Pens v Bruins (L 2-5)

Another piece of the puzzle returns tonight. Hal Gill is back! The Pens' opponents have won their last eight games in a row. Let's hope Jordan Staal (who is now the youngest NHLer to reach 200 games), Gill, and company can end that streak in their last game of 2008.

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

Pens v Canadiens (L 2-3)

I hope you all had as nice a holiday as I did! :) Tonight the Pens are going to try to do something they haven't been able to do since November - win back to back games.

In the meantime, Friend of The Show Pat W. is joining some of our Boys on the injured reserve list. Check out this sweet cast customization:


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

Have Yourself A...

...Merry little Christmas (or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or Al-Hijira or any other holiday I may have missed)! :)

Baylee

Link

Connor

Logan

From me and mine to you and yours:

HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY HOLIDAY!!!

Pens v Lightning (L 0-2)

Alright, Boys, let's welcome Ryan Malone, Mark Recchi, and Adam Hall back to town with a Pens victory! ;)

And how about the timing in Whit's return in relation to Tanger getting hurt last night and having to sit out tonight's game?

Geez... I'm sick of injuries. >:(

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

Pens v Sabres (W 4-3 OT)

The Pens play the Sabres (again), and this time I've got a little something riding on it.

Okay - long story short: my former supervisor from my old job is now an instructor at the community college for whom I now work. (I know - it's complicated, haha!) So I still have to put up with this Sabre lovin' Buffalo native. :P

Anyhoo, he came to my office today and said, "Wanna bet?" How could I say no? We entered a friendly wager so the loser has to wear the winner's jersey all day on the next casual Friday after Christmas break.

I really, REALLY don't want to be seen in public in a Sabreslug sweater, so...

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

Mediots

Jes Golbez used to refer to them as "mediots." And now I see why. The AP really are idiots. They claimed that Head Coach Michel Therrien said "It's Sidney's team" in response to a question about leadership issues.

That is a laughable mistake.

Even my dogs could tell that he says "Well, we'll see next game" at the end of the following clip:



I hate it when people try to create controversy where none truly exists. >:(

And since I'm already ranting, can I ask that all the people whining about Siddo's lack of goal scoring PLEASE just shut the hell up? While it may be true that he is not playing his best hockey right now, The Kid is still currently perched nicely in the number 2 spot of league point leaders, right behind his teammate Geno. (Incidentally, Geno is #1 and Sid is #2 in assists, as well.)

Do I wish Sid would score more goals? Of course! But am I okay with it if he does nothing more than rack up assist after assist after assist by setting up his teammates for goals for the rest of the season? Damn straight.

Every year about this time, Sid seems to go through a scoring slump. Yet (when he stays healthy - knock on wood) he's always a serious contender for the scoring title at the end of the season. We're not even halfway through the season yet. There is plenty of time for Siddo to hit a hot streak. Remember that he didn't hit his stride until after the All Star break in the 2006-07 season, and he went on to win the Art Ross.


Now that's not to say the Pens aren't experiencing some serious issues right now. The team as a whole is faltering. It's easy to blame injuries for their current woes, but in order to be an effective team, they must have the ability to win regardless of who is on the IR list. There's been a shocking lack of passion from the Boys in the past few games, and hopefully Therrien's anger after last night's game will stir something in their souls for tomorrow's game.

[*Sighs*] Once the team starts playing like the well oiled machine it once was, life will make sense again...

Just a heads up, The Friends' Zone has been abuzz with the news that Siddo has broken the record for most All Star votes received (previously held by one Jaromir Jagr). GO SID GO!!! Now keep voting for all the Pens and show them how passionate Pens fans really are. :)

Finally today, Friend of The Show Brandon B. sent in a video tribute to Sid that his friend made. He assured me that "Florida Pens fans are keeping it going down here!" :) Enjoy!



Thanks so much for the video, Brandon. :)

Pens v Leafs (L 3-7)

I am thisclose to having all my gift wrapping done - even if it does look a little like some of the presents were wrapped by my young nieces and nephews. :P

Here's hoping the Flower is as good tonight as he was against the Thrashers...

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

Pens v Thrashers (W 6-3)

WOW! I just have to share this with you: When I hit the New Post button, I saw that this post is TSCS's 900^th!! :O

So the Pens face the Thrashers again tonight, which means Siddo and his best pal Colby Armstrong may or may not pick up where they left off last time. If you recall, they had at least two pushing and shoving incidents in their last matchup. Will they drop the gloves this time?? My guess is probably not. Either way...

