Posts tagged Evgeni Malkin

Superstition Dictates I be Airborne on Friday.

Written by Joey Wales

I watched about 10 minutes of the game at a Tampa airport bar last night before I heard my name called over the loudspeaker to “report to Gate 63 because the doors will be closing shortly to ensure a timely departure.” Before my mad dash to my gate, I got to see two penalties against the Pens, two Penguin tallies, and a gimme goal the hockey gods spotted the Flyers. I was cautiously optimistic, though, because things looked a little different. Hell, Evgeni Malkin had scored, so it looked a lot different! When I landed back in the ‘burgh the final score was 10-3 and all was right with the world. The only logical conclusion that me and everyone who knew I was on a plane during the game came to was that I gotta fly somewhere on Friday. I’m currently accepting suggestions and donations.

Hockey players and fans are arguably the most superstitious in the world, so maybe it was the fact that I finally washed my jersey for the first time since our last Cup run. Or maybe it was that I was on a plane. I’m sure the team waking up from our nightmare and remembering how good they are had a little something to do with it. So fellow fanatics, what superstitious traditions finally kicked in, or what drastic measures did you take between Games 3 and 4?

Penguins Show Heart, Destroy Flyers 10-3

Apr 19
2012 5 Comments

Written by Rick Buker

The objective in any survival situation is to adapt, adjust, and overcome. With their playoff lives on the line the victory-starved Penguins achieved all three of those goals during Game 4 on Wednesday night.

Three days after the Flyers delivered a beat-down that left them teetering on the brink of elimination, the boys from the ‘Burgh responded with a little shock and awe of their own. Despite missing four regulars the Pens splintered the orange and black before a packed house at Wells Fargo Center, thanks to Jordan Staal’s hat trick and a bounce-back two-goal effort from MVP candidate Evgeni Malkin. The game also featured a turnaround performance by Marc-Andre Fleury, who stopped 22 of 25 shots following a shaky start.

In a wild and woolly affair that harkened back to the days of the Ottawa Silver Seven and the Dawson City Nuggets, Claude Giroux staked the Flyers to an early lead with a power-play goal at 1:26. Two minutes later Malkin tied the score for the Pens. Working a give-and-go with Pascal Dupuis, the rangy Russian drove to the net and popped home a rebound off Ilya Bryzgalov’s pads for his first goal of the series.

The Pens snatched the lead at 8:05, courtesy of a power-play tally by Matt Niskanen. However, the visitors soon got into penalty trouble and the opportunistic Flyers made them pay. Forty-six seconds after Kimmo Timonen beat Fleury through the five-hole, Jakub Voracek cashed in from the right-wing circle on a pretty feed from Wayne Simmonds.

Penguins Get an ‘A’ for Atrocious

Apr 16
2012 19 Comments

Written by Rick Buker

I’ve been a die-hard Penguins fan for nearly 40 years. During that span there have been precious few times—especially since the arrival of Mario Lemieux—when I haven’t been proud of our team. But this is one of ‘em.

It isn’t that the Pens lost a crucial Game 3 to the piping-hot Flyers yesterday. Every team loses. Rather, it’s the way they lost that has my guts churning.

With their playoff lives on the line, our boys seemed infinitely more interested in extracting a pound of flesh than extending the series to … say … a Game 5. To make matters worse, the chief instigator in the team’s roguish and thoroughly undisciplined play was their leader and captain Sidney Crosby.

I’ve always had the utmost admiration and respect for Crosby. Not only is he an exceptional hockey player, but he’s a wonderful young man as well. However, this wasn’t Sid’s finest hour. Instead of focusing his energies on dissecting Philly’s defense, he seemed most intent on stirring up crap.

The team followed Crosby’s questionable lead to the hilt. Our best defenseman, Kris Letang, got tossed in the first period of a must-win game for fighting. Arron Asham cross-checked Brayden Schenn up high in response to a hard, but clean hit and then pounded his head into the ice for good measure. If I didn’t know better, I’d have sworn the Pens and Flyers had switched jerseys before the opening faceoff.

Can the Penguins Beat the Flyers?

Apr 14
2012 5 Comments

Written by Rick Buker

After watching Philadelphia cut through the black and gold like a knife going through a tub of warm butter in Games 1 and 2, the question on everyone’s mind is, “can the Penguins beat the Flyers?” The answer is yes.

But first, a history lesson. Step into my time machine, if you will, and set the date for April 26, 1992. Fresh off a dismal 7-2 Game 4 loss to Washington, the Penguins were hanging onto their playoff lives by an anorexic thread. Fueled by the inspired play of Peter Bondra, Al Iafrate, and the much-despised Dino Ciccarelli, the Capitals had raced to a 3-1 series lead. Worse yet, the Caps were beating the defending Cup champs at their own run-and-gun game.

Sound familiar? It should. It’s precisely the predicament facing our present-day Penguins.

Fortunately, two of the ’92 squad’s most respected members, Mario Lemieux and Ron Francis, approached coach Scotty Bowman with a radical plan.

“Mario came to me the morning of the fifth game and said, ‘Why don’t we surprise them and play the game close to the vest. Tight, tight, tight,’” Bowman recalled. “I’d never pushed a lot of defensive hockey on this team, but since it was Mario who suggested it….”

If the Penguins are going to win Bylsma must pull in the reins

Apr 14
2012 1 Comment

Written by Phil Krundle

The Penguins have tried to win it their way. The Penguins war of attrition has failed and it’s time to look at what does work. What has worked is the New York Rangers game plan. The Rangers are 6-0 against the Flyers this year and the most goals the Flyers have scored against them in a game is 3. There are a few simple changes Penguins coach Dan Bylsma can make to turn this series around.

