The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall.

Queen Lundqvist sucks at the Mellon, so the Rags went with 6 foot 6 inch giant goalie Stephen Valiquette. And it was free Hat Night. Bing made the most of these two situations.



Highlights:

FIRST PERIOD

-Tanger, Goggles, and TK all return tonight. FINALLY.

-Eaton gets nabbed for a penalty 37 seconds in. Pens PK mops up.

-Douchebag Avery jobs Fleury, Pens get a PP. It looks sharp, but Death Valley shuts it down.

-Marc Staal takes a pass, blows by a rusty Goggles and buries a backhand past Flower. 1-0 Rags.

-Bing does some hard work behind the Rags net and gets it in front to Geno who buries it. 1-1. Crosby and Guerin get assists.

-Goggles hits the afterburners and takes on at least 3 Rags in the zone, they poke it free and Bing gets it just before it goes offsides. Bing then rips an Unreal wrist shot past Death Valley. 2-1 Pens. Sick shot by Bing. Sick. Goggles gets the only assist.

-Tanger gets a crisp pass to Superstar, who passes to Bing. Bing goes back to the Superstar and Mad Max goes forehand, backhand, and scores. First goal since last years Game 7 and it's a beaut. 3-1 Pens. Bing and Tanger get assists.

-Period ends with a scrum. Rupp is seen laughing at what a little woman Avery is.



SECOND PERIOD

-17 seconds in, Billy Gunn gets 2 minutes for hooking. Pens PK = money.

-Flower makes a big save on Drury and then Higgins looking for a rebound.

-Prospal gets a penalty. Pens PP does a decent job, but no dice.

-Rags pile in front of the net, Gilroy fires a long shot Flower probably never sees. 3-2.

-Del Zotto tries to job Billy Gunn and gets a penalty. Again, the Pens PP is shut down. Rags always have a pretty good PK.

-With time ticking down, Eaton flicks a shot at the net and it goes in with 0.00.02 left in the period. UNREAL. Adams and Free Candy get the assists. 4-2 Pens. It's a perfect setup for a wild third period.

THIRD PERIOD

-33 seconds in, Rags come out with fire and Rozsival slaps one past Fleury. 4-3.

-Death Valley does his best French Toast impression and tries to play a puck behind his net. The league leader in takeways, Malkimania jobs him and gets the puck. Geno tries to stuff it in but it slides out to Crosby. Bing flicks it off the back Death Valley and into the net. Way to keep your team in the game. 5-3, Geno gets the only assist.

-4 minutes later, Iceman finds himself alone on the right point with puck. he winds up and blows a slapper past Death Valley. 6-3 Pens. Free Candy and Sarge with the assists. That's 7 goals for Dupuis now.

-Cooke blasts Artem Anisimov with a shoulder check. He gets 2 minutes for interference. He left his feet, yes, but how many players have we seen do this and worse with no repercussion? At least Anisimov made it to his bench, under his own power, unlike some dudes who get nailed with cheap shots. I'm talking about you Leadership.

-Pens kill Cooke's penalty.

-Brashear jumps Cooke, even though a ref is between them, and starts firing punches over the ref at Cooke. Jokeshear gets a double-minor for roughing. Thanks for taking that stupid penalty to give your team absolutely no chance to get back in it.

-On that PP, Bing takes a pass from Goggles, fakes a slapper, moves in, and buries another sick slapper. That's an HT on hat night, so Highmark hats come raining out of the stands like a snowstorm. It's a glorious sight. And a glorious score. 7-3 Pens.

-Pens still have the second half of that PP to work with, so 25 seconds later Tanger TangBangs a shot that TK deflects in. 8-3 Pens.

-Callahan fights Matt Cooke to answer for his hit to Anisimov, as per the Code. They both get a few shots in and hug the rest out.

-With about 6 minutes left, Avery shows what a coward and douchebag he is by jumping Fedotenko from behind. What an Unreal joke. He gets 2 for instigating, 5 for fighting and a 10-minute misconduct and has to be shoved down the runway by a ref cause he's crying so badly. Pens get a 7 minute power play.

-"GO HOME RANG-ERS! GO-HOME RAN-GERS!"

-Fans chant Happy Birthday to Fleury. Unreal.

-Pens spend the rest of the game jobbing on the PP trying to set up Godard.

-End of the game, 8-3 final.


RECAP

-Unreal night by Bing. 3 goals, 2 assists, +4. What a Captain.

-Geno chipped in a goal, assist, and +2.

-Great night for the returning kids. 2 assists for both Goggles and Tanger and a goal from TK. Goggles looked a little rusty at first, but was much better after the first period. Tanger was solid all night and TK was flying like old times.

-Pens other d-men chipped in too, Gonch and Free Candy with 2 assists and Eaton with a big goal.

