Pittsburgh Penguins Open up Console Energy Center Tomorrow Night Against Detroit

I have to say, this is as excited as I have been to go and watch a pre-season hockey game. The thrill of witnessing live hockey (not practice) in the new digs, just the fact that hockey is back and the added intrigue of new additions to the line-up make for a potentially exciting night. And, let’s not forget, the opponent is the the dreaded Detroit Red Wings.
Krundle and I will be there to see the aciton.  I am sure there will be plenty of speculating as to what the lines may end up looking like.  Though there are not many roster spots open, it is still interesting to see the progress of our top prospects.  Maybe, hopefully, one of these kids really shows some good stuff and is able to make a difference on this team.  It will be fun to see.
It all starts tomorrow and I, for one, am very much looking forward to it.

Gameday Poop: Pittsburgh Penguins vs Detroit Red Wings – January 31

Game time is 12:30PM and can be seen in Super HD at the Igloo or on NBC 

When the Penguins knocked off the reining Stanley Cup Champs last June, Detroit started to slowly fall apart. It started with Marian Hossa saying he wanted to keep playing in Detroit and then jumping ship for Chicago (sound familiar?) along with the Red Wings Tomas Kopecky, then Detroit lost ex-Penguins Ty Conklin & Mikael Samuelsson and had a huge kick in the nuts when Jiri Hudler opted for the KHL instead of staying with the Red Wings. By the time it was all said and done Detroit had lost players that had accounted for over 1/3 of the goals they had the previous season. 

The injury riddled Red Wings are currently not owners of a playoff spot. Mike Babcock the Red Wings coach is also Canada’s Olympic hockey team coach, and you have to wonder why Olympic Hockey GM’s wait to the last minute to pick the players on how well they are doing currently, but they do not wait last minute to pick the coaches. Is it possible the players confidence in the coaches ability will be undermined by the fact that Babcock can’t coach with a little adversity? We will see in two weeks.

The injury riddled Penguins are currently owners of a playoff spot. Can you name how many Penguins regulars have not missed games because of injuries? If you said three you would be correct. You get 12 1/2 PenguinPoop Bonus Points if you can name the three, the answer is at the very bottom of this post below info Darius Kasparaitis’ purple sofa.      

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GameDay Poop: Stanley Cup Game 7 Prediction – The Pittsburgh Penguins vs Detroit Redwings

At a few minutes after 8pm tonight, a puck will be dropped inside the Joe Lewis Arena in downtown Detroit and the hopes and aspirations of 40 NHLers and millions of fans will be riding on a 60 minute battle to the end. All bets will be off. Lord Stanley’s Cup will be polished behind the scenes, fans from both cities will be figuring out the best place to celebrate the win, and every player whose skate touches the ice will use every ounce of ability in their body in a quest for something every hockey player fought all season for. It all comes down to this game. Are you ready?

Penguins Will Fly!

This game is going to be off the Richter Scale. This is Crosby vs Zetterberg, this is Fleury vs Osgood, this is the leagues top scorer Evgeni Malkin versus anyone who comes in his way. This is where the stars shine, and the Penguins have the two brightest. The Red Wings have only lost one game at home this playoff season and the Penguins plan on doubling that total by the time it is all said and done. The Penguins have proven their game seven mettle already this playoff year by easily offing the Capitals on their home ice.

Here is a list of four things the Penguins need to do to win: ...

Game Day Poop: Stanley Cup – Pittsburgh Penguins vs Detroit Red Wings Preview

Last year the star struck Pittsburgh Penguin youngsters didn’t fair that well in their first trip to the Stanley Cup finals. We’ll guess what. These kids are returning to the finals with an extra year of experience on their resume, the determination that they will not lose like they did last year and they are star struck no more. They have a new coach that has released the reigns of inhibition that the team played with last year and two superstars have broken free and are ready to wreak havoc on the Red Wings unlike anything the Wings have seen thus far in the playoffs.

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have been tearing through the best teams in the league for just a chance grab hold of the hardware for the summer. These two are the leagues leading scorers by far, thanks to the teams new aggressive approach and thanks to the positive attitude instilled into them by Dan Bylsma. They have already have the highest amount of points scored in a playoff season in the last 13 years.

Don’t forget about Jordan Staal, he claimed he was going to have a breakout during the Carolina series against his brother, but everybody knows Osgood is Staal’s favorite goaltender and my prognostication is that this will be his breakout series.

As far as goaltenders go, I would take Marc-Andre Fluery in a heartbeat over Osgood.   Talent wise Fluery beats Osgood to a pulp and with Detroits defensive corps falling apart injury wise this post season you are going to see Conklin in net sooner rather than later.

Revenge on Marian WHOssa? Hossa, the most overrated player in the NHL returned to his playoff under performing self the second he stepped off of Sidney Crosby’s line. After notching 26 points along side Sidney Crosby last year, he has 12 points so far this post season. Are the Penguins using the ...