Hey, He Just Scored On Us, Let's Chant He Sucks!

Beating the Flyers never ever gets old. The Pens take 4 out 4 points in the home and home and are 3-0 against the Flyers this season and in the calendar year of 2009, the Pens are 10-3 against their cross state rivals.

I'm not going to do my usual game recap, instead I feel a rant coming against the team I have always and will always hate most.

-"Crosby Sucks" may just be the dumbest chant in all of sports. It started out as annoying, but now I love it. The more the morons chant it, the more Bing soaks it in and dominates. Take last night, Bing scores on the PP to tie it up and the fans go at it. The dude just scored his 22nd goal, 2nd in the league by the way, but apparently, he sucks. You don't think that was in his mind when he banged one home in the shootout to win the game? So, please Philly fans, keep it up!

-I'm convinced Carcillo is a distant inbred cousin of Hartnell. They both take dumb penalties, take runs at guys, cry when things don't go their way, and one looks like a circus clown and one looks like the greaseball that runs the Tilt-A-Whirl.

-Since June 27th, all I've heard from Philly fans is how Pronger is gonna shut down Bing and Geno and lead them back to the Cup. Watching Chris Pylon the last 2 games has me convinced otherwise. Not only were Bing and Geno abusing him, but Staal and Tenk were outskating him. Clearly not the Pronger of old. And he's only going to get slower as the season goes on. So was it worth Joffrey Lupul, Luca Sbisa, TWO first round draft picks and a conditional third round draft pick? Have fun paying roadkill $7 mill for the next 4 years.

-Speaking of roadkill, did you see Briere's shootout attempt last night? Pathetic. What's even more pathetic is how much they are paying this over-rated little girl. Little Debbie is making $8 mill this year and $7 mill the next 3 seasons. Makes me SICK.

-Flyers fans were all over their goalie, Boucher, last night. I kept reading comment after comment about how much he sucks. I hate to defend a Flyers goalie, but the guy played a pretty solid game last night. If not for him, it's another Pens blowout. Fleury outplayed him FTW, but at least he got his team a point. But a measley point means nothing to Flyers fans. Way to stick up for your team.

-Whenever the Pens dominate the Flyers, which has been often the last few years, Philly fans can't handle it and start to abuse our fanbase. The inevitable comments about the bankruptcies, rumors of relocation, fairweather fans, and the early 2000's come down. Since their team can't compete with the Pens, they think assaulting our tough recent history will make their team better. Guess what, it doesn't. When will Flyers fans learn that the thug tactics will not you win a Cup? Thank God that Ray Shero knows how to build a complete team like the Pens rather than the one dimensional mentality like the Flyers.


-I suffered a lot of crap from Flyers fans over the years. I remember when the Pens absolutely could not win in Philadelphia. I remember losing to them in the playoffs. I remember the taunts during the bankruptcies. So I am loving the Pens domination right now and I'm evening up the score.




-But to get Back to the Point, the Pens are tearing it up right now. Four straight wins, and they've won 10 of the last 13. Battling for not only the division, but for the top spot in the East. And I believe they will be right there for the reats of the season. There is no reason not to think so. Bing is on acid right now. 10 goals and 7 assists in his last 8 games. 5 for 5 in shootouts. 22 goals, second in the NHL, how Unreal is that? He's also become a Faceoff Beast. His will and desire is even greater than last year. And just wait till Geno catches fire...you know it's coming. Fleury has been solid as well. Second in the league in wins with 20. 9-1-1 in his last 11 with a GAA around 2. Throw in a shutdown center like Staal and key role players like Guerin, Rupp, Talbot, Dupuis, TK, and Cooke. Absolutely Solid D with Sarge, Tanger, Goggles, Eaton, McKee, and Free Candy. This year has been a phenomenal ride. Can't wait to see what next year brings.



LETS GO PENS!!!




-the Blueline Bandit

It's Gonna Be a Long Ride Home to Philly. Pens Win 6-1

Seeing the Flyers destroyed 6-1 sure makes for a pretty solid Tuesday night.


We saw in the first period some changes made to the power play, namely Geno playing on the point. Something must have clicked, because we got to see Bing bury one into a wide open net, with Sarge and Tenk picking up the assists. That goal gave bing his 21st of the season, which at game time put him tied at 2nd place in the NHL with Heatley and Ovechkin. Woooo.

