Round 3 Game 3: Pens v Flyers (W 4-1)

A bit of sad news to start today's post: John Staal, the grandfather of Eric, Marc, Jordan, and Jared, passed away on Monday. Jordan did play in tonight's game, and former Penguin Mark Recchi has chartered a plane so Jordan can join his family for the funeral and not miss any of the playoffs. (The Recchin' Ball is one classy guy.) Our condolences to the entire Staal family.


I have to start out with saying the Versus announcers are almost unbearable to listen to. They are bar none the worst I've ever heard. Simply awful. They made me long to hear Paul Steigerwald's misidentifications and Bob Errey's wackiness again. What happened to Doc Emrick and Eddie Olczyk?! UGH. And I can't even use my XM Radio when games are on Versus because there is about a 3 or 4 second difference.

Wow. That's just gross.

The boo-birds were out in the Wachovia Center tonight, no more so than when Derian Hatcher was called for hooking Evgeni Malkin early in the first period. Flyers coach John Stevens had to be held in check by Jim Dowd because he was so upset. This would be just the beginning though - the refs were calling everything. On the ensuing Pens power play, Ryan Whitney bounced the puck (probably inadvertently) off Jason Smith and into the goal. [Pens 1, Flyers 0]





A little while later, Marian Hossa made an unbelievable move and shot the puck between the Lasse Kukkonen's legs (he was skating backwards right in front of Hossa, who was using Kukkonen as a screen). It was a lightning quick shot that Martin Biron likely never saw coming. [Pens 2, Flyers 0] The crowd became almost silent.


Okay, now you're going to have to pay attention here because, as I said, the refs were trying to call everything: Tyler Kennedy was given a delay of game penalty after he popped the puck up and over the glass. 27 seconds into TK's penalty, Daniel Briere was called for hooking. 25 seconds after that, Hossa was called for hooking. While the Flyers had the advantage on the 4-on-3, Mike Knuble threw the puck through the blue paint behind Marc-Andre Fleury. Lady Luck was on the Pens' side as the puck didn't slide into the goal. TK was then back on the ice, and then Briere came back to the ice. The Flyers didn't score on their advantage, but just as Hossa returned to the ice, Vinny Prospal centered a pass from behind the net that Pittsburgh native Penguin-killer RJ Umberger buried in the net for the even strength goal. [Pens 2, Flyers 1]

Right after Ryan Malone missed a chance, he was called for hooking (⇐ Seeing a pattern here?). The Flyers didn't score on their advantage. With less than 5 minutes left in the period, Sid and Geno made a series of passes that I can't even begin to describe. Then MAF went behind the net to play the puck. A Flyer was bearing down on him, so he attempted to get back into position, but he fell as he did so. He scrambled while the Flyers were trying to put it in, but somehow MAF managed to stretch his legs out, keep the puck out, and freeze it. (WHEW!) Sid was skating like a beast in the last minutes while he tried to add to the Pens' lead. The period ended with the Pens ahead by a goal.


The second period saw the Saint working like a champ. He did basically everything - but score. Biron made a nice save on Sid to keep the Flyers within one. Just after Jeff Carter took a good shot that Flower answered with a better save, Scottie Upshall used his leg to trip Geno. On the ensuing Pens power play, Mike Richards went on a shorthanded breakaway. Sergei Gonchar (who was unreal again tonight) made a beautiful diving poke check. Despite the fact that it was a textbook play, the fans began an "ASS-hole!!!" chant. The Pens didn't score on their advantage.


Versus then showed Braydon Coburn in one of the luxury suites. WOW, that looks awful! He required 50 stitches after taking a puck to the face early in the last game. His eye is still swollen shut, but he vows to return to the ice as soon as it opens up again. I assume he'll be sporting a cage if he's cleared to return, because that is one nasty cut. (It was hard to look at!)


