Pens v Rangers (L 2-5)

Wwweeellllll, that did not go exactly as woodstock and I had hoped. The Boys lost the game due in large part to another act of wanton stupidity from Matt Cooke. (We'll get to that in a minute...) But I finally got to see Alexei Kovalev in a Penguins jersey again!!!!!! :D :D :D The only thing that could be better would be to see Kovy and Siddo on the ice together on the same team. [*crosses fingers*]


I took all the photos in today's post. :) If you'd like to check out more of my pics from yesterday afternoon's game, click here.

Now, back to that "Matt Cooke incident:" Even as it happened, as I saw his elbow rise into Ryan McDonagh's head, my only thought was "NOT AGAIN!" You see, last year, woodstock and I were in attendance at the Bruins game when Cooke ended Marc Savard's season. Thankfully, McDonagh was not seriously injured.


When is Cooke going to get the message? How can he continue to do dumb things like this - especially after his team's owner, general manager, coach, and captain all spoke out against such behavior? I don't understand why he doesn't get it. But that's the enigma of Matt Cooke. He's a very talented player who fills a role and scores goals for us. Unlike a guy like Trevor Gillies, Cooke doesn't need to be an "intimidating" presence to be noticed in the NHL. Yet he continues to make poor decisions. That incident was the turning point of the game - despite Kuni's shorty. Cooke's not just biting the hand that feeds, he's cutting it off.


On a brighter note, the NHL Network's bottom ticker says that Siddo participated in non-contact drills with the Boys yesterday. :D So that must mean that things are going well, and he's feeling much better. Take your time and do it right, Siddo! We want you back at 100%.



Right now the Boys are in Detroit. It remains to be seen whether or not Cooke will be in tonight's lineup. Time to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and kick some winged wheel butt.


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

SIDDO SKATES!!!!!!

OH HAPPY DAY!!!!!!


This picture is from this morning when our Captain took the ice for the first time since January 5^th! According to the Pens' website, "Crosby skated on the ice for about 15 minutes in full gear early in the morning at CONSOL Energy Center. He stick handled around some cones and shot a few pucks."

And speaking of making progress with injuries, Tangradi, Orpik, and Comrie all skated as well.

Soooo, doesn't this news just absolutely negate your Monday blues? :) Be sure to stay tuned to the Pens' website for the most current updates on the injured Boys' conditions.

Concussed Crosbys

When it rains in the Crosby household, it pours. Two weeks ago, Sid's little sister, 14-year-old goaltender Taylor, suffered a concussion just like her big brother. Fortunately, unlike the elder Crosby, Taylor missed just a week and two games before returning to team practices. Given this latest turn of events, their parents must be very concerned about their children's futures in the sport they both love so much.


As for Siddo, well, according to Pittsburgh Penguins spokeswoman Jennifer Bullano, his condition remains the same:

“He is continuing functional rehab, but he is still experiencing symptoms.”

This is very distressing news. In the aforementioned article, GM Ray Shero makes an astute observation:

“We are a league where you can accidentally hit a guy in the head with your shoulder and not be penalized,” Shero recently told USA Today. “But if you clear a puck out of your zone and it accidentally goes in the stands, they give you two minutes.

Does that make sense?”

No, Mr. Shero, it absolutely does not. I've been hoping the NHL would crack down on the unnecessary violence for years now, to no avail. Without proper punishment, guys will continue to get hurt - "proper" being the key word. David Steckel went unpunished when the then-Caps forward delivered the first crushing blow to our title man's head. Fast forward a few weeks later when, as a Devils forward, he pulled a nearly identical move on our own Chris Conner. (Fortunately, he didn't connect with Conner in quite the same way he did with Sid.)

Then of course there is professional arse-hat Trevor Gillies. He was punished...with a paltry 9 game suspension for a dirty hit + punching a concussed victim who has yet to return + taunting his victim afterwards. Colin Campbell had a chance to really send a message, yet inexplicably he chose not to. Fast forward 9 games off the roster and 1 minute & 51 seconds back on it, when Gillies threw an elbow into the back of Cal Clutterbuck's head. He really got the message, didn't he, Colie? So what was the punishment for this latest assault? A 10 game suspension. You know, because the 9 game suspension was just 1 game short of this guy "getting" it. Campbell, himself proving to be a professional arse-hat, should hang his head in shame and offer his resignation.

The NHL must get serious about this. Eliminating headshots would not make the game less exciting. In fact, the NFL implemented stiffer penalties for headshots midseason, and guess what? Headshots went down! Imagine that! And ratings didn't suffer, the games weren't less exciting, and even professional arse-hat football players like Pittsburgh's own James Harrison admitted that they were more conscious about the hits they delivered. Proof it can be done. As for Gillies, Islanders GM Garth Snow and coach Jack Capuano know exactly what kind of player he is. They know exactly what they're getting when they put him in the lineup: a thug on skates. He played in 354 AHL games, scored only 7 goals and 14 assists. In that same number of games, he was assessed 1,471 penalty minutes. I'm with Clutterbuck: "There's no way that guy should be in the National Hockey League."

Tonight, we face the Sabres for the final time this season. It's Kovy's first home game since rejoining the team. In honor of the occasion, please enjoy this lovely wallpaper that longtime good Friend of The Show Jaime made for me to celebrate the return of my first favorite player:

Many, many thank yous, Jaime!!! :) Click to enlarge for full-sized wallpaper.

We haven't lost to Buffalo yet this year, which bodes well for me, as I have an on-going bet with my coworker, Johnny Sabre. ;) My Facebook profile pic for a week is on the line. Kuni is a game-time decision.

Don't let me down, Boys! DO IT.

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

AK72

Hello, again, my wonderful old Friends. I have missed you all so much.

To be honest, I don't know how many of you will see this because my hiatus is turning out to be much longer than I intended. Much like our title man, I am experiencing some setbacks in my condition (though, mine are not as serious as Siddo's). Those of you who have befriended me on Facebook know the situation, but for those who don't, long story short: my doctor and I are facing obstacles in my treatment due to my health insurance. I'm still not feeling well, which is the reason for my absence here.

(Click to enlarge)

So what finally brought me back tonight? Facebook Friends of mine also know that I am very excited - ecstatic, really - about reacquiring one Alexei Kovalev. You see, had I started a hockey blog a decade ago, it would have been called The Alex Kovalev Show. He was my first favorite hockey player. I have been beside myself since he came back to us last week. (Haha, as woodstock put it, "You've wanted him back since the day after he was traded.") I cannot wait to finally see him in a Pens uni again on March 20^th. SQUEE!!! If Siddo is able to come back this season, seeing him on the same ice on the same team as Kovy will absolutely be a dream come true for me. :D

YYYYYEEEEESSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Welcome back, Alex!

There has been no news of our fearless leader. He's still not symptom free, which means he's still not exercising, which means he's still not able to come back. A concussion is a brain injury that only rest and time can heal. There is a very real possibility we may not see him again this season. But I'd rather wait until September to see him in action again than see him come back too soon and suffer a setback or worse, [*gulps*] end his career prematurely.

Take all the time you need, Siddo. We'll all still be here when you get back.

At this point, I'm just going to try to get The Show back on track slowly and ease my way into it in time for the playoffs. Hopefully by then, my condition will improve and I'll be feeling well enough to deal with the anonymous keyboard warriors who made writing for TSCS too difficult and stressful for me while I've been ill. For now, I'm going to shoot for one quality post a week. I hope there are still a few people out there willing to share my love of the Penguins, their Captain, and an old favorite of mine. :D


Tonight, our Boys are back up in Toronto for the second of back-to-back away games versus the Leafs.

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