Pens vs. Sens Series PREVIEW...Game 1 tomorrow

Guess who's back, back again. The Sens are back, tell a friend? There's a good chance that even your friend knows the Pens/Sens will square off yet AGAIN, for the 3rd time in the past 4 years. Three years ago it was the Sens who ran over the young and inexperienced Pens in 5 games and just one year later it was Hossa and the Pens who swept the series.

But this year's gonna be different, right? The Sens are more systematic then they were a couple seasons back but they're also not as deep. No Heatley, Kovy is injured and so is Kuba (a top 4 d-men). Goalie Marty Gerber was the only bright spot a couple years back, can Elliott do the same? He has a better save percentage than our very own MAF, but he has yet to feel the nerves and intensity that come with the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Pens are 2-2 against the Sens on the season. Each game was pretty one-sided.
What will lead Pens to victory? For one their offense and second their goaltending. Fleury has yet to hit his mojo of playing consistent hockey but the playoffs seem to be his coming out party every year. And the offense has to get going. Malkin is healthy and looked extremely scary vs. the Isles on Sunday, can he continue? And will Poni and Feds start rallying behind him, because they sure as hell need to.

Crosby will be seeing some familiar d-men in his grill, Phillips and the "Russian Tank" Volchenkov. Both are extremely tough to play against, but the next thing closest to God or Neo from The Matrix seems to be Crosby. It looks as though Sutton/Campoli will matchup against the 2nd unit (Geno's line) and that won't be easy either. The Sens WILL take stupid penalties because the Pens like to control the puck and the Sens have several edgy players: Neil, Ruutu, Carkner, Fisher, and Winchester. Neil/Ruutu are known for dumb penalties.

The Pens PP has to capitalize, and that means Gonchar time. One bright spot on the backend the past couple weeks has been Leopold. He has 4 goals and does an excellent job of jumping into plays and getting pucks on net. Gogo on the other hand has been atrocious. The 3rd line is also starting to play with some poise as it did during last year's cup run. With an injury ridden backend and a lack of secondary scoring for the Sens, the Pens have the edge in the series. Not to mention in goal. Elliott has played better than Fleury, but he also doesn't have a Cup.


Sens players to watch: Michalek, Fisher, and Spezza. Michalek is very strong on his skates and is fast as hell. And the other two guys can wake up and be machines if they want to as well.

Pens players to watch: Malkin, Dupuis, and Fedotenko. Dupuis has had an excellent season and he'll need to keep his offensive prowess in tact during the playoffs. Will the legend of Ruslan Fedotenko wake up and start scoring? God I hope so. Orpik and Poni will play tomorrow, but Kunitz is still questionable. Rupp will play if Kunitz can't, and Talbot will be scratched if Kunitz can.


Pens win series in 6. Too much offense and better goaltending will help them prevail. I give the defense edge to the Sens but we'll see how long they can keep either Sid/Geno off the board. Two is better than one, just ask Taylor Swift.


-mbizzle

Pens clinch playoff spot with win over Flyers...Face Leafs today

-What started out very badly for the Pens, ended up being a decisive 4-1 victory over the cross-state rival Flyers. After a bad angle goal just minutes into the game by Asham, the Flyers gained some clear momentum. All four lines were rolling and dictating play in the Pens zone. A couple stupid penalties later by the Flyers and the Pens decided to take control of the off. zone. And with under a minute left, Leopold's shot hit the right pad of goalie Backlund and came right to Kunitz for the easy goal, 1-1 after one period.

-After what looked to be a 2-1 Flyers lead off a Simon Gagne goal, became a 2-1 Pens lead off a Dupuis goal, his 18th of the year. Leino clearly ran into Fleury as the goal was scored and a ref from the otherside of the ice saw the play and after a group of refs got together to discuss, it was clear the goal should be disallowed. Nice. The Flyers continued to take stupid penalties, mostly by Scotty Hartnell. And the Pens entered the 3rd up 2-1 with a ton of momentum.

-Hartnell proceeded to take a couple more penalties, one resulting in a Fedotenko goal and another by Cooke. The Pens went on to win 4-1 after getting outplayed the first half of the 1st period. What happened? All 4 lines were creating some type of offense. Adams was banging, Talbot was getting his nose dirty, and same goes for Rupp. Staal has been playing some spirited hockey the last couple games, he was paired with Kunitz and Guerin.


