Four days before Easter, the Pittsburgh Penguins officially laid an egg.  Showing the speed and creativity of a modern-day George Forman, the Pens looked putrid in an uninspiring 2-0 defeat to the Tampa Lightning in one of Mellon Arena’s final games.
It all started in the first period when the home team trotted out the most inept five-minute power play in NHL history. [begin sarcasm] Fueled with the fire that a team should have after watching their teammate – in this case Ruslan Fedotenko – creamed into the boards [cease sarcasm], the Penguins fumbled, bumbled, and crumbled, handing off the contest’s [...]

I was pleasantly surprised when I learned that the Pens had signed defenseman Kris Letang to a four-year contract extension through the 2013-2014 season. I was surprised because it appeared as though a deal wasn’t going to get done until after the season, if then, and I was pleased because Letang is a keeper in my opinion. Sure, he’s had ups and downs in his career, but he’s had far more ups. Letang was a stud in last year’s playoffs (remember his OT goal in Game 3 against the Caps?), playing a huge role in the team’s Cup run. While [...]

Great, great weekend for the Pens. Two huge wins without Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar in the lineup. So much for panic, huh? The team responded to its recent slide exactly the way you hoped it would – by trouncing hated rival Philadelphia 4-1 then disposing of red-hot Toronto 5-4 (shootout) in back-to-back games.
Sidney Crosby was simply awesome: 3 assists against the Flyers; 2 goals in regulation and the winning shootout goal against the Leafs. He rose to the occasion and played his ass off when the team needed him to. By the way, Crosby now leads the league in goals [...]

As we all know by now, the Pens are a combined 0-fer against the Caps and Devils this year, the two teams that should scare you the most come playoff time. Sure, the Pens have earned a couple points against Washington, but we’re not going to be counting the charity point for the purpose of this post.
Pittsburgh’s failings against what I consider to be the top two teams in the conference are of great concern. So much so, it appears many fans – and to a lesser degree, the team itself – are in somewhat of a panic. Quite frankly, [...]

After watching the game’s two best players and biggest rivalry last night, I’m left with a great deal to be thankful for.
I’m thankful for the opportunity to, yet again, have witnessed the kind of drama more suitable only for the Broadway stage.
I’m thankful for the opportunity to have watched the kind of hockey that the NHL should strive to display on a nightly basis.
But most importantly, I’m thankful to have been able to get through a night of greatness without being subjected to NBC’s hockey analyst, Mike Milbury.
True hockey fans know what that statement means.
Seriously, could you have taken another [...]

0-9…the Penguins record against the top two teams in the Eastern Conference.* Although they have earned one point in two road games against the Caps, including a 4-3 shootout loss tonight, the defending Stanley Cup champions are yet to earn a victory against the East’s best duo.
After a scoreless first period in which the Pens fired 17 shots and played with some life, the visitors carried the momentum, rebounding from the game’s opening goal to take a 2-1 advantage on markers from Max Talbot and Bill Guerin in the second.
Two goals in less than two minutes put the Caps [...]

Where else can you sit four rows from the ice (right on the blue line) for $15, pay $4 for a beer and listen to an elementary-school chorus group sing the National Anthem? Minor-league hockey – you gotta love it.
I traveled to lovely Wheeling, W.V., last Saturday to watch the Nailers, the ECHL affiliate of the Penguins, play the Kalamazoo Wings. And, as usual, it was an awesome experience. I’ve been to a handful of Nailers’ games over the years and have never walked away disappointed. Why, you ask? Easy – because it’s pretty good hockey for a very reasonable [...]

If this is the way it’s going to be, then DirecTV and Comcast/Versus might as well go back to hating each other.  I don’t want to be subjected to this numbness during the playoffs.  I felt like I was watching Game 1 in each of the last two Stanley Cup finals.  Detroit systematically put Pittsburgh to sleep and suffocated the life out of them.
Henrik Zetterberg, the best player on the ice tonight, eased two goals past a less-than-sharp Marc-Andre Fleury and assisted on the third in a 3-1 victory.  Pascal Dupuis scored the Pens lone goal against a very good [...]