If you wanted to see a fight (who doesn't against the Cryers?), then you were not disappointed in the first period. Rupp and Asham squared off first. It wasn't anything to write home about, but it sure got everyone pumped up. Not too much longer afterward, the much expected Godard/Cote fight ensued. Not to be left out, Adams and Carcillo duked it out. It sure made for a crowded penalty box.


After a hard fought effort to get to the net, Billy G. knocked in a loose puck to make it 2-0. You could see Philly crying from the sidelines. Waaa waaa...get over it. We thought it was gonna happen again when a Crosby-Guerin 2 on 1 ensued, but Philly broke it up nicely.

Carcillo scored on a Philly PP and whored himself off to the crowd. 2-1. Ugh.

Kennedy showed great effort tonight, working hard for the puck and trying to get some shots on net. I respect the effort he puts out on the ice. Staal also had one hell of a game. That shorthanded goal he scored to make it 3-1 was just beautiful. With the way he is playing at 21 years old, imagine what his game will keep progressing to in the upcoming years. What a great player.

Breaking news from the Versus announcers...it's cold in Canada. Thanks for the groundbreaking news.

Some ticky-tacky calls in the second period. Tenk got called for interference, but I didn't see it. Rupp got called for roughing for what appeared to me to just be him finishing off a check. At least it didn't result in any goals for the Flyers.

Really wanted to see Godard get a goal...he was parking himself in front of the net trying, but it just didn't happen. He did get an assist though, so that's something.

Power play didn't get anymore goals, but it seems to be making progress. The first unit has been looking better.

Late in the second, Hartnell makes a "what the hell were you thinking?" play and doesn't take a shot on net with a prime opportunity. He was quickly made to regret that decision when Crosby got control of the puck, sent it to Letang, who made a sick setup to Staal. Staal knocks it in. 4-1 at the end of the second.

What appeared to be a Philly PP goal in the third was called off when joke Carcillo kicked it in. Have you seen his moustache? Did he lose a bet?

Tenk gets retribution for the two penalties called on him with a goal to make it 5-1. Malkin even got himself a shorthanded goal at the end to make it 6-1. Nothing like running up the score on Philly. As my husband said, there's no running up the score when you are playing a rival like Philly. You take the chances you get and keep on playing.

Let's hope we can do the same in their house on Thursday night. Let's Do It.

Moose Out.

Wipe Your Nose, Score The Game Winner In OT.

Our Pens played the Florida Panthers, which could mean only two things. Vokoun would stand on his head and stop a lot of shots, but the Pens would win 3-2 in overtime. And that's exactly what happened for the third time this year. Oct. 23 = 3-2 win in shootout. Nov.23 = 3-2 win in OT on a PP goal. And now a 3-2 win in OT on a PP goal. Gotta love the little quirks in the game like this. Let's hit the recap.




FIRST PERIOD

-First off, Kunikaze returns to the lineup finally. Everyone is now back. Weird, we thought we would never see the Pens with their full lineup at their disposal.

-Johnsson and Vokoun both look solid early.

-Rupp gets sent to the sin bin for hooking.

-Panthers capitalize on the PP with a dirty goal from Reinprecht. 1-0 Panthers.

-Adams floats a pass to Dupuis who is screaming down the wing. A Panther poops his pants and falls over, Dups skates in on net and stuns Vokoun with a sweet wrister. 1-1. Nice goal. Adams and Goggles get the assists.

-As Johnson tries to freeze a puck, a douche named Mike Duco cross checks McKee into Johnson and Johnson cracks his head off something. Thankfully he's ok. But somehow Geno gets a 4 minute high stick penalty in the scrum and the Panthers get a PP.

-Pens PK mops up this time.

-Pens get a PP near the end of the period.



SECOND PERIOD

-Pens PP is killed.

-Kunitz gets called for hooking.

-Dvorak gets a big taste of Free Candy. Dvorak = stunned.

-Pens kill the Kunitz penalty.

-Rupp wins a battle in the corner for the puck against 2 Panthers and gets it to Geno. Geno quickly gets it in front of the Panthers net where Fed-Ex redirects it past Vokoun. The relieved look on Fedotenko's face is priceless. His first goal in 13 games. Rupp and Geno get the helpers. 2-1 Pens.

-McKee makes a big shot block. Growing accustomed to that.

-Pens get a PP. No dice.

-Adams destroys Kulikov with nice hit.


THIRD PERIOD

-Talbot get destroyed by Ballard. At least Ballard remembers to hit the other team's guys.

