Crosby Returns!

He’s baaaaaaaack

Game 2 of the Pittsburgh Penguins vs the New York Islanders just got a little more interesting.

The Penguins announced this morning captain Sidney Crosby, who has been out with a broken jaw since March 30th, will make his return to the lineup tonight. He missed the last 12 games of the regular season and the 1st game of the playoff series.

“I’m cleared to play tonight,” Crosby said. “I’m excited to get back in there and play in the playoffs.

“(The doctor) was around and I wasn’t sure if he would give me the OK or even consider it. I’m happy that he did and happy to be back.”

Speculation started mounting that he was ready to return when, instead of practicing with the spare line at practice, Crosby was reunited with his usual linemates Pascal Dupuis and Chris Kunitz. He also took a spot on the first power play unit.

This isn’t the first time Crosby is making a comeback against the Islanders. We all remember what happened last time he did.

Puck drops for game 2 at 7:00pm. Let’s Go Pens!

The Perks Of Being A Wall, Flower

The Pittsburgh Penguins went into game 1 against the New York Islanders without Sidney Crosby or Brooks Orpik and managed to come out with a 5-0 win.

Beau Bennett opened up the scoring, scoring a power play goal. He was the first rookie to score the opening goal of the playoffs since Jordan Staal did against Ottawa in 2007.

Pascal Dupuis scored his first of 2 after that, and the Pens took the 2-0 lead into the second.

Kris Letang scored the third goal early into the second period, and less than a minute later, Pascal Dupuis scored again.

Tanner Glass sealed the deal by scoring the fifth goal. Yes, Tanner Glass.

Marc-Andre Fleury got the first shutout of the playoffs, and the 6th shutout of his playoff career, tying Tom Barrasso for the team record.

It wasn’t all fun though. James Neal took a hit and a slash from Travis Hamonic, played one more shift, than didn’t return for part of the second and the whole third period. Then near the end of the game, Jussi Jokinen was hit my Marty Reasoner. He left the game, but with only a few minutes left, it isn’t clear what the extent of the injury is.

This was a great effort, but let’s not get overly cocky. We need to win 3 more to make it to the next round.

The next game is on Friday, May 3rd at 7:00PM. Let’s Go Pens!

Crosby Out For Game 1

The Pittsburgh Penguins go up against the New York Islanders in game one of the Stanley Cup playoffs tonight. However, a couple of familiar faces won’t be playing.

Sidney Crosby, who has been out since March 30 after being hit with a puck and shattering his jaw, will not play tonight. He says that while his doctor thinks everything looks good, he still isn’t ready to give him the green light for full contact.

Brooks Orpik, who has been out with an undisclosed lower body injury, also won’t be playing tonight. He didn’t give any info on what was wrong with him.

With these two out of the lineup, Pens will have to make do with Evgeni Malkin, James Neal, Jarome Iginla, Kris Letang, Marc-Andre Fleury, Pascal Dupuis, Chris Kunitz, and Brenden Morrow. The horror.

Puck drops at 7:30 tonight. Let’s Go Pens!

Pens Lose.

The Cup run has ended.

Until next season...

The Pens fell 5-1 to the Flyers this afternoon in Philadelphia. The Flyers move on, the Pens will not.

For the first time in the series, Bryzgalov was the better goalie, turning away all but one of the Penguins goals, scored by Evgeni Malkin.

This hurts, especially since everyone thought the Pens would go all the way. Guess you shouldn’t listen to the experts.

So what’s next for the boys? I’m sure a few of them will go play for their countries at World Championships. And the others? Well, let’s just wait and see.

Thanks for an amazing season, boys. We’ll see you guys in October.

Everything’s Coming Up Fleury

He finally got his groove back.

After a horrible start the first 3 games, Marc Andre Fleury has finally found some steady ground. After helping the team win a pivotal game 4, he was the standout player in game 5, which the Pens won 3-2.

After letting in two goals in the first two periods, Fleury made a huge save on Jaromir Jagr and was a pivotal part of the penalty kill, making two massive saves against Danny Briere, which helped the Pens win it.

Steve Sullivan scored the first goal for the Penguins. Jordan Staal scored the second, and Tyler Kennedy scored the third, which ended up being the game winner.

The real star of this series has turned out to be Jordan Staal. He currently leads the series in goals, and has been, for lack of a better word, beasting so far.

Again, this is only one win. The Penguins need to win two more to advance. If they play like this in the next game, then we’re one step closer.

Puck drop is at 12:00PM on Sunday. Let’s go Pens!

Ah-Ah-Ah-Ah, Stayin’ Alive! Stayin’ Alive!

Staal So Hard

The Pens aren’t going down without a fight.

With the Flyers leading the series 3-0, this game was do or die for the Penguins. And they did. Oh Lord, did they did.

The Flyers opened up the scoring, but the Pens quickly answered back with a goal by Evgeni Malkin. Many were questioning when Malkin, who had yet to score a goal this series, was going to start. He chose tonight. It was his first of two.

With a final score of 10-3 for the Penguins, there were a lot of goal scorers. But Jordan Staal stole the show with his first play off hat trick.

Crosby, who made headlines for his on ice antics during game 3, scored a goal in a 3 point night for him.

Marc-Andre Fleury, who had been absolutely abysmal the past three games, saved 22 of the 25 shots he faced. It looked like his old self was back.

While it finally feels amazing to talk about a Penguins win, this isn’t the last one. We need to win 3 more to make it to the next round. If the Penguins continue playing like this, then there’s a chance we can do it.

Remember, nothing worth winning ever came easy.

What The Penguins Can Learn From Last Night

Wednesday’s game one against the Philadelphia Flyers is probably one the Penguins would like to forget. After leading 3-0 early in the game, they lost to the Flyers 4-3, with the Flyers scoring 4 unanswered goals, and took the win for the first game.

The thing is, this shouldn’t be a game the Penguins forget. They need to keep this game fresh in their memory so that they can learn not what to do in tomorrow’s game.

1. HOCKEY IS A 60 MINUTE GAME.

The Pens are guilty of this in the regular season as well. They play an incredible 20 opening minutes, score the goals then, then falter in the next 40 minutes and end up losing the game. They need to remember that hockey is a full 60 minutes, not just a 20 minute game.

2. EVERYONE NEEDS TO SHOOT AND SCORE

The Kunitz-Malkin- Neal line, arguably the best line in the NHL this season, were shut down by the Flyers last night and failed to record a point last night. However, Tyler Kennedy scored. Moral here? Don’t rely on your top guys to score. Everyone needs to take the chance and shoot the puck. It may not go in, but it may. And wouldn’t it be nice to be the guy that scored a goal that could win the game?

3. DON’T LET THE OPPONENTS INTO YOUR HEAD

The Pens are a great team who don’t normally let the opposing team get to them. That all goes out the window with the Flyers. For whatever reason, they let this team get under their skin and, from the looks of it, let them dictate the game. That isn’t Penguins hockey. This team needs to learn that the Flyers are just another opponent that can be beaten if they put their mind to it, play 60 minutes, and shoot the puck. And yes, this does go against the whole “Remember this game for future reference!” thing I am talking about. But there is a difference between remembering and learning, and letting them get in your head.

Game two is tomorrow night at 7:30PM. Let’s Go Pens!