-Even though he gave up 3, Flower was solid on his b-day. He made a couple big saves in the second to keep the Rags in check.

-How does Staal end up a -2? Talk about bad luck.

-At least he wasn't a -5 like some Del Zotto dude.

-Cooke has been suspended 2 games for the hit on Anisimov. You know what, I don't like it, but I'll accept it. But it sickens me that guys like Jokevechkin can do the same thing and get no repercussions. Leadership headshots a guy (who is still on his back) and gets nada. Hell, even Colby Armstrong has become a headhunter and gets away with. If you are gonna punish Cooke, the Kronwalls and Jokevechkins need to be punished too. And that Douchenozzle Avery absolutely needs to get suspended for jumping FedEx. If that doesn't happen, the NHL is making a solid case to become a joke.

-Rags are a Joke.

-Anyways, it's a great feeling feeling to blow out a rival. We hate the Flyers, Caps, and Red Wings so much, we forget that we have a solid rivalry with the Rags as well.

-Monday is gonna be interesting, to say the least.

-LET'S GO PENS!!!!


-the Blueline Bandit

Give Thanks To Bing. Pens Win 3-1.

As Bob Errey put it, let's be thankful Crosby's dad produced him. I think Errey went a little hard on the eggnog tonight.

You know that you are in good shape when your fourth line is looking impressive. They showed great puck control and really grinded things out. Give props to them tonight, especially Godard. The first period alone he played 4:21, when he usually averages 4:33 per game. He ended up with just under 10 minutes of ice time. Pretty solid. Four shots on goal? Career high for him. As the loud guys sitting next to us at the Ducks game said, Godard's due.

I thought Dups looked good tonight too. Apparently they are referring to him as The Roadrunner? Anyways, he had three shots on goal tonight.

This next line is brought to you by Bob Errey:
(Referring to Carey Price) "He was on his knees when Crosby put it over his glove hand."

Of course, we have to mention the magnificence that was Bing tonight. His goal in the first period was superb, not to mention the furthest away from the net that he has scored this season. He set up Sarge beautifully for his goal in the second period. Bing showed excellent defensive work breaking up plays. Don't know what it is, but he comes out guns ablazing when the Pens play the Habs.


Billy G., Disco Dan, and Bing all business. The guy in the white shirt behind them though really creeps me out.

While the PP didn't produce any goals, it produced a ton of momentum that was definitely a factor in the Billy G. goal. Once we get Tanger and Gogo back, it's all systems go. It's one of those situations where even if there isn't a goal on the PP, it is beneficial and gets the team going.

Did anyone catch the graphic when Montreal was on the PP in the second that said the Pens PK was 0% and ranked 6th in the NHL? FSN fail. Gave us a chuckle though. Hate to see what the percentage would be for the last place team.

Fleury had some beautiful saves in this game. Mr. Bourque made a lousy play that could have resulted in a Montreal goal, but Fleury came up with the glove save. In the third period Fleury made an unreal save that prevented a shorthanded goal. Solid game.


Staal has been playing great hockey. His passing looks good, he's playing physical, and he's been getting the points. Great asset to this team.

I just don't understand why Price wasn't pulled at the end. Your team is down by two goals, and anything can happen that last minute of the game. There were a couple of times near the end that he was forced to stay in, but he also had his chances to exit so Montreal could get their extra attacker on the ice. They just gave up at the end, and I do not respect that at all. Joke.

Again, the boys looked good tonight. If we can play like this now, just wait til Kunitz, Kennedy, Tanger, and Gogo are healthy again. Gotta love this team.

NJ ended up with a win tonight too. Blegh. The Cryers won too. Leadership got a goal. Somewhere Pierre McGuire is pink with glee.

I would just like to finish by wishing everybody a happy and safe Thanksgiving with your family and friends. Enjoy the holiday and lots of Pens hockey this weekend.

Moose Out.

It Was Only A Matter Of Time. Pens Comeback Beats Panthers.

They don't call them the Comeback Kids for nothing. Down 2-0 to the Panthers, again, with Vokoun shutting down everything, the Pens poured it on to tie the game in the 3rd and caught a break to win it in OT.



Highlights:

FIRST PERIOD

-Panthers unvelied their third jerseys and they looked vaguely familiar. Basically they are the Pens third jersey, only darker blue and ugly as hell.

-Bing runs over Vokoun. 2 mins. Pens PK makes it look easy.

-Geno gets dropped by Bryan Allen at the Panthers net after chopping away at the puck by Jokoun's pads. On the ensuing faceoff, Animal (Rupp) drops the gloves with Allen and pastes his face against the glass. Unreal job of sticking up for a teammate.

-Ballard jobs Bing. Bing jobs Ballard back. Bing gets the 2. Pens PK mops up.

