Theres an old adage in sports, you've probably heard it a million times. You might even place it high on the list of cliches you absolutely despise. Defense wins championships. Agreed, it's tired. Yes, I concur it's overused. Sure, many will argue that it is overvalued in it's importance. However, when it comes to hockey and, specifically, playoff hockey, few sayings have more relevance. Stanley Cup champions have leaned heavily on it, and there is little reason to doubt that this year's ... Read More

After the first forty minutes of play, the Penguins looked like they would finally coast against the seventh seeded Blue jackets to advance to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. When the horn sounded at the end of the game, however, there was a sense of relief. Evgeni Malkin scored a hat trick and Brandon Sutter added his third goal of the series en route to a 4-3 win over Columbus.  The Penguins, leading by a seemingly comfortable 4-0 margin, ended up barely edging out the upstart Blue ... Read More

Columbus goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky tried his hardest to steal a big game for the Blue Jackets but, in the end, he came up a little short. The Penguins would make sure of it. Chris Kunitz and Jussi Jokinen scored, and Kris Letang added an empty net goal as the Penguins defeated the Blue Jackets 3-1 on Saturday night. Despite the close score, the Penguins pretty much dominated from the second period on, outshooting Columbus 51-24. Dan Bylsma elected to use his superstars on the same ... Read More

Even the most average hockey fan must have seen this coming.  I certainly do not profess to be an expert on NHL hockey or the Pittsburgh Penguins, but having watched plenty of games since the pre-Crosby years, there is no doubt that this 2014 version is the strangest, most disappointing one to date. Since the two consecutive Stanley Cup Finals teams, which of course culminated in a championship the second time around, this team led by head coach Dan Bylsma has not made it back and does not ... Read More

All losses are not created equal. Anyone who watched the implosion of the Pittsburgh Penguins last night in their playoff loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets can attest to that. After scoring three goals in a span of five minutes, the Pens charged out to a 3-0 first-period lead, and what looked to be a commanding three-games-to-one advantage heading back to Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, for the Penguins, the Blue Jackets did not get the memo. With their backs to the wall, and the series on the ... Read More

The Penguins were up early by a three goal margin and were 24 seconds away from going up 3-1 on the Columbus Blue Jackets in the series. Instead, the Penguins will head back to Pittsburgh looking for their third win on Saturday. Brandon Dubinsky scored in the last minute of regulation to tie the game after a misplay behind the net by Marc-Andre Fleury.  Just 2:49 into overtime, Nick Foligno scored to complete the comeback as the Blue Jackets won 4-3, Wednesday night. Craig Adams got the ... Read More

After the first 3:18 of the game, the Penguins looked like they were in trouble. Down 2-0, the second seed in the East was on the ropes against an aggressive Columbus team that fed off a crowd that finally showed up wearing blue and red instead of black and vegas gold. But a goal by Brooks Orpik late in the second period gave Pittsburgh hope, and the Penguins climbed out of a 2-0, then 3-1, deficit with three goals in a span of 2:13 during the third period to defeat the Blue Jackets 4-3 on ... Read More