Thanks go to Friend of The Show Jenna Z. for this photo. She went to last Saturday's game against the Flyers. She sent in several others which I'll post for you soon.

After missing 12 games, Flower returned with a vengeance! He looked as good or better than he ever has. He made some absolutely stunning saves tonight. And while I'm not doing a full recap of tonight's game, I'll leave you with this picture that Friend of The Show Susan B. sent me several weeks ago. She explained it to me:

Hey Jodie,
A while back, in the spring, one of your readers [snoop - It was good Friend Lexie101/Pens87Fan71] posted a picture of Fleury around playoff time -- the one where he looked really windblown. It reminded me of those "because I'm worth it" ads. I had fun photoshopping it. :D

He really is. :)

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

Overwhelmed

First of all, let me say that I am sincerely sorry if I concerned anyone with my absence.

I certainly had no intentions of causing anyone to worry about me.

I actually didn't intend to disappear, either. I have been under tremendous (albeit self-imposed) pressure to be the best I can possibly be at my new job. My new job is in the IT department at my alma mater. It's so difficult to work with my former professors - I know they know I'm smart, so now I feel like I can't say "I don't know" because I don't want to sound like an idiot or (worse) let anyone down. Even though, in my field, there are MANY times when "I don't know" is the appropriate response. (For those who are unfamiliar with information technology, programming, and computer science, sometimes it isn't necessarily about how much you know about something as much as it is about knowing where to look for the answer.) The thing is that I love this job and all the people there so much, so I want them all to think I'm perfect.

And then there's TSCS. I got sooooo far behind when I switched jobs, and despite my best efforts, I have not only not been able to catch up, but I've been falling farther and farther behind. Unlike a lot of other blogs, this is a one (wo)man Show. I used to pride myself on the fact that, even though I do this all on my own, I was able to respond to every single e-mail that I received within three days. Now my inbox is full of game day pictures, Roaming Penguins stories, links, requests for info and/or link exchanges, and other items that are backed up all the way to mid-September.

I loathe being disorganized and behind, so for a while now I've been getting really overwhelmed when I sign in and see how far behind I actually let myself fall. But I didn't (and still really don't) want to say anything to you guys about it because I didn't want you to think that I no longer want you to e-mail me - because that's DEFINITELY not the case. I don't know if you realize that when I call you Friends of The Show I really mean that you are friends of mine. But now that I've let it get this far, I feel like I'm letting all of you down, too.

All of this, plus missing my friend Fred, on top of the always stressful preparations for Christmas... well, it finally got to be too much, so I just abruptly decided to take a break and just kind of retreat for a few days. I haven't powered on my home computer since Friday afternoon until now. I didn't really answer my phone, either. In retrospect, I now realize that was kind of selfish of me, and I apologize for not publishing an "I'm taking a break" post.

But I'm feeling better about most things today because I had a good talk with a good friend who reminded me that perfection in ANY area of my life is 100% unattainable and that I need to just accept it and relax a bit. Though, I think "a bit" is a bit of an understatement! :P

I've got a twelve day break coming up for Christmas and New Year's during which I have decided that I am going to fire off a handful of "catch up" posts (like the ones I did back when I first got this job), so hopefully you all can bear with me for just a little bit longer.

I have also decided that when I am done writing this post, I'm done beating myself up for not being able to keep up. I still love doing The Show. :) I'll do the best I can to catch up, and hopefully it's enough. And if it's not, that's okay, too. I'll just keep recapping the games as they're played and using off days to post the great stuff you all have sent me, and if I have to wait until the summer to get to everything in my inbox, eventually I will get it all posted.

Again, please know that I'm so sorry for causing anyone to worry about me, and I thank all of you so much for your concern. And now it's time for us to focus on more important things...

GO PENS!!!!!

Pens v Islanders (W 9-2)

YES YES YES! Casa de snoop now has a Christmas tree! (Haha, that's why I was a little late on the pregame post.)

No, that score is not a typo! Seriously, what kind of Wheaties did the Boys eat before this game?! Geez! It's been almost 2 years since the Pens' last 8 goal game, and it's been since April 1993 since the Pens have had a 2 hat trick night (the players were Mario Lemieux and Joey Mullen), but on the eighth anniversary of the Return of The King, the Pens made the Islanders look like complete amateurs.

And Philippe Boucher, Petr Sykora, and Pascal Dupuis had a spectacular night of firsts! Strap yourself in - it's gonna be a long one...

(Apologies for the lack of photos - there aren't many out there right now, and because I have a day job, I can't wait for them to be posted. I might add pictures tomorrow.)

