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, 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!

Pens 4, Preds 3

Again, I am horribly late with this post. I'm on vacation from work this week, so hopefully that will help me stay caught up. Pens recap:

1. I honestly thought that Bylsma was going to continue starting Johnson until he lost. I was surprised to see Fleury in net.

2. Fleury looked shaky, but he hasn't played for a while, so I guess that's to be expected. Allowing a goal 53 seconds into the game was definitely not a good way to start. Kunitz was also to blame for that...he just seemed to wander away from who he was supposed to be covering.

3. I never realized how tall Pekka Rinne is. Apparently Nashville has an obsession with tall goalies, since their backup Lindbach is 6'6".

4. The penalty kill didn't look too bad, and the power play continues to thrive. The power play is just aggravating to watch...they'll seem like they're getting into a groove for a couple of games, and then just fall apart. Hopefully that doesn't happen this time around.

5. Tangradi continues to look good, and what else can be said about Test Tube? Yet another point this game. Dude is amazing!

6. Is it me, or does Sid seem like he's playing a little more aggressively this season? At the end of last season, it looked like he was beginning to, but it's becoming a little more evident this season. It's good to see.

7. Now that the Pens have Engelland, does Godard have a job? I think we'll see Godard traded at some point this year. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Godard, it's just that now we have an enforcer who is a more complete player in my opinion.

8. One thing I noticed about Fleury in this game was that he did seem a little more comfortable playing the puck. The pass he made to Sid was great!

9. How huge did Geno come up in this game? He was just on top of everything.

10. I was stuck listening to the FSN Tennessee broadcast for this game. Say what you will about Steigy and Errey, but they're way better than these guys. One good thing about watching the Tenn broadcast was this:



Jack in the Box has the best commercials. Too bad there aren't any anywhere near where I live. Or any in the state of Ohio at all for that matter.

11. Dupuis saved the day when he made that great play to clear the puck out of the crease on the one play.

Sorry for how sucky that recap was, but I was starting to fall asleep watching it. Now for the Avs:

Avs 2, Sharks 4

I was more excited to watch this game than the Pens. It ended up being a hell of a lot more entertaining.

1. Welcome back Brandon Yip!

2. Lots of back and forth action in this game. Neither team seemed to have the upper hand for too long, and both teams played very well.

3. Anderson is a beast. He looked confident for the most part in net, but then again, when doesn't he?

4. Good thing Sacco decided to dress 7 defensemen. Adam Foote left the game with a concussion. As far as I know, it is unknown when he will return to the lineup.

5. Kyle Cumiskey's skating ability never ceases to amaze me. He's a quick, strong skater. I'd even go so far as to say he skates like Pavel Bure.

6. All in all, the Avs still need a little bit of help when it comes to special teams. Taking so many penalties in the second period didn't help things.

7. The Sharks pretty much went into a defensive shell once they were up 3-1 going into the third period.

8. Congrats John-Michael Liles! He's the first Avs player to score in 7 straight games to start the season. He's also the first Avs defenseman to have a 7 game scoring streak. He played very well in the playoffs last year, and it's good to see that it carried over to this season.

9. The Avs can be irritating to watch sometimes. One minute, someone is making a beautiful, unreal pass, the next minute, a terrible turnover.

10. I call bullshit on the 4th Sharks goal. The puck clearly hit a Sharks player on the bench, and then ricocheted (that's not a fun word to spell) off of the linesman, resulting in a nasty bounce which resulted in a Sharks goal. It was a non-reviewable play. I think everything should be reviewable.

So there it is. Two games to recap again tonight. Have fun kids!