As many expected, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins will meet in the Eastern Conference Finals. To me, it's the series I was looking forward to as a hockey fan, but as a Penguins fan, I couldn't have been pulling harder for the Rangers. I think that the Bruins defensive scheme and the way they take advantage of turnovers (are you listening Geno and Tanger?), could haunt the Penguins. On paper, the Penguins are better and I hope my prediction of Bruins in seven games is off. While this ... Read More
Yinzer of the Week: James Neal
The Pittsburgh Penguins have been red hot lately. They've scored 13 goals in two games, outscoring many MLB teams for the entire week. A big part of that success has been James Neal. Last night, in the series clincher, Neal scored three of the Pens six goals on the night, outscoring the Senators by himself. Neal also added an assist for a total of four points. He took a total of five shots in the game, giving him a shooting percentage of 60 percent and a plus/minus of 2. On Wednesday night, ... Read More
Penguins Dominate Senators; Advance to Eastern Conference Finals
Daniel Alfredsson was right. There's really no other way to put it. When the Ottawa Senators captain was asked if his team could win three in a row to take the series from the Pens, he said no. It wasn't the politically correct thing to say in the situation, but he was just telling the truth. Alfredsson's words came to fruition on Friday night as the Penguins finished its series with the Senators with a 6-2 victory. Once again, Tomas Vokoun was solid in net as he brought his playoff record to ... Read More
Pens push Sens to the edge with 7-3 rout
Sometimes it's not how you start but how you finish. The Pittsburgh Penguins trailed 2-1 after the first period, then exploded with six unanswered goals to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. James Neal and Jarome Iginla each scored two, while Kris Letang added four helpers in a 7-3 smattering of the Ottawa Senators. The Penguins controlled the puck for most of the first period, out shooting the Senators 16-11. However, they trailed after one when the Senators cashed in two of their ... Read More
It’s Vokoun’s Net to Lose
After Marc-Andre Fleury was pulled as the starting goaltender of the Pittsburgh Penguins against the New York Islandes, I was riding high on the Tomas Vokoun bandwagon. Ray Shero didn’t bring Vokoun in for two years at the price he did to be another Brent Johnson. Vokoun was brought to Pittsburgh in case Fleury faltered again in the playoffs. When Vokoun assisted in leading the Penguins to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, I was okay with sticking with him until he lost a ... Read More
Colin Greening scores in double overtime to cut series lead to 2-1 Pittsburgh
This is what the playoffs are all about. The Pittsburgh Penguins held a 1-0 lead and played a strong defensive third period for the first 19:31. But a shorthanded goal from Daniel Alfredsson tied the game and the Ottawa Senators won in double overtime by score of 2-1. Both teams took a scoreless tie into the second period and almost went into the second intermission with a deadlock as well. But Tyler Kennedy scored his second goal of the playoffs with 1:07 remaining in the second to give ... Read More
Penguins outlast the Senators for 4-3 Victory
Despite out-shooting the Ottawa Senators 42-22, the Penguins had to withstand a late flurry from the Senators to hang on for a 4-3 win Friday at Consol Energy Center in game two of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series. The Penguins now lead the series 2-0. It is the first time since the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals against the Carolina Hurricanes that the Penguins have had a 2-0 advantage in a series. Sidney Crosby picked up his second career playoff hat trick to lead the Pens, ... Read More
Penguins take Game 1 from Senators
Special teams, or lack thereof, killed the Penguins in the postseason the last two years. This year though, nothing seems to stop Pittsburgh’s special teams; as the Penguins got two power play goals from Paul Martin and Chris Kunitz along with a shorthanded goal from Pascal Dupuis to take game one over the Ottawa Senators 4-1. Tomas Vokoun also stopped 35 Ottawa shots to pick up his third consecutive victory since taking over for Marc-Andre Fleury after game four against the Islanders. The ... Read More
Correction, it IS just a game
Let me preface this with saying that I agree with Niky and what she say said here, about how the Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melynk should watch what he says on Twitter. Athletes all over are under a close watch by teams and will get punished if they cross the line. Melnyk is also a guy I don't really care for after his comments regarding Matt Cooke. With that point, I agree with Niky. While the title of her article does catch the eye and draw readers (we love it) and I agree with her stance ... Read More
It’s not “just a game”!
I can't name many owners of professional sports teams outside of those in Pittsburgh. Sure we all know Jerry Jones, Mark Cuban and a handful of celebrities who've ventured into the business end of the sports world. But for the most part, outside of their respective cities, owners are just men behind the scenes, financing and profiting from the games we all love. And then there's Eugene Melnyk. First time I heard his name, I thought he was a character in CBS's latest installment of CSI. Matt ... Read More