FIRST PERIOD

John Curry was in the net for his second start (third appearance), and Tim Wallace's parents were in the house after only making it to New Jersey from Anchorage, Alaska, in time for the 3^rd period yesterday - even though they left at 6:00am! It took just 6:25 for Pascal Dupuis to draw first blood. He fired a shot from the far wall that hit Joey MacDonald, bounced up and over the goalie, and slid right over the goal line. Siddo was going hard to the net to ensure that the puck went in, but he went so hard that he ended up going into the net right after the puck did. [Pens 1, Isles 0]

Doug Weight got the night's first penalty. He went to the box for interference. Andy Sutton drilled Ruslan Fedotenko with a big hit during the Pens' power play, but the Pens didn't score on their advantage. Not to worry, though. The Islanders gave the Pens ample opportunity to get a power play goal with a series of overlapping penalties that gave the Pens an extended 5-on-3. First, Freddy Meyer went for holding. While he was in the box, Nate Thompson hooked Jordan Staal. This gave the Pens 1:07 with the 2 man advantage. Then with 12 seconds left on the first two penalties, Brendan Witt was busted for slashing. Since there is no 5-on-2, the Pens ended up with 52 additional seconds of 5-on-3. After shot after shot, Miroslav Satan added to the Pens' tally by going from his forehand to his backhand for the goal. [Pens 2, Isles 0]

The Penguins still had almost a minute and a half on the power play, but they didn't get another PPG. The Isles got their first power play of the night when Matt Cooke was called for tripping. On the Isles' ensuing power play, Mark Streit fired a quick shot for a goal. [Pens 2, Isles 1]

A mere 11 seconds later, Kris Letang got the puck after a faceoff win and took the hit that allowed Geno Malkin to rush the net with his friend Petr Sykora. A lightning quick shot from Syko sealed the deal. [Pens 3, Isles 1]

Only 39 seconds after that, Philippe Boucher returned to score his first goal as a Penguin with a wicked shot from the point right through MacDonald's 5-hole. [Pens 4, Isles 1]

SECOND PERIOD

Predictably, MacDonald was pulled and replaced by Yann Danis. He was put to the test right out of the gate as Sid fired a shot that Danis in fact caught but didn't realize it. (It was in his glove.) Just after that, the Pens developed a 3-on-2. Alex Goligoski shot the puck, but Danis blocked it. The rebound went towards Geno, who kicked the puck to his stick and scored. [Pens 5, Isles 1]

Joshua Bailey went to the box for holding, but the Pens didn't score on their advantage. The Isles got a power play when the Pens were caught with too many men on the ice. Syko served the penalty for his team. With about 30 seconds left on the Pens' penalty, Bill Guerin was called for slashing. Neither team scored on the 4-on-4, but after Syko emerged from the box, he shot the puck as he fell as he was hit from behind to score his second goal of the night. [Pens 6, Isles 1]

Now, Syko has had 44 - let me repeat that - FORTY FOUR 2-goal games. He was, until tonight, the highest scoring player that never had a hat trick. But we all thought the wait was over as he fired another shot that found the back of the net a short time later. But it was not to be. The ref had lost sight of the puck. In that occasion, he must blow his whistle and stop the play. The (non)goal was scored after the whistle. Despite the utter domination by the Pens, watching Petr plead his non-hat-trick-getting case to the ref was absolutely heartbreaking. But as they say, it ain't over...

Tim Jackman took a penalty for roughing after trying to rally his team with a little physicality. On the ensuing power play, Saint Siddo got the puck and patiently waited while Syko got in position in front of the net. He centered the pass for Syko, and with a quick wrist shot, he finally got his first career hat trick!!! [Pens 7, Isles 1] He nearly crushed Siddo to death with a flying, leaping, laughing hug (see below). :)




Sutton was called for roughing after he tried to take Satan out. Incidentally, he missed and nearly killed Bob Errey, who was between the benches for this broadcast. Syko hit the post on the power play, but the Pens didn't score. Gronk somehow managed to drag the puck to the net around practically everyone and set Dups up for another goal. [Pens 8, Isles 1] As the period ended, Paul Steigerwald was singing the Spyhunter song for Petr Sykora, LOL!

THIRD PERIOD

Okay. I'm not going to list all the craziness from this period. Just know that the Islanders were frustrated and began taking liberties with the Pens. Boucher was called for hooking. The Isles did everything but score, as Curry was a brick freaking wall tonight. Siddo tried to set Dups up for his first hat trick while they were shorthanded, but to no avail. The Isles did not score on their advantage. A short time later, Geno tried to set Dups up, but Sutton lay down and blocked the shot. Gronk, who had set Dups up for goal #2, tried to help him get the third, but again - no such luck.