-The Swedish Chef gets a tripping call. Pens PK = money.

-Pens get sloppy and give the Panthers a 3 on 2. 1-0 Florida.




SECOND PERIOD

-Pens get a PP. It looks decent, but Jokoun shuts it down.

-Pens turn it over in the neutral zone, Panthers jump on it. 2-0 Florida.

-FSN goes dark. Technical Difficulties. Vomit.




THIRD PERIOD

-Apparently, FSN Florida sucks too. Feed is back. Rob King apologizes and all is forgiven.

-Pens get the puck on net, it's bouncing everywhere and it eventually goes up and over Jokoun's shoulder. Just as it's going in, a Panther dislodges the net, but the ref actually is spot on and makes the right call, GOAL. Credit for the goal goes to the Iceman. Free Candy and the British Bulldog get assists. 2-1.

-Saw this on Empty Netters, Malkin (6 foot 3, 195 pounds) takes a shift with Staal (6-foot-4, 220 pounds) and Rupp (6-foot-5, 230 pounds). Earthquake Line.

-It's all Pens in th third.

-With around 3 mins left, the Pens control the puck for an UNREAL 88 seconds in the Panther zone. It was only a matter of time. Panthers are exhausted when Geno backhands the puck to Animal in front who buries it. Geno and Adams with the helpers. What a shift. 2-2.

-Florida is on the ropes.




OVERTIME

-Pens catch a break when the officials call a late 4 minute high sticking penalty on Horton for drawing blood on Free Candy. What a stroke of luck.

-Jokoun tries to hold the fort, but Geno smacks a slapper, rebound to Bing, Game. Geno and Billy Gunn assist. 3-2.


Thoughts:

-Mike Rupp. What a human. Not only does he score goals, he is becoming the Pens true enforcer. (Sorry Gods.)

-Free Candy was in high supply last night.

-Vokoun was solid, but Flower made some big saves when it was 2-0 to make this comeback possible. Fleury FTW.

-Btw, Iceman has 6 goals.

-Never count our boys out.


In other news, the NHL has suspended Flyers forward Danielle Briere 2 games for a late hit. LMAO.



16-8-0. After the 9-1 start, the Pens have gone 7-7. That's pretty decent considering the injury situation. Now the Pens are getting healthy.

Look out NHL.


-the Blueline Bandit

Pens Target The Moose, Win 3-2

How appropriate The Moose is blogging about the Pens against The Moose.

Good to see a win on the road from the boys. We definitely needed a morale boost after the disaster that was Ottawa on Thursday night. The return of Free Candy was great to see, and it looks like TK is well on his way to coming back soon.

How about Skoula tonight? 2 goals...who would have thought it? I was totally cheering for a Skoula HT, but it just didn't happen. Definitely think Potash has a man crush on him. He used the words "red hot" when talking to him just a little too much. Apparently the size of his toe is pretty significant, according to Bob Errey. Lovejoy and Engelland have continued to be contributors for us as well. They work hard and have really stepped it up and been of help to us with the loss of our starting defensemen. I give them their props.

I thought Hedberg played a hard fought game. The Pens could have easily had 6 or 7 goals tonight. His defense left him out to dry multiple times tonight, especially during the second period. The Pens had 3 odd man rushes early in the second period, and he came up with some good saves. He also denied Superstar on the penalty shot. Gotta give him some credit.

I love how Geno scored at the end of his very long shift during the second period. He probably just refused to leave the ice until he scored a goal.

There was another vital lesson in Bob Errey arithmetic tonight. One stick + one butt= one goal. Just blows my mind.

Did you know Chris Bourque is Ray Bourque's son?

Another thing that blew my mind tonight was the reffing. Absolutely AWFUL tonight. Apparently it is possible to trip somebody without even touching them. Afinogenov apparently was barrelled over by Free Candy's stare or some kind of Jedi mind trick, and Bourque gets sent to the penalty box. Can't explain that one to you. At the end of the second period Atlanta's net gets dislodged, but I guess it wasn't necessary to blow the whistle. Afinogenov, who seemingly had recovered from the phantom trip barrels down the ice and Fleury makes a great save on him. If that would have ended up a goal heads would have rolled. During the 4 minute PP in the third Malkin's stick is slashed, no call. Should have been a 5 on 3 for the Pens, but the Thrashers end up going down the ice and scoring. Never should have been a goal.

ANYWAYS....the Pens end up with the win, and it was great to see. Fleury had a solid game tonight and definitely bounced back from Thursday. Our win tonight and the Devils loss pushed us to first place in the Atlantic Division. I think the boys played a good game tonight and I hope we get another W in Florida to end out this road trip. Let's Do It.

Moose Out.

A nickname is a descriptive name given in place of or in addition to the official name of a person.

