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Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger •
Let's just get this out of the way...the Pens will take a ton of heat, especially from the cross state media, for not playing Sidney Crosby this afternoon. I do not have a big problem with it. Crosby has shown that he is ready for the playoffs, but is not 100%. Why risk him in another game the likes of which was played Wednesday night in Pittsburgh. Sure, this one seemed to lack the emotion of the aforementioned game, but there was no way of knowing that prior to the drop of the puck. I would have hated to see 87 in the middle of some of the scrums he found himself in the other night.
This version of the Penguins proved that they could win games without their captain...they also were more concerned with getting players like Gary Roberts, Adam Hall and Kris Beech minutes, as all three will provide great depth through the playoffs, especially Roberts.
The Penguins definitely didn't have their A game this afternoon, but they were not a team trying to tank, as I have read on this site today. Why don't we give some credit to Marty Biron, who played a great game in net for the Flyers. One that proved just how great the Flyers could be when they get solid goaltending. Biron has probably been the one player who has had the greatest impact on the Flyers successes and failures this season.
I do think that it is foolish to say that the Penguins were in some way allowing the short handed opportunities on purpose. Their power play was clearly out of sync without 87...that is where he was missed the most today. It took several games for the "superstar" unit of Crosby, Malkin, Hossa, Malone and Gonchar to build chemistry, which culminated in the 4 PP goal performance of Wednesday night and they clearly seemed bewildered without Crosby today.
Food for thought: Ek, Panach, Moran and company all felt that the Penguins desperately didn't want to play the Flyers in round one...Steigy and Errey couldn't stop talking about the fact that the Flyers desperately didn't want to play the Pens. Who is correct...if you ask me, who cares! Sounds like each side wearing rose colored glasses...
Niether team seemed to have the killer instinct today...I believe that both teams were just ready to get into the second season. There were a total of 42 shots in the game and the goalies were probably the best players on the ice.
Gary Roberts didn't look bad for a guy who hadn't played since December 28, 2007. He should be a valuable contributor to the Penguins run. His injury may have been a blessing in disguise, as he will be a lot more fresh this time of year than he normally would have been.
I don't know about you guys, but I am sort of glad that these two teams will not meet in the playoffs...at least in the first round. I have had my fill of the trash talk for the time being and another two weeks of it may have killed me. That goes for both sides...(Cindy's a baby...Flyers are goons etc etc...you know what I mean)
In case anyone cares, I would rather have run into the Flyers in the playoffs than Ottawa. I think it was given that Ottawa would have been a first round out against anyone other than the Penguins. The team from Canada's capital just plays great hockey against the Penguins and will have the mental edge against the Penguins...unless the Flightless Bird can take game one. It is always a tight game and Dany Heatley finds a way to score at least one goal in every game! At least this is the way it seems.
I do feel that the Penguins will fare much better against the Sens than they did one year ago, but there is potential for failure there. This is not a series that the Penguins were hoping for, I can assure you of that.
Washington is one of the hottest teams in the league entering the playoffs...the Flyers are going to have their hands full. I heard some talk that it could be a simple as bottling up AO...but I have seen the likes of Fleischmann, Semin and Laich score some huge goals lately to win games. Not to mention the presence of Backstrom and trade deadline acquision Sergei Fedorov.
Overall, a great season in the books...let's see what the second one may hold.
* * * * *
Penguins Hockey Buzzcast tonight at 8:00pm
This version of the Penguins proved that they could win games without their captain...they also were more concerned with getting players like Gary Roberts, Adam Hall and Kris Beech minutes, as all three will provide great depth through the playoffs, especially Roberts.
The Penguins definitely didn't have their A game this afternoon, but they were not a team trying to tank, as I have read on this site today. Why don't we give some credit to Marty Biron, who played a great game in net for the Flyers. One that proved just how great the Flyers could be when they get solid goaltending. Biron has probably been the one player who has had the greatest impact on the Flyers successes and failures this season.
I do think that it is foolish to say that the Penguins were in some way allowing the short handed opportunities on purpose. Their power play was clearly out of sync without 87...that is where he was missed the most today. It took several games for the "superstar" unit of Crosby, Malkin, Hossa, Malone and Gonchar to build chemistry, which culminated in the 4 PP goal performance of Wednesday night and they clearly seemed bewildered without Crosby today.
Food for thought: Ek, Panach, Moran and company all felt that the Penguins desperately didn't want to play the Flyers in round one...Steigy and Errey couldn't stop talking about the fact that the Flyers desperately didn't want to play the Pens. Who is correct...if you ask me, who cares! Sounds like each side wearing rose colored glasses...
Niether team seemed to have the killer instinct today...I believe that both teams were just ready to get into the second season. There were a total of 42 shots in the game and the goalies were probably the best players on the ice.
Gary Roberts didn't look bad for a guy who hadn't played since December 28, 2007. He should be a valuable contributor to the Penguins run. His injury may have been a blessing in disguise, as he will be a lot more fresh this time of year than he normally would have been.
I don't know about you guys, but I am sort of glad that these two teams will not meet in the playoffs...at least in the first round. I have had my fill of the trash talk for the time being and another two weeks of it may have killed me. That goes for both sides...(Cindy's a baby...Flyers are goons etc etc...you know what I mean)
In case anyone cares, I would rather have run into the Flyers in the playoffs than Ottawa. I think it was given that Ottawa would have been a first round out against anyone other than the Penguins. The team from Canada's capital just plays great hockey against the Penguins and will have the mental edge against the Penguins...unless the Flightless Bird can take game one. It is always a tight game and Dany Heatley finds a way to score at least one goal in every game! At least this is the way it seems.
I do feel that the Penguins will fare much better against the Sens than they did one year ago, but there is potential for failure there. This is not a series that the Penguins were hoping for, I can assure you of that.
Washington is one of the hottest teams in the league entering the playoffs...the Flyers are going to have their hands full. I heard some talk that it could be a simple as bottling up AO...but I have seen the likes of Fleischmann, Semin and Laich score some huge goals lately to win games. Not to mention the presence of Backstrom and trade deadline acquision Sergei Fedorov.
Overall, a great season in the books...let's see what the second one may hold.
* * * * *
Penguins Hockey Buzzcast tonight at 8:00pm
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