Bits And Pieces

– Sidney Crosby has been named one of the finalists for the Ted Lindsay award, awarded to the league’s most outstanding player and voted on by members of NHLPA.

Crosby is up against Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightening, and his old friend Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals.

Crosby was having a stellar season up until he took a puck to the jaw and missed the last month of the season. Despite that, he still finished tied for third in points. Good luck to Sid!

– Some big changes for game 5 tonight. Tomas Vokoun will be starting today, instead of Marc-Andre Fleury, who hasn’t been playing his best recently. This will be Vokoun’s first playoff game since 2007.

Pens Vs. Flyer: Intense On And Off The Ice

Okay, so if you’re a hockey fan or at least a living human being, you should know about the hatred between cross-state rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers. The rival goes back to 1967 where the two clubs played their first games against each other. Since then, the teams have played each other 258 times. Decades of playing each other, the Battle Of Pennsylvania has been nothing short of entertaining.

Memorable games are not hard to find. In 1989, Flyers goaltender Ron Hextall literally chased Penguin Rob Brown after Brown scored the Penguins ninth goal of the game during the game 5 of the Patrick Division final.

Flyers began hating Sidney Crosby early on in his rookie season. All Flyer defenseman Derian Hatcher seemed interested in was going after Crosby shift after shift, and even broke many of his teeth. Crosby, jersey covered with blood, had the last laugh though as he scored the winning goal on a breakaway with 46 seconds left in overtime.

And most recently, in the Penguins 2009 cup year, after being down 3-0 early in the second period during the playoffs, Penguin forward Max Talbot took things into his own hands. Flyers forward Dan Carcillo agreed to fight Talbot. After finishing the fight and skating the penalty box, Talbot put up his finger to his mouth and smiled to the Philly fans saying, “Shhhh.” The fight proved to be a wakeup call for the Penguins who later came back to win the game and win the series.

Don’t expect this series to be any less intense. With Penguins Captain Sidney Crosby’s return and Evgeni Malkin’s recent league scoring title, many people throughout the league are jumping on the “we hate the Penguins bandwagon.” Whether this is just pure jealousy or hate, the Penguins have a lot to prove that they really are the best. With the Flyers great record at Consol Energy Center, the Penguins must take the home ice for advantage and make Pittsburgh a tough arena to play in.

If you are in Pittsburgh or Philadelphia in the next couple of weeks, be prepared to see this rivalry get played out on hockey’s biggest stage. Name calling, finger pointing, and cross checking aside, this matchup is going to be fun to watch (and as a Pittsburgher, witness firsthand). Because it’s the cup.