Pens v Leafs (W 5-2)

I literally walked in the door just in time for this game. I spent all day at the Penn State annihilation game against Eastern Illinois. (PSU defeated them 52-3!) It may have been a football afternoon, but now it's a hockey night in Pittsburgh!!

I'm going to do this recap a little differently. Tell me if it's better or if you prefer the old paragraph style. :)

FIRST PERIOD

• Things started with an early fight between Godard and Orr. Godard gets slight edge for taking Orr down.



• Gronk carried the puck in and made a backhanded pass that was intercepted by a Leaf. TK took it right back. Cooker ended up with the puck and fired a top shelf beauty to earn his 100^th career goal. [Pens 1, Leafs 0]



• Orpik lined up Hagman, who saw it coming and ducked out of the way. Gronk ended up on the wrong end of Brooksie's momentum. He left the ice in a bit of pain. On his next shift, Gronk blocked a shot and again had to leave the ice. (He wasn't seriously hurt either time.)



• After a collision, Orr elbowed Cooker in the face. Cooker didn't like it, and they exchanged a few punches. Orr went to the box for roughing. On the ensuing power play, Sid's passes are insane. Gonch fired a shot through traffic for the PPG. [Pens 2, Leafs 0]
• The second fight of the night was a matchup between Mayers and Adams. Mayers took Adams down and sent him to the locker room with a bloody cut above his eye.
• While an official was between them, Rosehill used his stick to spear then wipe up and over the face of Tanger. Guerin took exception to this and jumped in to defend Tanger. Guerin and Rosehill were given coincidental minors. Errey (and I) wondered why Rosehill wasn't ejected for his jackassery. He was merely assessed a highsticking penalty, while Guerin was called for roughing. Neither team scored on the 4-on-4.
• At the end of the period, the fans booed their own team.

FIRST INTERMISSION

• FSN PGH showed a solid piece on equipment manager Dana Heinze's experience as a Johnstown Chief's goalie for a night.
• Superstar stopped by the booth!! When asked if he was enjoying the game, he responded, "It's not that exciting. ... I can say that Toronto's not like playing that great, but we're making them look bad." God, I love him. :)

SECOND PERIOD

• The Leafs cut the Pens' lead in half when Rosehill got his first NHL goal. [Pens 2, Leafs 1]
• On the very next shift, Stajan took an offensive holding penalty. Toskala misread the call and started to go to the bench. It took only a few seconds for Sid to capitalize on a rebound from a shot by Geno. [Pens 3, Leafs 1] Just over 30 seconds lapsed between the Leafs' goal and this one.



• Geno was called for highsticking. The Pens killed the penalty.
• Hagman got away with playing the puck with a broken stick.
• Rosehill hit Gonch from behind in yet another asinine attempt to make a name for himself. He was nailed with a boarding penalty. Gonch got revenge by sending the puck to Geno for a shot that Siddo deflected into the net for the PPG. [Pens 4, Leafs 1]

SECOND INTERMISSION

• FSN PGH showed a little animation for the kids starring Peter (Petr?) Puck. He demonstrated how Siddo used his mom's dryer to practice shooting. He did make sure to warn kids to ask for permission to do so first. :)

THIRD PERIOD

• Hagman got a bouncing puck, settled it, and scored. [Pens 4, Leafs 2]
• Just over a minute later, Geno forced a turnover behind Toskala. He centered one for Gronk, who quickly banged it home. [Pens 5, Leafs 2]




• There was a pause in the game while the ice crew tended to a section where the FACEOFF logo was protruding through the ice.
• As soon as play resumed, Rosehill and Rupp went at it.
• Gogo served a penalty for delay of game, and the Pens killed it.
• The Pens had dinner last night at the Hockey Hall of Fame.
• The fans again booed their own team.
• Mayers was called for slashing, but the Pens didn't score on their advantage.
• The fans again booed their own team.
• With just 1:49 left in the game, Ponikarovsky took a penalty. As Siddo left the ice after his shift, Blake ran his mouth at our Captain. The Pens didn't add to their lead.
• Siddo was named the McDonald's Player of the Game.

POSTGAME THOUGHTS

• I don't know about you, but I just think that booing your own team is beyond wrong. I simply cannot think of a time where that is the appropriate response from a true fan. Even in the leanest times, I honestly don't remember any time when Pens fans booed our Boys.
• Sid absolutely pwns the faceoff circle. In the past two games alone, he has won between 75% and 85% of them.
• His puck possession is blue ribbon, as well. The kid is just amazing on the ice. It's so much fun to watch him.
• Geno's postgame interviews are money in the bank. :)
• Flower did his postgame interview in French, with Superstar Mad Max beside him - listed as "Fleury's Translator." That is, until one of Max's translations prompted Flower to exclaim, "That's not what I said!!" Again, I LOVE that guy!!!

GO PENS!!!!!!!