Bring the Cowboys back down to earth

The Penguins have some cowboys running wild and if Bylsma doesn’t reel them in the series is going to be over on Wednesday.

It’s time to have a serious talk with James Neal and Chris Kunitz and ask them if they would like to be moved to the checking line. While even strength every time Evgeni Malkin got the puck and looked up there was not one person to be found in front of the net. Kunitz & Neal were more interested in making a crowd pleasing thunderous checks than scoring..

While Kunitz and Neal were playing cowboys behind the Flyers net the Flyers were odd man rushing the Penguins to no end. Kunitz ended up a -5 for the game and I’m still scratching my head as to how READ MORE »

Flyers Torch Penguins 8-5 in Barnburner

Apr 14
2012 3 Comments

Written by Rick Buker

It’s no secret the Penguins and Flyers have one of the most heated rivalries in all of sports. But they also play some incredibly entertaining hockey. Such was the case Friday night before a packed house at CONSOL Energy Center. In one of the most riveting games ever witnessed in Western Pennsylvania the never-say-die Flyers—paced by hat tricks from Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier—mounted yet another furious rally to down the locals 8-5.

Again Philly played the tortoise to the Penguins’ hare. A mere 15 seconds after the opening draw Sidney Crosby finished off a give-and-go with Steve Sullivan to ignite the fireworks. Working on a power play, Chris Kunitz redirected a nifty feed from James Neal past Ilya Bryzgalov at 9:27 to stake the jack-rabbit Pens to a 2-0 lead.

With his team under siege, Flyers coach Peter Laviolette called an early time out for the second game in a row. Once more the strategy paid instant dividends. While killing off a penalty to Nicklas Grossmann ex-Pen Max Talbot struck for a shorthanded goal. However, with only 18 seconds left in the period light-scoring Paul Martin beat Bryzgalov from the slot to restore the Pens’ two-goal edge.

Again, the feisty Flyers came roaring back. Five minutes into a ferocious second period Giroux ripped the puck past Marc-Andre Fleury on the power play. The prenaturnally gifted Flyer (six points for the evening) cashed in again at 11:04, lashing a beautiful pass from Talbot off the left post for a game-tying shorthanded tally.

Gameday Poop: Game 1 – Penguins vs Flyers – The Bloodbath

Apr 11
2012 1 Comment

Written by Phil Krundle

Don’t let these Flyers fool you. Flyers GM Paul Holmgren and coach Peter Laviolette have gone about rebuilding the team from the ground up. They started by removing the characters and keeping the players with character. In the off season they added and paid heavily for a player to come in that brought playoff experience. Not only did he bring experience, he brought a great presence in the locker room and could bring the players together outside the rink also. No, not Jaromir Jagr, I’m talking about Maxime Talbot.

This year with the Flyers Talbot enjoyed his best professional season to date. The building up of friendships outside the rink could end up being Talbot’s undoing though as it will be hard to play his scrappy game against his good friends.

Don’t let last Saturday’s game fool you. The Flyers Scottie Hartnell smiled and said this about tonight’s game. “It’s going to be a bloodbath,”. The Flyers did not READ MORE »

"RT @malkin71_: Pens Fans are best- get me through next round. VOTE http://t.co/aHNJppPD #NHL13Cover"

4 days ago

"RT @jneal_18: One last push for Geno pens fans. I'd love for him to kno lovejoys first name. http://t.co/aHNJppPD #NHL13Cover #malkamania"

4 days ago

"RT @emptynetters: Brooks Orpik takes part in #YouCanPlay initiative: http://t.co/7tPbS6JO"

4 days ago

"RT @jneal_18: Hey pens fans i just voted Geno for the nhl 13 cover. Get your votes in for an unbelievable player. #lazy ://bit.ly/Vote4Geno"

6 days ago

"RT @NHLhistorygirl: On this date in 1991, the 1st Stanley Cup Finals game was played at the Civic Arena; #Pens hosted the #NorthStars."

6 days ago

"Could the #Penguins lose Malkin in 2 years? http://t.co/0LugJfJ7 #NHL #Pens"

7 days ago

follow @PenguinPoop on twitter

HOME \| ABOUT US ARCHIVES \| LINKS	PLAYOFF STANDINGS NHL STAT LEADERS PENS PLAYER STATS PENS SCHEDULE LATEST SCORES TRANSACTIONS PENS SALARY CAP
LATEST PENGUINS NEWS \| PENGUINS BLOG NEWS
PENGUINPOOP RADIO \| PENGUINPOOP TV \| PENGUINPOOP PIC'S \| PENGUINS HISTORY

Posts tagged Evgeni Malkin

Superstition Dictates I be Airborne on Friday.

Penguins Show Heart, Destroy Flyers 10-3

Penguins Get an ‘A’ for Atrocious

Can the Penguins Beat the Flyers?

If the Penguins are going to win Bylsma must pull in the reins

Flyers Torch Penguins 8-5 in Barnburner

Gameday Poop: Game 1 – Penguins vs Flyers – The Bloodbath

PenguinPoop’s Latest

Who's Online

PenguinPoop Unique Visitors

PenguinPoop Tweets

PenguinPoop Pictures

Latest Penguins News

PenguinPoop’s Latest

What Our Blog Friends Are Saying

Posts tagged Evgeni Malkin

Follow Us

PenguinPoop’s Latest

Who's Online

PenguinPoop Unique Visitors

PenguinPoop Tweets

PenguinPoop Pictures

Latest Penguins News

PenguinPoop’s Latest

What Our Blog Friends Are Saying