Pens v Rangers

Here we go again! This is sure to be a crazy rematch.

First things first: SIDDO GOT FIRST STAR OF THE WEEK! :) :) :) :) As if it could have been anyone else after his performance this week!

Gogo (apparently also known as Goose, haha!) is out again. He's got a "lower body injury" which some are interpreting to be an aggravated groin injury. And by now you have probably heard that Cooker is out, too. He was suspended for 2 games for the hit on Anisimov - a punishment that seems like it may have been a little harsher because he is Matt Cooke. I'm no official, but that was not a deliberate head shot. But since he was suspended in January, he's considered a repeat offender. That also means he'll forfeit $29,000 of his salary to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

But really, I need someone (anyone!) to explain to me why Cooker was suspended but Avery was not. (Check out this excellent write up about the situation on The Bleacher Report and the lack of consistency from the NHL regarding these punishments or lack thereof.)

This drawing of Super Mario was provided by good Friend of The Show Sid-drawing Jan. I know it's kind of random in relation to the content of this post, but really - who doesn't want to see more Lemieux? :)

I'm sure IFHSA™ will give us even more reasons to hate him. Funny how the big D-bag suffered no further ramifications after he took a run at our Captain's head in the last game (which was the catalyst of the ugliness that ultimately led to the Cooke/Anisimov incident) AND the cowardly unprovoked attack on a completely unsuspecting Fedotenko. (Yeah, I said attack. It's only a fight if the other guy participates.) Fortunately, Siddo saw him coming and ducked out of danger, and Tank wasn't injured. We'll see if he tries anything that stupid again tonight, and more importantly, if he does, whether or not the NHL will do anything about it.

You'll recall that I said I'd share my belated birthday gift from the G twins. 1WingAngel and her sister Nicole G. sent me this email:

Happy Belated Birthday, Jodie!!! [snoop: Thank you! :)]



I'm very happy to let you know that my sister, Nicole, and I recently achieved what we'd like to call our "Roaming Penguin Hat Trick" -- all three of our Roamers are now signed by their respective players! And yes, that means Marc-Andre Penguin (Nov. 3, 2008), Max Penguin (Dec. 1, 2008), AND a certain Sidney Penguin... ;)

Sidney Penguin met his human counterpart today after the Boys' game day skate. Nicole and I arrived at the Igloo at about noon (we cheated because we now live at Duquesne University, less than ten minutes away on foot) and stood along the green fence just outside of Gate 2 alongside a HUUUUUUGE crowd. I was certain that hardly anyone on the roster would approach this unusually large crowd, but I was soon proven wrong.


A young hockey team, the Peterborough Petes (Jordan Staal's team from his younger years), was in town, and some of the guys couldn't resist visiting them. Tyler Kennedy walked right up to the crowd and made his way down the line, then Ruslan Fedotenko followed suit. Jordan Staal and Eric Godard then walked to their cars, but when the young hockey players were escorted into the parking lot, Staalsy paid a visit to his former team... and that's when I noticed Sidney Crosby walking towards the group.


I tapped Nicole (he's her favorite player), and we watched as he signed autographs for the boys and posed for photos. Then he also walked to the long line of fans and proceeded along the fence. I was stunned, because I hadn't thought for a moment that Sid would approach such a sizable group. I put my jersey aside so that I could document Nicole holding out her Sidney Penguin for Sid to sign. Said documentation has been uploaded to my YouTube account, and here's the link.


Notes:
--The woman following him is a Penguins' employee. She set the rules for how long Sid signed for the crowd, and maintained control.

--Sid initially missed Nicole because he was in a conversation with a fan, and Nicole wasn't holding SP over the fence. She didn't want to risk dropping him (although, if she HAD dropped SP over the fence, wouldn't it have been something if Sid picked it up?? :) ).

--The quality is awful because it was recorded by my anxious self using my digital camera...

-- The first two attached photos are of Sid meeting the Peterborough Petes. The third is apparently a look at Sid's thighs... taken by Nicole. The fourth is our RPHT. And last is a screenshot of SC and SP. :)


So there you have it. Sidney Crosby met Sidney Penguin today... and Mama G., Nicole G., and myself have an unofficial "Roaming Penguin Hat Trick!"

GO PENS!!!

Good grief, that is BEYOND AWESOME!!! Siddo finally met his Roaming counterpart! How cool. :D :D :D :D :D Congrats, ladies! Thanks SO MUCH for sharing this with us.

Strap in for what could be a bumpy ride at Madison Square Garden...

GO PENS!!!!!!!!!!