Pittsburgh Penguins Playoff Poetry

For success in the playoffs, the Pittsburgh Penguins need to look like poetry in motion: smooth, fast, sleek, and beautiful on the ice. They also need to have some fun.

I was never a big fan of poems, myself. Too many years of AP English class analysis tainted them for me. But I appreciate what poetry represents as much as the next person.

Good poetry is thought-provoking, with a deeper meaning than what can first be seen at the surface. It makes you think – about yourself and the world – and may even scare you. Above all, good poetry is music to your senses, an awe-inspiring expression of life and something readers truly enjoy.

Good hockey is pretty much the same. It’s awesome, in every sense of the word; it’s uplifting; it’s even beautiful. The team is having fun playing hockey and their positive emotions shine through on the ice.

That’s the kind of hockey the Pittsburgh Penguins are playing right now. And that’s really good, because playoffs start tomorrow evening.

All poetic interpretations aside, the Penguins are in a great place right now. We’ve gotten even better news in regard to their injured list since yesterday: there’s a good chance that Marc-Andre Fleury will be able to start in net in game 1 while Olli Maatta and Beau Bennett will more than likely slot back into the lineup.

We can comfortably ignore their last game of the season against the Philadelphia Flyers because both Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang were out and Matt Murray got hurt halfway through. That liberty taken, the Penguins have been the team to beat across the league.

With that hot streak behind us and the playoffs ahead, I was feeling a little poetically inspired myself. Before things get serious again in the life-or-death postseason, I present: “A Visit From Lord Stanley.”

"‘Twas the night before playoffs and all through Pittsburgh,not a Penguin was stirring; no sound could be heard.Their gold jerseys were hung in their lockers with carein hopes that Lord Stanley soon would be there.The rookies were nestled all snug in their bedswhile visions of winning played in their heads.Sully in his tie, and Mario, our great one,had just settled in for a long playoff run.Then out on the ice there arose such a clatter,fans hurried to CONSOL to see what was the matter.The Rangers had come in like a flash,Kreider, two Staals, and that awful Rick Nash.Two years straight they’ve beat us and look for a third,but Hagelin’s ours now so that’s just absurd.As “Party Hard” played our boys did appear,down the tunnel they marched, instilling fear.Followed by their captain and his silky mitts,the Pens never say die, and they never quit. Rapid and efficient, their blades split the ice.Their speed is a weapon, a lethal device.Now Crosby! Now Malkin! Now Letang and Fleury!On Sheary! On Hornqvist! On Cullen and Murray!Play all sixty minutes! All 200 feet!Overpower Lundqvist, converge on the crease.The anthem’s been sung and the puck has been dropped,we are a team that cannot be stopped. The red light goes off, the ref blows his whistle – then Pens are ahead now thanks to Phil Kessel.At long last Emrick exclaimed, as down the hats flew,“The Rangers are done! Now on to round two.”"

I’m not about to win a Nobel Prize for my creative writing skills any time soon, but with any luck the Pens will come close to taking home their own prestigious award this season.

Next: Pittsburgh Penguins Playoff Injury Update

The Penguins are truly enjoyable to watch and surely less so to play against. Those opponents who take them at face value face unpleasant surprises when they learn just how deep and resilient this team is. Their late streak threw the entire league for a loop and forced many to reconsider who their biggest opponent is.

That’s music to my ears. And they’re poetry in motion.