-Low and behold, Ruslan Fedotenko might be starting his springtime ritual of heating up. He made a nifty assist on the Cooke goal and went hard to the net on his own goal.
Poni had a very strong game. Was hitting and creating space for the two speedsters on his line, Dupuis and Crosby. Fleury didn't need to make too many big saves, but he was there when he needed to be. The Flyers are in big trouble with Leighton and Carter out, and with Richards playing heartless hockey it'll be even tougher.

-The Pens face the Leafs at 5pm today. Luca Caputi returns and Poni will play his first game against his former team. The Leafs played spoiler to the Rangers and won last night. They have been red hot since the trade deadline. With Gigure in net, Phaneuf on the backend, and some talented youngsters named Bozak, Stahlberg, and Kulemin upfront the Pens better watch out.


-IN MATT COOKE CHEAPSHOTS WE TRUST

Can the Pens Ride Poni' to A Cup Repeat?...Deadline Winners and Losers

-For the 4th straight trade deadline, Pens GM Ray Shero found a way to improve his team. The 1st deadline it was enforcer Laraque and veteran Gary Roberts who came to town poised to give the Pens the veteran depth they needed for the playoffs. Then came Marian Hossa, and yes he was damn good. Then last year it was Kunitz and Guerin, who aren't close to the player Hossa is but they filled in pretty nicely and gave the Pens that Stanley Cup.

-This time around, Shero addressed their needs once again: acquiring a steady "shutdown" type defenseman and a top-6 winger. Everyone on TSN thinks Ponikorovsky will be put with Crosby, nice try. For the first time in years the first line is actually playing well. Sid's having a career year and 39-yr old Guerin has 17 goals, what more can you ask for? Poni will be put on the 2nd line with Geno and either Feds/Dupuis. Dupuis has had a terrific season thus far and his speed/defensive prowess would make him a great complement to Geno/Poni.

-Poni was one of the best forwards available at the deadline and if Burke's asking price was Luca Caputi, by all means please take him. At 21 Caputi is still a youngster and could potentially be an effective 3rd/2nd line winger one day, but the Pens are poised to repeat and Caputi wasn't a significant part of the future. Not dealing Gogo, Letang, Tangradi, or Lovejoy made this deal all so sweet. At 6'4 220 lbs, Poni is an empowering figure on the ice. Goes to the net hard, has soft hands, likes to hit, and has 19 goals on the year to show for it.


-The other deal was for veteran D-men Jordan Leopold. The Pens only gave up a 2nd rd pick for a guy who's made it to the Cup finals with Calgary in '04 and been on some good Colorado teams under asst. coach Granato. Shero also mentioned the fact that Leopold was matched up against Ovechkin the past couple times the Panthers played the Caps. Hmm, interesting. At 6'1 200 lbs, Leopold isn't necessarily a Hal Gill or Andrew Alberts but he gets the job done. He's good on the PK and has an excellent first pass out of the zone, something Gill didn't have.

-So, are the Pens poised for another Cup run? Hellz yes. If the Pens could be the 4th best team in East Conf. without Geno performing at his best and with Fleury playing so-so, then they will clearly be better with the additions of Leopold and Poni. With Kunitz and Talbot getting close to 100% and there's still a lot left in Geno's tank, the Pens can only look ahead for another deep run.

-What did the Pens competition do? Well the Caps made several moves today in adding Belanger, Walker, Corvo, and they re-acquired Jurcina. Belanger is nothing special, solid PK guy but that's it. Corvo has slick hands and good off. skills but he's not Kaberle or Sutton if you're significantly looking to improve your defense. Walker is way past his prime and was on Carolina's 4th line or a healthy scratch for much of this season. I still think goaltending in the playoffs is a concern for the Caps, will Theodore or Neuwirth cut it? Will Huet or Niemi cut it for Chicago? And LOL at Leighton leading the Flyers to victory. Emery is out for the season and they made no effort to improve their goaltending.


-Trade deadline winners: Pens, Ducks, and Coyotes. The Ducks added Visnovsky on D in a trade for former Pen Ryan Whitney. And they added the physical veteran Aaron Ward from Carolina. The Coyotes meanwhile, in buying mode for the first time in centuries, added Stempniak from Toronto, Wolski from Colorado, Schneider from Vancouver, and Morris from Boston. Not superstar players, but Stempniak and Wolski are legit top 6 forwards and Schneider is a nice veteran presence to have on the backend.

-Trade deadline losers: Flyers, Bruins, and Hawks. Both the Flyers and Hawks failed to address their goaltending situation and the Bruins failed to add a top 6 forward. They were looking at Tkachuk but nothing came about.

-Poni is having Visa issues so he likely won't be in the lineup tomorrow at the Rangers game but will play Saturday against the Stars.