We love to use nicknames. So we decided to list all the ones we like best and use most, so if you ever get confused, please consult this handy list. We didn't come up with all of these. Most are PBS (PensBlogSlang), some were coined by our pals, and some we came up with ourselves.


Da Pens
Sidney Crosby = Bing.
Evgeni Malkin = Geno, Malkimania.
Jordan Staal = Big Bird (Sesame Street Line)
Max Talbot = Superstar (solidified it in Game 7 of SCF)
Bill Guerin = Billy Gunn (wicked shot)
Chris Kunitz = Kunikaze (watch the way he hits)
Ruslan Fedotenko = Fed Ex (he delivers)
Matt Cooke = Cookie Monster (Sesame Street Line)
Tyler Kennedy = TK, Tiger, Elmo (Sesame Street Line)
Pascal Dupuis = Iceman (dude looks like an unfrozen caveman lol)
Craig Adams = The Janitor (very quietly goes about his job, cleans up on the PK)
Mike Rupp = Animal (like that crazy Muppet, you never know what he's gonna do...score a sick goal, fight some joke, or just fall down on the ice)
Chris Bourque = Swedish Chef (borque! borque! borque!)
Eric Godard = Hand of Godard

Sergei Gonchar = Sarge.
Kris Letang = Tanger, LeGame, TangBang.
Brooks Orpik = Free Candy.
Alex Goligoski = Goggles. (for his vision on the PP and the ability to see the puck into back of the net)
Mark Eaton = Robot. (sticks to the program and gets the job done)
Jay McKee = Stop, Drop, and Block
Martin Skoula = Schoolbus (original, I know)
Ben Lovejoy = Rev.
Derek Engelland = British Bulldog
Nate Guenin = Sewickly

Marc-Andre Fleury = Flower
Brent Johnson = I need a good one for him, suggestions?



Dan Bylsma = Disco, All Business
Mike Yeo = Pink Slip (everybody wants this guy fired everytime the PP doesn't score)
Tony Granato = Grit

Mario Lemieux = Buries It.
Ray Shero = King Shero.
Bob Errey = The Bibster

Sesame Street Line = Staal, Cooke, Kennedy


Other NHL'ers
Alex Ovechkin = Jokevechkin.
Mike Richards = Leadership.
Marian Hossa = NOssa.
Scott Hartnell = DOUCHEBAG
Tim Thomas = Michelan Man, any other fat joke you can think of.
Marty Biron = French Toast.
Chris Osgood = Louganis.
Henrik Lundqvist = Queen Henry
Daniel Brière = Danielle Beret.
David Clarkson = Kelly



Ryan Malone = Bugsy
Colby Armstrong = Army
Hal Gil = U.S.S Gil
Rob Scuderi = The Piece
Petr Sykora = 300.
Ty Conklin = Conk Block
Mark Recchi = Wreckin ball



By the way, we also use the words Unreal, Joke, Solid, and (insert word here)City a lot.



Enjoy kids.


PS- Our good friend the Goon Blogger went Shout-OutCity on us, so we are returning the favor. If you love blood, fights, and the Code check him out. He knows his stuff. Link in the sidebar.



-the Blueline Bandit

Salutations and Introductions.

My name is the Blueline Bandit. My Unreal wife is known as the Moose. We love hockey and are passionate Pens fans. We will never claim to be experts and will never claim that our opinion is fact. We just love discussing our boys, win or lose. We started out small on Facebook and we hope our faithful Facebook friends follow us here and we hope to make some new ones.

We live roughly an hour south of the Burgh and almost never miss a game on TV. We make it down to the Igloo about three times a year for a game in person. Our favorite players tend to be defensemen. (hence the blog name). My favorite is Letang and the Moose's favorite is Goligoski. At our wedding reception, we entered wearing our Pens jerseys to "The Boys of Winter", had a ceremonial puck drop, and drank champagne out of a little replica Stanley Cup. Unreal, I know.

We talk in PBS, thats PensBlog Slang (Unreal, Buries It, etc.) and usually refer to players by nicknames, so we apologize if we blow your mind.

Feel free to leave comments, thoughts, questions, or stories. Arguments are welcome, just don't be disrespectful and don't get personal. Keep it real.

Pens and Sens on Thursday. Down yet another d-man in McKee, but we got a great one coming back in Sarge. Orpik and Tanger aren't far behind. Superstar is slated to make a triumphant return to the ice as well. Hoping to get healthy again soon and striking fear back into the EC.

Well, that's it for now. We hope you come back often, we hope you enjoy our rants, and we hope you continue to cheer on the most Unreal hockey team in the world, The Pittsburgh F'in' Penguins.

I leave you now with Bing and the Torch. Chills.

-the BlueLine Bandit