Keep The Faith: Pens-Flyers Game 2

On Wednesday night, we were all sent down to the deepest level of depression that we've been in a while. That feeling no doubt carried over into Thursday as you woke up for work or whatever you had to do. It was feeling very similar to that of losing your dog. Kind of felt like you've had your heart ripped out. Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  Guess what? That was only game one, and it's better than happening in game two.

The Pens came out looking like the best team in hockey for twenty minutes.  They looked as if there wasn't a team on the planet that could beat them in a seven game series.

What happened next give every Pens fan the right to be pissed, the right to question this teams heart, and the right to expect more.

They didn't lose because they got beat while playing their best hockey.  No, they lost because they thought they had the game won after 20 minutes of playing.  They let the lead go to their heads, and it cost them.

Turnovers, lackadaisical passing, and a sense of privilege cost them game 1. Paul Martin begin afraid to take a hit to make a play, pinching deep in the offensive zone and not getting back to position, killed them. The defense not moving the puck up and out, killed them. The forwards no tracking back to the net on the back check, killed them.

That is not Pittsburgh Penguins hockey, and that has to anger everyone, at least a little bit.

This Philadelphia Flyers team is not better than the Penguins. They are a team that has jumped on every mistake every team has made this year, and they did it Wednesday night.

Thankfully it was game one. Thankfully they get a second chance. Now they just have to take it.

Structurally the Pens were awful in the last forty minutes of play, and the matchup game cost them. Dan Bylsma has got to stop being afraid to put Sidney Crosby on the ice against the Flyers top line. He's done this in the past few years during the playoffs, and it's cost them games. We may not have had the two best players in the lineup, but we've had a line up that is hungry for a win if he lets them play.

This is a must win for the Penguins tonight. Can't say it any other way. Would be tough for them to take four of six from a team that they have struggled with all year.

Say Your Prayers

Hail Mario, full of goals, 

The Pens fans are with Thee,

Please bless us now with good bounces and goals,

And lead the Penguins to victory.

Welcome to the War

And on this day of April fifth in the year two thousand and twelve, eastern Pennsylvania and western Pennsylvania have declared war. The troops from their respective sides of the state will report to battle at some point next week.  


With the Penguins 4-2 win over the New York Rangers, they were not only rewarded with the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, but they also get the opportunity to end the Flyers Stanley Cup dreams once again. 


This series is what the playoffs are all about. Two heated rivals playing for the right to move on to continue their climb to be engraved into eternity. 


If you haven't been looking forward to this from July 1st, then you have no pulse. This series will have everything. Buckle up. 


Don't even care about the stats in this game. More important things ahead. 


We'll have a Pens-Flyers preview as well as the other series.  Say your Hail Marios. 

Pens Win, Move in on Fourth Seed

At times it wasn't pretty for the Penguins last night but they got the job done, on the road against a legitimate contender to represent the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup finals. Wins don't have to be pretty during this time of year, they just need to happen.

Ray Shero Rips Mike Milbury

After the trade deadline came and went, Penguins General Manager Ray Shero said he believed in his team, and he's shown exactly how much he's willing to go to back that statement up.  Mike Milbury made himself look like an idiot by going on a Philadelphia radio station poking fun at Sidney Crosby and his concussion problems. Well Ray Shero took it very personal and fired right back.

Get Your Bulletin Board Ready

We are more than a week away and it is almost certain that fate will make the inevitable Stanley Cup Playoff first round matchup with the Flyers a certainty. At this point it would be a let down if it didn't happen. Too much fuel has been added to the fire of this hated rivalry. After Sunday's game, and with one regular season matchup remaining between the two squads, the drama is only going to keep being added.

Buckle Up, We're in for a Wild Ride

It feels good to be back after a long hiatus, filled with 79 games of a roller coaster season.  Right now we are about to be to the top of the Phantom's Revenge and getting ready for a wild decent into what we know as the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  As of right now, the Pens sit 5 points out of first place in the division and the Eastern Conference, behind the New York Rangers and both teams only have three games to play.  It is likely that Pens will not catch the Rangers meaning a battle with our good friends, the Philadelphia Flyers, awaits us in the first round, which given Sunday's matchup, provides arguably the most drama contained first round series in the league.  We'll look at to how the Pens had gotten to this point, and what adjustments the may need to make in order to survive the war that is looming. 

BUCKLE UP