-IN RAY SHERO WE WILL ALWAYS TRUST

Kunitz Wakes up, Malkin Continues His Hot Play, Pens Win 3-1 Over Isles

-The Isles NEVER ever ever go away, we know that. They almost came back tonight, but Mr. Chris Kunitz decided to wake up. Kunitz was a pestering fore-checker and had his old swagger from the latter part of last year in his game tonight. He scored the 1st goal of the game off a Geno feed and Roloson shoulda had it but he was doin' some kinda dance in net.

-Kunitz's 2nd goal came off a nice saucer pass from Guerin, Kunitz gave the old shoulder and head fake and wristed it 5 hole on Roloson. 3-1 Pens. Oh yeah, you know who else played one heck of a game? Geno. He pulled a couple Cirque Du Soleil moves on Sutton and Streit and he also scored a nice goal off a Gonchar slapper to make it 2-0 Pens. Slowly but surely ladies and gents, Mr. Malkin is creeping into the top 10 in scoring, watch out.

-The Isles outshot the Pens 38-28 but this fact was NOT evident from the flow of the game. Tavares, Okposo, and Weight had numerous golden opportunities in the 2nd period to give the Isles a lead but nothing could get done. The 5 on 3 penalty kill midway in that period turned the game around. Fleury who was scrambling all over the crease tonight, stood on his head when he needed to. Shortly after the Pens killed off a 5 on 3, Kunitz wristed a softie past Roloson and the Pens were in control.


-Although I'd like to see the Pens outshoot their opponents, because that's when they're REALLY at their best, a win is a win. It was great to see the Pens dishing the body. Rupp, Adams, Kunitz, even Fedotenko and Geno were all throwing their weight around. This created turnovers and lead to some Pens goals.

-Roloson played very well. He straight up robbed Billy G at least three times and made a couple other timely saves. Frans Nielsen is a dangerous little guy isn't he? And Mark Streit is the best thing that happened to Switzerland since ummm...Roger Federer? Oh yeah, that guy. Streit's hands are comparable to Roger but nothing else. Okposo and Tavares also had good games for the Isles.

-Are the Pens back on track after a couple tough losses over the weekend? Yes and no. I mean they beat the Isles, who aren't a threat by any means. But they allowed just one goal, Fleury played well and the defense (for the most part) did a good job of taking away time and space. Fedotenko is being shopped (thank god) and he's as useless as any Pen right now. Simply does not know what do with the puck, neither does Dupuis a good portion of the time, but Dupuis is excellent without the puck.


-A day of rest and then Sean Avery and his Sloppy Seconds visit the Mellon



-IN SHERO GETTING A WINGER/D-MEN WE TRUST

Stanley Cup Rematch Rd. 1 Goes to Pens, 2-1 in SO

It's somethin' about playin the same team in the Finals 2 years in a row that creates a certain animosity and energy unlike any other. The Pens had a solid 60 min effort (on the most part) yesterday afternoon at the Igloo and it was a really spirited and hard-fought victory. The Wings played without 2 key components of their team: Franzen and Holmstrom.

But that didn't stop them from getting hot performances from Datsyuk/Zetterberg/Bertuzzi and company. Helm was flying like the little sparkplug that he is and their defense helped them tie the game at 1 on a goal by Brad Stuart. The Pens dominated this game and spent the majority of it in the off. zone. Generating 47 shots on net is evidence of that.

Howard was phenomenal for Detroit. He looked as sharp as Elliot for the Sens the other night. Great rebound control and some flashy saves as well. One on Staal and a couple on Guerin. The addition of Staal to the 2nd line really payed dividends because Letestu was flying with TK and Cooke on the 3rd line. Those three had a couple terrific scoring chances and Geno's play seemed to give Staalsy confidence.



The shootout moves by both Sid and Geno were the icing on the cake. The ultimate climax to an already thrilling playoff type game. The refs were terrible and seemed to put the whistles away on the Wings players but not the Pens. Geno got called for hooking when he was skating away from Rafalski and Cooke got called for goaltender interference when he didn't even touch Howard.

The Sabres visit town tonight and the game will be on VERSUS. Miller will start vs. Johnson for the Pens. Talbot is expected to be out again, as is Kunitz.


-IN GENO WE TRUST

Sens Cruise to 4-1 Victory Over Pens, Win 8th Straight

Oh hot damn, this is my jam? Spezza, Kovy, Fisher, and Karlsson were all putting a puck handling clinic tonight at the Igloo. Michalek too might I add. The man is powerful and can skate as fast as anybody. Alfy was invisible but Spezza showed signs of the Olympian he coulda been had he played that good all da time.