The Flyers turned the puck over to Geno, who was screaming down the ice with 2 teammates. Randy Jones was the only Flyer back, and as much as it pains me to admit, he made a sweet diving block to prevent Geno's pass from getting through. (I think his teammates owe him a drink for that move!) Later the whistle blew for an offsides call, but for a split second we thought it would be for a penalty to Briere for slashing Brooks Orpik's wrist. (The Versus announcers actually suggested that Orpik was embellishing until they saw the replay. Does anyone know - are these the Flyers regular announcers? They were awfully biased.) The second period ended with the same score as the end of the first.


Flower made another near blunder when he gave he puck right to Joffrey Lupul. Ah, but who needs luck when you've got all that skill?! He quickly regained his wits and made the save. Briere later tripped over himself, but the crowd (and the announcers) wanted a penalty. The Flyers sealed their own fate when they gave the puck away to Geno, who had Petr Sykora and Bugsy close by. Geno fired a shot. Biron blocked it. Syko fired a shot off the rebound. Biron blocked it. Bugsy fired a shot - it went in!!! [Pens 3, Flyers 1] Syko, however, had to be helped off the ice after taking a big (late?) hit from Steve Downie as the goal was scored. (I'm not sure if Syko was hit before or after the whistle.)


On the very next play, TK had a break, but he was back checked well, so his shot was blocked by Biron. Staal's attempt on the rebound was blocked by Biron as well. Syko came back for his next shift, so that was a big relief. Mario Lemieux was shown in the stands looking very focused. Later, a wider shot of Le Magnifique was shown that revealed that he was sitting beside his wife, Nathalie, and behind them was Sidney's father, Troy Crosby.

Um, that doesn't look like preferential treatment to me, LOL!!!
(This picture was a great find by good Friend of The Show Michelle B.)

Mad Max Talbot lost his stick in his own zone, and we were able to hear a Pen yelling, "Maxi, Maxi, Maxi!!!" as he offered Max a new stick from the bench. At this point, the Pens brought out their trademark defensive shutdown strategy. They held the Flyers shotless until 1:12 left in the game when Biron was pulled in favor of the extra attacker. Less than 20 seconds later, Hal Gill sent a perfect tape-to-tape pass to Hossa, who then easily launched the puck into the empty net. [Pens 4, Flyers 1]

The game ended giving the Pens a 3-0 lead in the series. They are only the 4^th team in NHL history to win 11 of their 1^st 12 playoff games. (The last team to do so was the 1983 Edmonton Oilers.) The Saint was awarded the night's First Star honor, and with the assists from tonight's game, Sidney is now the playoff scoring leader!!! :)

Check out that sign on the left...

...I think a 3-0 series begs to differ.

One more game in Philly will be played on Thursday at 7:30pm Eastern. Then (if necessary), we're coming back to the 'Burgh! But let's hope we can avoid that. ;)


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

Pens v Ducks (W 5-4)

Ahhhhhhh. This is more like it. And before I say anything else, I must begin by saying Petr Sykora is AMAZING. He had a hand in 3 of the 5 Penguins goals (2G, 1A) tonight. Incredible. He rightfully earned the top star of the game. The Penguins twice scored goals within 20 seconds of the last - once in the 2^nd period, and once in the 3^rd. Marc-Andre Fleury was looking much better tonight, but he was still not as steady in goal as he has been in the past. Georges Laraque had another impressive night. If he keeps this up, we might be able to forget what happened with him last season. ;)

Sidney was looking outstanding as usual, getting an assist on a beautiful pass through Chris Pronger's feet to Ryan Malone. There was a scare when Sid blocked a shot with his foot, but he soldiered on and continued to play. X-rays did not show any broken bones. (Whew!!!) He'll be able to relax a bit and ice his foot for the next couple of days - they don't play again until they face the Canadiens on Wednesday. Here are Sid's highlights as reported in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

The goal was made possible by center Sidney Crosby, who lunged along the right-wing boards and swatted the puck to Malone in the center of the ice. "I was just trying to get the puck over," Crosby said. Once Malone got it on his stick, he moved down the slot and stuck a shot over [Jonas] Hiller's glove for his first of the season. Crosby's assist is his only point so far. The Penguins probably expected him to have more after two games, but have to be grateful simply to have him in uniform.