Geno and Raggedy Ruslan found themselves in a battle with the Isles in which both men lost their lids. (I never really noticed before, but Ruslan has some pretty glorious highlights in his hair... :P LOL!) The Isles ended up with the man advantage after Geno, Tank, and Andy Hilbert went to their respective boxes for roughing, but Curry made an unreal save on Bill Guerin to hold them at a single goal. Before the penalty was over, Dups got hooked by Weight, and Siddo made a fool of Streit on his way to the net, but his shot was blocked by Danis. Sutton scored on the ensuing 4-on-4. [Pens 8, Isles 2]

The Pens still had a power play, and it seemed like Dups couldn't buy a goal. With 6 seconds left on the power play, Jackman punched Geno in the chops and earned a roughing penalty. The Pens didn't score on the brief 5-on-3. On their power play, Gogo got nailed with a hooking penalty. With 1 second left on the 4-on-4, Matt Cooke led the charge with Super Duper by his side. He passed number 9 the puck for the 9^th goal of the night, giving him his first NHL hat trick!! [Pens 9, Isles 2]

Despite the fans' calls for a tenth ("We want 10!! We want 10!!"), this was the final score of the game. Before it was all said and done, though, Chris Campoli crosschecked Syko in the arm during a faceoff. That wasn't enough, so Campoli went after Geno. He caught Geno low with a pretty big hit. Luckily, Geno's a big guy so it didn't hurt him, but Sykora took exception to it and rushed in to defend his linemate. The Isles' captain Guerin, who had been barking at the refs for most of the 3^rd, finally crossed a line when he griped about this incident. He was given a 2 minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty (served by Blake Comeau) and a 10 minute misconduct and was escorted off the ice.

As is tradition these days, tonight's creamed player was Super Duper. The video of his postgame interview (he had been creamed off camera) comes to us from Friend of The Show Traci M.:



Thanks so much to Traci for uploading the clip and sending it my way! :) The Pens head to Philly for an afternoon game this Saturday.

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

Pens v Devils (L 1-4)

There will be no recap tonight. I just got home from work, and quite honestly, if I didn't have TSCS, I wouldn't have even powered up this computer. As you know, I work in the IT department at a local community college. Well, we got a new server and it's not behaving properly - at all. We spent all day today working on it, and now I'm absolutely spent. My brain is fried, I haven't eaten anything, I'm tired, and I just want to watch the rest of the game from my bed then go to sleep. I'm sorry.

GO PENS!!!!!!!!!

Pens v Sabres (L 3-4)

The Pens are facing the Sabres again. (Is it just me or does it seem like they've faced the Buffaslugs once a week since the season started?) Here are some game day pics from a few Friends of The Show to get this party started.

First, we have a few pictures from the Pens' loss to the Rangers on 12-03 from Friend Bobby T. (the Friend who coined the acronym IFHSA™):





Next up are a few shots from the Pens' domination of the Hurricanes the very next day from Friend Julia M.:

---

The Pens defeated themselves tonight, most infuriatingly with their inability to make the Sabres pay with their power plays.

FIRST PERIOD

The first penalty of the night went to the Sabres for having too many men on the ice (a penalty the Pens were all too familiar with last season but fortunately haven't been as careless about recently). Maxim Afinogenov served the penalty for his team. Alex Goligoski hit the goal-i-post (the Versus announcers' joke, not mine) after Siddo set him up. The Pens didn't score on their advantage.


Siddo and Geno, on separate lines, made several beautiful centering passes to their linemates, but for some reason their linemates kept fanning on the shots. Ales Kotalik fell in the Pens' zone, giving the Pens an odd man rush. The announcers thought he may have a skate issue, and he left the ice for a bit. Thomas Vanek stole the puck and headed 1-on-none towards Dany Sabourin, but he shot wide after he was hooked up by Brooks Orpik. On the ensuing penalty kill, Siddo was hauled down when Drew Stafford held his arm and pushed him, but no call was made. Fortunately, the Sabres didn't score on their advantage.