-Pens get a PP. Again, nothing...

-As McCabe comes out the box, he gets sprung on a breakaway. Johnson denies him, but dishes a big juicy rebound. Weiss pounces on it as Johnson flails about to try to poke check it away. Weiss calmly drags it around Johnson and puts it into the empty cage. Ugly. 2-2.

-Another Pens PP gets killed.

-Jeff "since when did he play for Florida" Taffe gets loose on a breakaway and Johnson makes a huge save.

-Pens get another PP, but it's snuffed out by a weak makeup call.

-Job, job, overtime.


OVERTIME

-30 seconds in, Staal get hauled down. PP city.

-7 seconds after the penalty is called, Bing wins a faceoff back to Geno. Geno to Gonch. Malkin takes a second to wipe his nose before Gonch dishes the puck back to him and he unleashes a wicked one-timer past Voukoun. Game. Bing and Gonch get the assists. 3-2 Pens.

THOUGHTS

-The PP can look bad at times, but it's when it comes through that matters. And a game winning PP goal in overtime is big. (though it would have been nice to put the game away in regulation)

-Johnson is a very solid backup for Fleury.

-Kunitz was quiet tonight, but it's his first game back in awhile.

-Free Candy was everywhere last night. Rupp, Cooke, and Adams were crunching as well. I love this stat, Pens are first in the NHL in hits.

-Vokoun is up all night crying after playing the Pens. 1-1-4 in his past 6 games against the Pens. I almost feel bad. Almost.

-I'm gonna say it. Sign Pascal Dupuis.

-Pens are 22-10-1. And near the top of the East. Let's not complain too much. Remember where the Pens were last December? And it's not like they lost to the Browns or anything...

-Home and home series against the Cryers this week. Gonna be nasty. Love it.

-LETS GO PENS!



-the Blueline Bandit

Sometimes the Bounces Just Don't Go Your Way. Pens Lose in OT 2-1.

What can you say about last night's game? It was long and hard fought, but ultimately Chicago came out on top. We had a big downer before the game with the news that Bing was out. We sure did miss him on the faceoffs last night.

The boo birds were in full force for Nossa. Of course he would score the first Chicago goal, off of a "fortuitous" bounce, as Bob Errey would call it. Kane helped to set up the play by going hard down the wall and beating a tired Malkin.

Vomit.


There were no shots on goal for about the first four minutes of the game, but after that both goaltenders were pummeled and had to really be on their game.

The hit on Matt Cooke to the head was a dirty hit. If Keith isn't suspended for that then I don't know. Lots of scrums and hits in the first period...the Pens were frustrated.

Basically you can recap the second period by saying there were a lot of shots on net and many almost goals. Niemi just wasn't going to be beat. Even Godard had a good blast on net, it was just no go. I do have to comment on how well Letestu played last night. He helped set up plays, got a shot on goal, and skated hard. He certainly gave us some help when we needed it. He did more in one game than Bourque did his whole run here. Yeah, I said it.


The third period opened with another almost goal by Nossa...luckily it didn't happen. The Pens had a great chance with a Malkin and Talbot 2 on 1, but the pass went off Geno's stick. I'm sure frustrated words were thrown by fans everywhere.

Then it finally happened. You could see in Staal's eyes that he was hellbent on making it happen. I'm sure lots of people questioned why Staal was out by himself, but we soon found out it was a set play. Letestu gets a big faceoff win, Malkin cranks one, and Staal punches in the rebound. Overtime City.



However, as it was the theme of the game, it just didn't go our way. The Pens ended up with their first overtime loss of the season. However the Pens gave a good effort, they just missed some opportunities and were up against a tough Chicago team. Can't win them all. Let's hope for better tomorrow against Carolina, who has just divebombed this season.

New Jersey ended up with a shootout win against Detroit, and the Caps humiliated the Cryers 8-2. I just have to laugh at the 9 minute power play that Washington ended up getting.

Moose Out.

Superstar Treatment For Me And The Wife

Max Talbot was down at Century III Mall doing an autograph signing from 6-8 tonight. Naturally, the Blueline Bandit and the Moose were super stoked and down there waiting in line at 5. Clueless old people and Twilight Tweens would occassionally stroll past the line and curiously ask, "What's the line for?", not realizing a sea of people wearing Talbot jerseys and shirts and everyone clutching a Talbot pic. And we laughed heartily at some of these hapless folks who were unaware of who Max Talbot even was. LOSERS.