Sidney passes the puck around Sean O'Donnell

He was hobbled after blocking a Francois Beauchemin shot with the outside of his right foot during the first period. Crosby, who broke his left foot blocking a shot March 16, was in obvious pain and skated gingerly to the bench, but was able to return in the middle of the period. X-rays did not detect a fracture, although Crosby, who acknowledged that "it did swell up," operated at less than peak efficiency for the balance of the evening.

"He's a warrior, and he always finds a way to get things done," Malone said. "That's the important thing."

Odds for a win were against the Pens - until tonight's game, they had only won 2 of the last 10 home openers. It was a hard fought victory, but anyone that thought beating the defending Stanley Cup champs would be easy was grossly misinformed. So what does Sid think of the win? "It feels good," Crosby said. "Especially against them."

And before I let you go, I wanted to make sure I mentioned this next story:

Sidney Crosby and Mark Recchi have purchased suites at Mellon Arena for the 2007-08 Pittsburgh Penguins season and will make them available to numerous children’s charities throughout the region.

At the Penguins’ home opener on Saturday night against Anaheim, Crosby’s suite will host kids from the Make-A-Wish Foundation while Recchi’s suite will host Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Many other children’s charities will be involved throughout the season.

“We think it’s very important for professional athletes to give back to our community, and we can’t think of a better way than enabling kids who are disadvantaged or have special needs to experience the excitement of a Penguins game at Mellon Arena,” Crosby and Recchi said in a joint statement.

Recchi has actually been doing this for a number years now, and it's especially nice to see that Sid is following the Wreckin' Ball's lead by giving back to the community.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T! Find Out What It Means To Sid

For regular readers, by now it is obvious that I am a big Gary Roberts fan. It turns out, so is Sidney - so much so that Sid called Gary, as well as the Penguin's other resident veteran, Mark Recchi, to make sure they would approve of his captaincy:

Everyone makes a big deal of the leadership Roberts provides to a young team, and rightfully so. Sidney Crosby thought so much of him and Recchi that he called both last month to make sure they were OK with him becoming, at 19, the youngest captain in NHL history. That's respect.

It's hard to imagine a better role model for young players than Roberts. His workout regime is legendary, to the degree that many of the Penguins made sure to get his cell phone number at the end of the season so they could make arrangements to join him this summer to train. Crosby spent a couple of days with him in Toronto earlier this month.

Wow. That says a lot. Sid could have simply accepted the captaincy without consulting anyone. Actually, he could have added the C to his uniform following the All Star game weekend in late January. But it says something of his maturity that he waited a few months, consulted both Roberts and Recchi, and talked it over with his parents before saying yes - even though he was already the "unofficial" leader of the Penguins. Obviously, Sid got the thumbs up from the vets (and Mom & Dad!). Now, with the C on his chest, I'm sure Sid will prove to the naysayers that he is indeed mature enough to be captain. Who knows? Maybe he'll even tone down the on-ice complaining a bit... ;)

Sidney, shown in Mr. Roberts' Neighborhood

Referring back to my post from 06-22-07, I will better explain my point: resigning Roberts was the best thing that could have happened to this team. In the few short months he wore the Penguins sweater, his attitude and work ethic have obviously had a significant impact on the team. Don't get me wrong - the guy is an awesome talent (even at his advanced age), but what really matters is that these young Penguins want to be like Gary when they grow up. That will be what makes it worth every penny paid to keep him around for next season.

FANTASTIC FRIDAY

I'll keep this brief since I've already posted once today, but I REALLY need to share this with you:

GARY ROBERTS (and Mark Recchi) SIGNED A ONE YEAR DEAL WITH THE PENGUINS!!!!!!

Listen... Can you hear that? That, my friends, is the sound of all of Pittsburgh letting out a collective sigh of RELIEF!!! This is the best news I've heard since Sid swept the NHL awards. If you weren't impressed with the Penguins this past season (are you frickin' KIDDING ME?) - just wait until next season...

It is great that the Pens will keep Mark Recchi, but it is OUTSTANDING that they get to have Roberts for an entire season. That guy is 41 years old and plays with more tenacity than most of the 20 year olds in the NHL. Sidney will benefit exponentially from having both of these veterans around for another year.