Petr Sykora passed the puck to Geno, who passed it to himself with a slick move between his own legs. Geno then sent a quick pass to Ruslan Fedotenko, who promptly scored his 6^th goal of the season. [Pens 1, Sabres 0]


It didn't take two minutes for the Sabres to come back and score the tying goal after a 2-on-1 gave Derek Roy the unassisted goal. [Pens 1, Sabres 1]

Later, the recently called up Ben Lovejoy broke up another Sabres 2-on-1. Just as 1+2+3 always equals 6, Syko (from behind the net) to Geno (with the beautiful centering pass) to Raggedy Ruslan (going hard to the net) = another goal. [Pens 2, Sabres 1]


Geno nearly lost control of the puck in his own zone. Strangely, it led Jason Pominville to take the world's stupidest hooking penalty. With 19.6 seconds left on the ensuing power play, Vanek lay down on the puck and tried to draw a whistle. He succeeded, but only because the refs assessed him a delay of game penalty. The Pens didn't score on their abbreviated 5-on-3 due in large part to the fact that Andrej Sekera and Ryan Miller sandwiched their bodies together to create a wall that stopped Syko's shot.

SECOND PERIOD

The Pens had 3 seconds left on the 5-on-3. That came and went, and while they were working on their power play, Jochen Hecht took Gogo down by tripping him. This gave the Pens 1:15 with a 2 man advantage. Siddo got the puck and patiently waited for Kris Letang to get into position for the goal. [Pens 3, Sabres 1]


The Pens still had 48 seconds with the advantage, but they did not capitalize on it. A speeding Saint Siddo nearly got a breakaway. His initial shot was blocked by Miller, but Sid's quick reflexes enabled him to get to the puck and center a pass off the rebound. The next marker on the scoreboard, however, came after traffic in front of Sabou allowed Kotalik the opportunity to score. [Pens 3, Sabres 2]


The Pens got an early Christmas present from the Sabres in the form of a self-inflicted, full two-minute 5-on-3 opportunity after Vanek was called for interference, and someone on the bench (head coach Lindy Ruff?) was hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct violation. Nathan Gerbe served the extra penalty, but all was not well in Steeltown. The Sabres got a HUGE boost by soundly killing the penalty. LAME. To make matters worse, a few minutes later the puck was loose in front of the net. Sabou couldn't cover it, and Daniel Paille banged it home to tie the game. [Pens 3, Sabres 3]


With just under 2 minutes left, Paul Gaustad nearly killed Lovejoy with a devastating (although clean) hit into the boards. Geno took exception to that and took his frustrations out on Clarke MacArthur with a hit and a punch. Both Geno and MacArthur went to the box for coincidental roughing penalties, but Geno was hit with an extra 2 minutes for crosschecking. The ref instructed Geno to head to the dressing room, and the extra penalty was served by Syko. The Sabres didn't score on their abbreviated power play.

THIRD PERIOD

Both goalies had to scramble to make saves early on. On one end, Sabou was actually down and out of the crease while Mark Eaton saved the day. On the other, Miller robbed Miroslav Satan with an ugly glove save by trapping the puck on the ice just before it crossed the goal line. Sid got a respectable backhand chance after schooling the Sabres on puck possession. Matt Cooke avenged his teammate Lovejoy with a freight train hit on Gaustad. (It was a bit late, but no call was made.) Vanek capitalized on a rebound and beat Letang to score what turned out to be the GWG. [Pens 3, Sabres 4]


Gogo was hit with a penalty for hooking, but the Sabres didn't add to their tally. Then Siddo drew a tripping penalty on Roy. Siddo made a series of nice spinning moves to protect the puck at the blue line, and Roy stuck his knee out and took Siddo down. The Pens did not score on their advantage. The Pens got yet another chance with a man advantage when Gerbe was caught high sticking a Penguin. And yet again, the Pens didn't get a PPG. With about a minute to go, Sabou was pulled in favor of the extra attacker. The Pens played all the way to the horn - and after. They kept banging away at the puck, and eventually it did go into the twine, but it was a few tenths of a second too late. The Sabres didn't appreciate the Pens' tenacity, and a scrum ensued.


Oy. I always hate losing, but it has a little less sting to it when we've been outplayed. These losses that are (mostly) our own fault are really tough to swallow. On a side note, Ruff earned more of my respect near the end of the game when, after the puck left the ice and went into the Sabres' bench, he took it and lobbed it softly over the glass to a group of Pens fans. :)

Wednesday, it's off to New Jersey for Satan (and the rest of the Pens, of course) to face the Devils!

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

Pens v Sens (L 2-3)

The Pens face the Ottawa Senators for an afternoon matchup, but since I have a date with my 4 year old Goddaughter at 3:00pm, there will be no recap today. But here are some quick things before the start of the game...