Anyways, we finally made our way in to see Max. I shook his hand (nice firm handshake by the way) and forked over our two pics to be signed. His signature is pretty Unreal.





After he signed our pics, I showed him the following picture of our ceremonial puck drop at our wedding reception and told him how we entered to the Pens music and even dropped the gloves for a mock fight.



He started at the picture for a good minute or two examining every detail and said, "Wow guys, this is great." The people with him also got a kick out of it. It was a very cool little moment.

He wished us luck and told us "Don't fight too much!". We shook his hand again and wished him luck on the rest of the season. As we proceeded out he called out to the Moose, who was wearing a Talbot shirt, "That's a great shirt!" and gave her the thumbs up. Moose returned the Thumb and we left smilin' like a butcher's dog.

But I can't help but wonder, did the Superstar really like the shirt or was he just checking out my wife's ass?

Probably a little of both.

Chica-chica-chee.

-the Blueline Bandit.

Mason Rupp's Best Birthday EVER. Dad gets HT, Pens win 5-2

We had some good news and bad news before the start of yesterday's game. We found out that Goggles would be out due to a groin injury (which caused me to throw some objects), but that McKee would be back in the lineup. Perhaps Goggles came back too early before he was completely healthy. Regardless, let's hope that him and Kunikaze are back soon.

Congrats to Orpik on his 400th NHL game.

The Rangers came out guns ablazing in the first period...you knew they would. After bad losses to Tampa Bay and us, they had something to prove. However, the Pens turned their game on too. Eaton, who I thought had a good game all around, came up with a nice diving move to break up a scoring chance for the Rangers. It did take us about 7 minutes to get our first shot on net, courtesy of TK, but it was all systems go after that.

Fleury was on his game last night. Lundqvist stopped what he had to in the first. The Flower was clutch in the first period, coming up with a nice glove save on Higgins. The Rangers could have easily had 2 or 3 goals if not for the way Fleury was playing.


Pens get a PP from a trip on Tenk and get a few chances, but no dice.

Eaton gets steamrolled by Boyle and we all cringe. Luckily he was alright.

Do your fists clench like mine every time Avery's name is mentioned? I even hate seeing his face.

Vomit City.

At the end of the first period Brashear tries to prove his manhood by throwing TK around and gets a roughing penalty. Billy G. gets called soon after for interference, so the 2nd period starts with 4 on 4 hockey.


You had a feeling the Rangers were gonna score first. Gaborik was in the right place in front of the net and scored on his own rebound. Tanger didn't get to him in time. But never fear, Bing had something to say himself. Eleven seconds later Bing delivers a sick backhand over Lundqvist's shoulder to make it 1-1. Back in business.

About 5 minutes later we see a great backhand goal from Mr. Rupp. Staal set him up beautifully on that play. Pens up 2-1.

Another good game from Staalsy. Did you see his power move in the second period where he just left 3 guys in the dust? He also had a shorthanded chance late in the second, but Lundqvist said no. Did you know his brother Marc plays for the Rangers? They just had to comment on it. Gaborik scores again to make it 2-2 late in the second.

Fleury jabbing Avery in the face with his stick=priceless.

The third period brought a vomit-worthy moment when Rupp was thrown into the boards by Girardi. Rupp appeared to hurt his leg. His son's birthday appeared to be ruined.

But apparently we did not have to worry. He scores AGAIN. His son's birthday is saved. I don't even know where Rupp came from, but he rolled up the wing and put one over Lundqvist when he was down to make it 3-2.


A blast from Eaton at the point and a deflection by Bing into the net makes it 4-2. Wooo

Rangers pull Lundqvist, Crosby dishes it to Rupp, who gets it down the ice into the empty net as he is knocked over. 5-2. Rupp HT. Unreal. First career hat trick and beating his season high in goals in the same night? Pretty good evening. Beating the Rangers twice in three days with a hat trick per game? Pretty sweet.

Across the NHL...

We all know about this...


Karma Jokevechkin....karma. He gets destroyed by his own knee on knee hit. Awaiting word on the extent of his injury.

This one upset me a bit.


Keith Ballard gets pissed and ends up accidentally hitting Vokoun in the head, who was taken off the ice on a stretcher. He was alert when taken into the ambulance and Florida's coach said that he is going to be fine.


Colorado on Thursday. Let's Do It.

Moose Out.

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