The REAL Super Sunday Matchup

Read the rest of this entry >>

Tags: Alex Goligoski, Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Brooks Laich, Brooks Orpik, Bruce Boudreau, Chris Kunitz, Craig Adams, Dan Bylsma, Eric Fehr, Evgeni Malkin, Jason Chimera, Jay McKee, Jeff Schultz, Jordan Staal, Jose Theodore, Kris Letang, Marc Andre Fleury, Mark Eaton, Matt Cooke, Mike Knuble, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, Nicklas Backstrom, Pascal DuPuis, Semyon Varlamov, Sergei Gonchar, Shaone Morrison, Sidney Crosby, Tom Poti, Tyler Kennedy, Vancouver Winter Olympics, Verizon Center, Washington Capitals

Rest or Rust?

Read the rest of this entry >>

Tags: Alex Goligoski, Alexander Ovechkin, Andrei Markov, Bell Centre, Ben Maxwell, Brent Johnson, Brian Gionta, Brooks Orpik, Chris Kunitz, Craig Adams, Dan Bylsma, Evgeni Malkin, Jaroslav Halak, Kris Letang, Marc Andre Fleury, Mark Eaton, Mark Letestu, Matthieu Darsche, Maxim Lapierre, Mike Cammalleri, Montreal Canadiens, Pascal DuPuis Jordan Staal, Ruslan Fedotenko, Ryan White, Scott Gomez, Sergei Gonchar, Sidney Crosby, Tomas Plekanec, Travis Moen, Tyler Kennedy, Washington Capitals

Crank Up the Rumor Mill

With all of this down time on the Pens schedule, reporters have had time to manufacture some potential trade deadline deals as the Olympic break is now closing in on a week away. Somehow the Penguins find themselves in the middle of some strange rumors that a potential trade with the Chicago Blackhawks is brewing involving defenseman Jay McKee. In the previous contest for Pittsburgh against Buffalo, McKee was scratched for undisclosed reasons and many are pointing to that as a sign that perhaps they are trying to prevent injury before a deal my be reached. There are conflicting reports about just why McKee didn’t take part in the game against Buffalo, but still the suspicion that the Pens are looking to deal a player of McKee’s defensive prowess especially to a team like Chicago that could be their potential opponent in a Stanley Cup matchup in June is a bit of a stretch to say the least.

Read the rest of this entry >>

Tags: Andrew Ladd, Ben Lovejoy, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Dean Lombardi, Jack Johnson, Jay McKee, Jordan Staal, Los Angeles Kings, Marc Andre Fleury, Martin Skoula, Maxime Talbot, Michigan Wolverines, Ray Shero, Stanley Cup

Threematch with the Sabres

As almost an anticlimax to yesterday’s thrilling shootout victory over the Detroit Red Wings, the Penguins will play host to the Buffalo Sabres tonight in a back to back situation. This will be the third game between Pittsburgh and Buffalo this season with the Penguins getting the better of the Sabres 2-1 in a shootout win in mid-December before facing them a week and a half later and blowing a three goal lead to fall in their rematch. The consensus best goaltender in hockey this year aside from Martin Brodeur who is otherworldly has been Ryan Miller of the Sabres. In the less than period and a half of action that Pittsburgh has seen Miller this year however, the Pens have racked up three tallies against the Buffalo netminder and chased him from the net in their rematch before the new year on December 29th. On the other hand, in the game and a half that the Pens have gone against veteran backup Patrick Lalime, Pittsburgh has scored only one goal in nearly one hundred minutes of hockey excluding the shootout marks. Regardless of Lalime’s success and Miller’s struggles against Pittsburgh, the USA Olympic starter Miller will get the nod between the pipes tonight and his sparkling .935 save percentage on the season pales in comparison to his modest .888 career save percentage against the Pens. For Pittsburgh, this contest will be a difficult task for none other than the fact that they will be trying to avoid a letdown from their emotional win a little more than 24 hours ago against Detroit. The Penguins face a tough decision on short rest to start Marc-Andre Fleury, but the Flower is in the crease.

Read the rest of this entry >>

Tags: Alex Goligoski, Bill Guerin, Brent Johnson, Brooks Orpik, Buffalo Sabres, Chris Butler, Clarke MacArthur, Derek Roy, Detroit Red Wings, Evgeni Malkin, Henrik Tallinder, Jason Pominville, Jay McKee, Jochen Hecht, Jordan Staal, Kris Letang, Marc Andre Fleury, Mark Letestu, Martin Brodeur, Martin Skoula, Matt Cooke, Mike Grier, Mike Rupp, Montreal Canadiens, Nick Johnson, Pascal DuPuis, Patrick Lalime, Ruslan Fedotenko, Ryan Miller, Sidney Crosby, Steve Montador, Thomas Vanek, Tim Connolly, Tim Kennedy, Tyler Kennedy, Tyler Myers, Washington Capitals

Stanley Cup Vibes

Read the rest of this entry >>

Tags: Alex Goligoski, Brad Stuart, Brett Lebda, Brian Rafalski, Brooks Orpik, Buffalo Sabres, Chris Kunitz, Chris Osgood, Craig Adams, Dan Cleary, Detroit Red Wings, Drew Miller, Eric Godard, Evgeni Malkin, Henrik Zetterberg, Jason Williams, Jimmy Howard, Joe Louis Arena, Johan Franzen, Jonathan Ericsson, Jordan Staal, Marc Andre Fleury, Mark Eaton, Mark Letestu, Matt Cooke, Maxime Talbot, Mellon Arena, Mike Babcock, Nick Johnson, Niklas Kronwall, Pascal DuPuis, Pavel Datsyuk, Ruslan Fedotenko, Sergei Gonchar, Sidney Crosby, Stanley Cup, Tomas Holmstrom, Valtteri Filppula, Wilkes-Barre Baby Penguins