Sid is getting tons of votes for the All Star Games - enough to surpass the JavaScript cheaters' picks. Puck Daddy wonders out loud if it is the legions of loyal Pens fans doing the voting or if something funny is going on here, too. I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that it's not too far fetched to believe that the most popular player in the NHL could inspire enough people to register multiple screennames and vote multiple times, but whatever. After this farce, no matter what happens, the top vote getters will be looked at with a twinge of suspicion. (On a sidenote, I still can't believe a multi-million dollar company like the NHL can't hire better web programmers. Pathetic.) Thanks to Friends of The Show Allison Y. and Lauren H. for the link.

IFHSA™ had a meeting to determine an end date for his "indefinite suspension" for running his stupid mouth. Turns out being a douchebag will get you suspended for six games in the NHL. He's been ordered to attend anger management classes, too. (Ha! What he really needs is a long stint in a good charm school.) Even if you've already heard about this, you have to click on that link to see the getup that Avery wore to his hearing. Those sunglasses make me want to punch my monitor.

Friend of The Show Ali W. sent in pictures of a very special adventure for Roamer Brooks Penguin:

Last [month] my hometown got some exciting news when a family from my hometown got chosen to be on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, produced by ABC. I was pretty bummed that I wouldn't be able to make it back to volunteer and see the build so Brooks Penguin went back to PA without me (courtesy of the USPS) ... Today he had a great time checking out the build, and learning about the family that Extreme Makeover and ABC were helping out.... (the one boy in the family is in my younger brother's class at school)...Enjoy.

#1 - Last night [November 11^th], before he went to see the build, Brooks checked out our local Dick's Sporting Goods -- some employees there were watching the game, so Brooks Penguin cheered with them, and got to see their exciting comeback vs. the Wings.


#2 - Brooks found his very own volunteer badge and famous volunteer blue shirt


#3 - Brooks with the house that is being built -- it's only been since Sunday that they've been building -- WOW!


#4 - The Drumm family that the house belongs to...


#6 - My cousin (and fellow Pens fan) got to go and volunteer, and took Brooks along for the ride!


#7 - Along the way, Brooks snagged a coveted pass to the VIP area. :)


#8 - While in the VIP area, before going to check out the house, Brooks had to get himself one of the hard hats -- just in case. :)


**This episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will be airing on ABC sometime in January... :)


I made this birthday card for my friend who's from the Pittsburgh area (she's not a big Pen's fan, but I always tell her she should be... haha)... I was really excited about how it turned out (since I'm not much of an artist, and I had to do it free hand), and since Brooks Penguin got his picture taken with it, I thought I'd send it along to you over at The Show. Enjoy:

That's so awesome! I hope the Drumm family loved their beautiful new home. And great job on the card! :) Many thanks go out to Ali and her cousin for sending the pictures and story.

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

Pens v Hurricanes (W 5-2)

Penguins hockey in HD. If you don't have it, you need to get it.

STUNNING. :-O

I didn't really get to enjoy my first HD game yesterday because of a splitting headache, but MAN IS IT BEAUTIFUL! I've had this LCD TV since I graduated college in 2006 (I promised myself I'd splurge and get one if I made it through with a 4.0), but I've been too cheap to spring for HD television service. Let me just tell you: I will never go back to regular.


The Pens dominated this game in every way except in number of shots on goal. It didn't really matter, though, because the percentage of shots that went into the twine was higher. Mike Zigomanis and Tyler Kennedy were out due to "undisclosed injuries." Sid had another 4 point night. That kid is a DEMON on blades. I'm so glad he's ours. :)

FIRST PERIOD

Less than a minute into the game, Geno Malkin fired a shot that hit the crossbar. The night's first penalty when to our title man for tripping. On the penalty kill, Pascal Dupuis set Mad Max Talbot up for a shorthanded chance that Michael Leighton blocked, and Jordan Staal managed to steal and go shorthanded on his own. Leighton blocked that one, too. The Canes didn't score on their advantage.

