canuck ass tonight. Big game guys, GO AVS!