A Reversal of Fortunes

Read the rest of this entry >>

Tags: Alexei Kovalev, Anton Volchenkov, Brian Elliott, Chris Conner, Chris Kelly, Chris Neil, Chris Phillips, Daniel Alfredsson, Detroit Red Wings, Eric Godard, Erik Karlsson, Evgeni Malkin, Jarkko Ruutu, Jason Spezza, Jay McKee, Jonathan Cheechoo, Kris Letang, Marc Andre Fleury, Mark Eaton, Martin Brodeur, Martin Skoula, Matt Cooke, Maxime Talbot, Mellon Arena, Mike Fisher, Mike Rupp, Milan Michalek, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, Nick Foligno, Nick Johnson, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, Ruslan Fedotenko, Sergei Gonchar, Sidney Crosby, Wilkes-Barre Baby Penguins

The Dominance Continues

Read the rest of this entry >>

Tags: Alex Goligoski, Artem Anisimov, Bill Guerin, Brandon Dubinsky, Brooks Orpik, Chris Conner, Craig Adams, Eric Godard, Evgeni Malkin, Henrik Lundqvist, John Tortorella, Jordan Staal, Kris Letang, Madison Square Garden, Marc Andre Fleury, Marian Gaborik, Martin Skoula, Matt Cooke, Mike Rupp, New York Rangers, Nick Johnson, Ottawa Senators, Pascal DuPuis, Philadelphia Flyers, Sean Avery, Sidney Crosby, Vinny Prospal, Washington Captials

Rivalry Renewal

Read the rest of this entry >>

Tags: Alex Goligoski, Arron Asham, Bill Guerin, Brooks Orpik, Chris Pronger, Claude Giroux, Craig Adams, Dan Bylsma, Daniel Carillo, Darroll Powe, Evgeni Malkin, Jeff Carter, Jordan Staal, Kimmo Timonen, Kris Letang, Madison Square Garden, Marc Andre Fleury, Matt Cooke, Maxime Talbot, Mike Richards, Mike Rupp, New York Rangers, Nick Johnson, Pascal DuPuis, Peter Laviolette, Philadelphia Flyers, Ray Emery, Ruslan Fedotenko, Scott Hartnell, Sergei Gonchar, Sidney Crosby, Simon Gagne, Tyler Kennedy, Wachovia Center, Washington Capitals

Worth the Price of Admission

Setting the stage for tonight’s showdown at Mellon Arena between the Capitals and Penguins is about as easy as hyping up an Ali/Frazier bout. The Caps carry the Eastern Conference’s best record into Mellon Arena tonight while the Pens look to continue their ascension in the standings toward the New Jersey Devils atop the Atlantic Division standings. Hockey fans are already familiar with the back story for this heated rivalry with these two teams providing a thrilling seven game series in last year’s playoffs before the Penguins blew Washington out of the building in game 7. If the playoffs were to begin today, these two teams would be seeded in the exact same spots (2 and 4) as they were last postseason when they met in the second round. Although the Capitals took seven points of a possible eight from the Pens in the regular season last year, the only thing Washington can remember from their games against Pittsburgh is the crushing playoff dismissal. Capitals Head Coach Bruce Boudreau describes the disappointment that is still present in the Caps psyche saying: “We were 3-0-1 against them last year and it didn’t mean a hill of beans. The first couple of times I could only watch (the tape of Game 7) until they scored their first goal, but then I gutted it out and watched it all. But hey, they deserved it. They kicked our butts.” This Washington team brings with it some offensive fireworks as they have led the NHL in goal scoring for much of the year. Superstar Alexander Ovechkin certainly brings no shortage of confidence to the ice tonight as he said: “This is going to be a different game. (Last season) is history.” Similar to the confidence that the Caps are bringing to the arena tonight, Pittsburgh is carrying some swagger of their own after clicking for three power play tallies on Tuesday against the New York Islanders for only the second time all season. Penguins Captain Sidney Crosby expressed his thoughts on the success of the man advantage saying simply: “Those nights are great for your power play’s confidence.” Continued success with the extra man on the ice will surely be a determining factor in the outcome of tonight’s duel.

Read the rest of this entry >>

Tags: Alex Goligoski, Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Bill Guerin, Brendan Morrison, Brent Johnson, Brooks Laich, Brooks Orpik, Bruce Boudreau, Dustin Jeffrey, Eric Fehr, Evgeni Malkin, John Carlson, Jordan Staal, Jose Theodore, Kris Letang, Marc Andre Fleury, Maxime Talbot, Mike Knuble, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, Nick Johnson, Nicklas Backstrom, Pascal DuPuis, Philadelphia Flyers, Ray Shero, Semyon Varlamov, Sergei Gonchar, Shaone Morrisonn, Sidney Crosby, Tomas Fleischmann, Tyler Kennedy, Washington Capitals

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

Read the rest of this entry >>

Tags: Alex Goligoski, Alexander Ovechkin, Andy Sutton, Bill Guerin, Brent Johnson, Brooks Orpik, Dan Bylsma, Doug Weight Richard Park, Dwayne Roloson, Evgeni Malkin, Freddy Meyer, Jack Hillen, Jay McKee, John Curry, John Tavarres, Jon Sim, Jordan Staal, Kris Letang, Kyle Okposo, Marc Andre Fleury, Mark Streit, Martin Brodeur, Matt Cooke, Maxime Talbot, Mellon Arena, Mike Rupp, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, Pascal DuPuis, Rick DiPietro, Sergei Gonchar, Sidney Crosby, Trent Hunter, Tyler Kennedy, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals, Wilkes-Barre Baby Penguins