It was about this time that I first discovered the drawbacks of high definition of television: When the camera is focused on a player on the bench, the view is extended to include the players on either side of him. Unfortunately, as FSN PGH was focused on Sid, Geno was on the right side of my screen blowing snot rockets. [*GAGS*]


Tuomo Ruutu (brother of Jarkko) flattened Alex Goligoski with a cheap shot into the boards. Sid went over to confront Ruutu but did so without earning a retaliatory penalty. The Pens didn't score while Ruutu was in the box for boarding. Just as Ruutu's penalty ended, Niclas Wallin was called for hooking. On the ensuing power play, a pass from Sid to Petr Sykora = Syko's 99^th career PPG! [Pens 1, Canes 0]

A little later, ex-Pen Josef Melichar fanned on a pass. He had no support to recover, so Dupuis was able to apply pressure and separate Melichar from the puck, which popped out to the middle of the ice in the Canes' zone. Siddo was right there to gain possession and set up Dups for the goal. [Pens 2, Canes 0]

FIRST INTERMISSION

Bob Errey's Hockey 101 segment was about astronomy. Why? Because "Sidney Crosby [is] our shining star!" It was a great segment that highlighted some of Siddo's most fantastic goals from this season, as well as a few of the classics from Sid's entire NHL career.

SECOND PERIOD

Just over 30 seconds into the period, Ruutu was sent to the box for high sticking Dups. A hard slapshot from Saint Siddo on the ensuing power play got the puck to the net for Syko to clean up the garbage to claim his 100^th PPG. What a player! :) [Pens 3, Canes 0]


Ruutu, just out of the box, redeemed himself to his team by scoring the Canes' first goal a mere 19 seconds later. [Pens 3, Canes 1]

Eric Godard took a big hit that left him shaken. (He came back to the ice later.) Kris Letang stole the puck and chipped it off the wall to Sid. He sent the puck towards Miroslav Satan, who had to stretch to collect it. Satan went hard to the net with Sid and Dups. While Satan was the last Penguin to touch the puck, the person to put it over the goal line was Chad LaRose. [Pens 4, Canes 1] If you're keeping count, this was Sid's fourth point of the game. It was his 3^rd four point game this season and the 11^th four point game of his career. Oddly, Siddo has never had a five point game, but his career best was the six point game he had on 12-13-2006 against the Philadelphia Flyers.


Geno tripped and seemed stunned as he left the ice, but he too came back to the ice for his next shift. Dany Sabourin made a big save on Sergei Samsonov but couldn't control the rebound. Samsonov made it over to take a second shot on his own rebound, but Sabou robbed him with a beautiful glove save. Mark Eaton went to the box for holding, but the Canes didn't capitalize on their advantage. A few minutes later, Godard was penalized for hooking, and while Sabou denied Samsonov again, he couldn't stop a shot from Matt Cullen after it was deflected by the stick of Jordan Staal. [Pens 4, Canes 2]

But a few minutes later, Geno stole the puck at the blue line and fired a shot that Leighton blocked. Seemingly from out of nowhere, Ruslan Fedotenko (who is even pinker in high def) swooped in and banged the rebound home. [Pens 5, Canes 2]

THIRD PERIOD

Eric Staal attempted a backhand shot on the open net while Sabou was down, but somehow our goalie managed to shut the door on the on him. Geno was called for tripping, but the Canes didn't score on their advantage. Brooks Orpik leveled Ruutu with a Mack truck-style hit. The Canes developed a 2-on-1, but Sabou confidently blocked Joni Pitkanen's shot. Syko, despite Geno's best efforts, unfortunately did not get the elusive hat trick tonight. This was Syko's 42^nd two goal game. (I'm holding onto the hope that he'll get that hat trick in a Pens sweater at the Mellon Arena.) With 2:06 left in the game, Mad Max was sent to the sin bin for a high stick, but the Canes couldn't add to their tally. Pens WIN!!!


The Pens head north to face the Senators this Saturday.

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

Pens v Rangers (L 2-3 SO)

I'm really sorry, but there will be no recap tonight. I've got a wicked headache, and I just want to close my eyes and go to sleep. I will be recapping tomorrow night's game as usual (I hope!).

In the meantime, here are belated Thanksgiving wishes to all of us from 1WingAngel and her twin Nicole G.:

Hahaha, I am guessing these Roamers are watching the November 15^th Pens v Sabres game that I was lucky enough to attend. :) So cute!

Thanks to Friends of The Show Diana Q. for the tip about Yahoo! and to 1WingAngel and Nicole for the greeting card. :)

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

The Suspension of Sean Avery

Many of you already know how I feel about Dallas Stars forward Sean Avery. After all, his nickname on this site is IFHSA™, which stands for "I F*#@!ing Hate Sean Avery." So it may come as a shock to you that I think his indefinite suspension for a "detrimental" comment he made to the media is out-FREAKING-rageous. It makes a complete mockery of the NHL's disciplinary system.



Why is it that Avery received such a severe penalty while guys like Jarrko Ruutu, Ryan Hollweg, Mike Mottau, Hollweg (yet AGAIN), Thomas Pock, Chris Pronger, and Steve Downie, and Jesse Boulerice (just to name a few) receive slaps on their wrists in comparison of the punishments to their offenses?