Geno scored the 1st goal of the game off a nice little pass from Johnson and it looked like the Pens were in control. But the exact opposite took place. The Sens PK was very solid, the Pens had limited legit off. scoring opps. as the game progressed. Letang had a number of great chances but Elliot was right there to make a couple hard shots look ordinary.

The 3rd goal by Spezza was a real softy by Fleury, who wasn't all that bad in this game. But both goals happened around the net where the Pens d-men failed to clear space. Fisher on the 1st and Kelly on the 2nd, they have to be knocked down. Alberts? Exelby? This is where these guys are useful. Look at the Sens D, they take no prisoners. Volchenkov and Phillips knock down any man they see as do Carkner and Kuba (a primarily offensive d-men).


The Pens played well in the 1st and 3rd periods but guys like Guerin, Fedotenko (hit a post), and Dupuis were fairly unproductive. Guerin is still nursing an injury, Feds continues to do everything but hit the net, and Dupuis didn't do much offensively at all. The ups and downs continue for the boys in black and gold and I'm not too happy with the personnel on the roster.

The games we've been winning have been thanks to Geno/Sid and/or Fleury. How long before these stars start to slowly burn out? After all they've been to the Cup finals for 2 straight years, that's a lotta mileage. Last year near the deadline Kunitz was added, and what a spark he was. Guerin a couple weeks later and the Pens were off and running. It's time for the Pens to start getting hot come playoff time but Mr. Shero HAS to tweak the roster in order for them to succeed.

Great game by the Sens, who played very solid 2-way hockey and gave the Pens nothing in the offensive zone. There were several penalties that weren't called against the Sens in that 3rd period and I have no idea why. Several obvious penalties.


Pens vs. Wings Sunday on NBC, should be a good one.



-IN FEDOTENKO SCORING WE DON'T TRUST

Pens End Road Trip With 2 Big Wins...So What Next?

-The Pens defeated the rival Flyers on Sunday 4-2. As expected the game was quite chippy. Asham accused Cooke of biting him in a scrum after the game and Letang stood up for Gogo and fought the pestering Powe.

-Didn't Philly learn from their last win against the Pens that you can't start engaging in post-whistle scrums? Philly won that game 7-4 and guys like Carcillo and Hartnell were as dead silent as the Honus Wagner statue outside PNC Park. Sunday even Gagne got involved with Geno and cost the Flyers a big goal and probably the game.

-The Pens PP is beginning to get in full form. Geno is shooting it rather than passing it, Cooke is causing havoc around the net, and Gonch is finding ways to get the puck on net rather than having his shots blocked. Both goals were off Gonch. shots (Cooke deflected the 2nd) and the Pens won 2-1. Johnson played well and Cooke was a presence the whole game.


-Last night in New York, Chris Conner (the hottest Baby Pen of late) was called up and he notched 2 huge goals en route to a 4-2 Pens victory. King Henrik looked very weak last night. The first Conner goal was off a really weird angle and the 2nd one was a soft wrist shot. I'll take it.

-Geno was the strongest player on the ice, he had a breakaway chance, a 2 on 1, and he eventually rocked a PP goal past Henrik. Fleury sat out the previous 3 contests but had a very strong game. Anisimov's one goal was lucky and the other was a nice little move where Letang was diving out like Nomar instead of playing his position.

-Yes the Pens ended on a good note, but their defense and secondary scoring is still average at best. Guys like Gogo/Mckee are having a hard time clearing space in front of Fleury on the PK and every other time. Gill/Scuderi are equally missed. Now i see where all this Andrew Alberts (Carolina d-men) talk is coming from. I wanted him in the off-season and looks like we might snag him near March 1st.


-Alberts plays a mean, in your face game, think Orpik but with more regularity and sometimes stupidity. He's a +1 on a Carolina team that ranks worst in the league overall. Another scary stat mentioned, the last 14 goals the Pens have scored, Sid and Geno have accounted for all of them in some way. Feds is still invisible. He's playing harder but producing jack squat.

-There is Ray Whitney talk out of Carolina and boy is that guy fun to watch. But the asking price is a bit high. Guys like Kariya, Selanne, Richards, Ponikorovsky, and Hagman may be more likely. I wouldn't mind Jussi Jokinen either. Geno needs wingers!!! I've been saying that for over a month and it still holds true.

-The Pens play Ottawa on Thursday night and they will be well rested so look out for another W. BTW, only 2 pts behind NJ in the division, wow.


-IN MARCH 1st WE TRUST