I'm not sure when being rude became a more serious offense than causing bodily harm, but I think something is SERIOUSLY wrong with that logic. Downie, for example, sent Dean McAmmond to the hospital following an incredibly vicious hit to the head. (But for the grace of God, that hit could have very well sent McAmmond to a wheelchair.) Yet Downie, a repeat offender who, after one incident in the minors was required to get professional counselling, received only a 20 game suspension instead of an automatic ironclad lifelong ban. Downie got another chance in the NHL. (Just a few days ago, he was recalled by the Tampa Bay Lightning.) On the other hand, while calling an ex-girlfriend "sloppy seconds" is quite disgusting, the only people that Avery really "hurt" with his comments (actress Elisha Cuthbert and model Rachel Hunter) can go home to their mansions and find comfort in their millions of dollars and the adoration from their legions of fans.

Sure, Avery is an ass. I think we all knew that already, and I thought it was common knowledge that anything he has to say should always be taken with a grain of salt. Were his comments crude? Of course! Were they "detrimental" to the NHL? No more so than anything he's ever said in the past. Remember that in the past couple of years he (allegedly) called Georges Laraque "a monkey" and he commented on the hit from Denis Gauthier on Jeremy Roenick that gave Roenick a concussion saying, "I think it was typical of most French guys in our league with a visor on, running around and playing tough and not back anything up." So if a player can be punished for saying something offensive, why wasn't Avery suspended for either of those comments? Is calling an ex-girlfriend something vulgar worse than racism? Apparently the NHL thinks so.

Okay, maybe you could argue the fact that this is an "even up" suspension, that perhaps the suspension is a result of the culmination of his body of work (much like when Martin Scorsese won the Oscar for The Departed). But that's a pretty weak argument because it's quite ridiculous to think that an indefinite suspension is going to teach Avery a lesson. If anything, this whole thing just feeds into his "bad boy" persona. Every major news outlet is carrying this story today, so Avery is getting exactly what he has always craved: national attention.

The most effective punishment for a guy like Avery is to simply ignore him. But thanks to the indefinite suspension, we'll likely be hearing from this idiot - indefinitely.


Many, many thanks to all 86 Friends of The Show who e-mailed me to tell me about IFHSA™'s suspension! And big thanks to DayWalk3r for sending in the video of the interview. :)

"It's not the biggest city, but it's a city I really like."

I've got a lot of Sid-tastic links for you today! Well, actually they came from several Friends of The Show...

• Michelle B. - Sidney Crosby: This no Pitt stop (Today's title comes from this article.)
• Stagerat & Lauren H. - Penguins' Crosby not pulling a LeBron (This is nearly the same article as the previous one, but this one is written for the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.)
• Carlie D. - Vote for the Greatest NHL Captain of the New Millenium (Siddo is in second place. You can vote once per day.)
• Stagerat & Jan M. - Crosby Answering All Questions (Take that, Semin!)
• Michelle - Penguins Shop for Project Bundle-Up
• Michelle sent in a video of the Project Bundle up article:

• Stagerat - Crosby, Ovechkin Receive NHL Honours
• Michelle - Penguins Crosby named NHL player of week (Post Gazette)
• Stagerat - Crosby named first star of the NHL's 'Three Stars' (Tribune Review)
• Stagerat & Kellie D. found this video tribute to Sid honoring his First Star Status on the Pens' website:

I got an update from Friend of The Show Jan about the Mario Lemieux Foundation auctions for her drawings:

Just wanted to report that the bidding is over for my two drawings and I am so pleased that one brought in $200 for the foundation and the other brought in $210 for The MLF. How cool is that? Again, thank you for letting me be a part of the family of Friends of the Show! I think it's cool that the first drawing I ever did of our Captain that was featured on YOUR site went for the top price of the two.

Once again - congratulations, Jan! $410 for the MLF! I'm so proud of you! :)

Finally today, I received this e-mail from Friend of The Show Lauren a few days ago:

It was snowing at my house yesterday before I left to drive back to Ohio for class, and I should've been working on a paper, but instead I took a break to take my dog Emma and Sidney Penguin outside for a couple of pictures! :) Enjoy!

Look at how sweet Emma is:







What a pretty puppy!!! Big thanks go out to Michelle, Carlie, Stagerat, Kellie, Jan, and Lauren for their contributions to today's post. Tomorrow I'll have some amazing game day pics for you.