Pittsburgh Penguins Thread

[vonteego3 0]

Miro and MAF were both spectacular in the first. Petr who?

[strategy 4]

Miro and MAF were both spectacular in the first. Petr who?

Cajanek.

[vonteego3 0]

Cajanek.

Nedved.

[dEv~ 19]

HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE SHOOTS AND SCORES!!!!! HE BEAT CAM WARD LIKE A RENTED MULE.... MIROSLAV SATAN!!!!!!!! 1-0 Pens.HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE SHOOTS AND SCORES!!!!! OH MAKE ME A MILKSHAKE MALKIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2-0 Pens.

HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE SHOOTS AND SCORES!!!!! AND HE'S SMILING LIKE A BUTCHER'S DOG!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Phillipe Boucher makes it 3-1 Pens.

[doox 15]

I doubt I could crap a bb gun pellet with all the clenching I did in the last minute and a half - whew.

[doox 15]

Zach had better get tickets for Game 2, 5*, and 7* Maybe he's a good luck charm?* If necessary

[Jelly-Filled Ace 1]

[dEv~ 19]

Obviously I haven't seen the hits but are Cooke and Eaton gonna be talking to the league where they were involved in the plays where Ruutu and Cole were hurt?

[doox 15]

Obviously I haven't seen the hits but are Cooke and Eaton gonna be talking to the league where they were involved in the played where Ruutu and Cole were hurt?

Maybe Cooke will, but I doubt Eaton will. I doubt anything will happen with either.

[fryer98 30]

Maybe Cooke will, but I doubt Eaton will. I doubt anything will happen with either.

I agree.Cooke might thought...cause...he's Cooke.

[serge 904]

boring team..Thanks to the Penguins for ending my hockey watching season. I have no desire to watch these playoffs anymore..BORING..

[dEv~ 19]

boring team..Thanks to the Penguins for ending my hockey watching season. I have no desire to watch these playoffs anymore..BORING..

I'm pretty sure there's no reason to post this in both this thread and the random hockey observations. I don't know why I'm either bothering asking you this but I was wondering what you'd consider exciting hockey? How do the teams left come up short in that regard? It's one thing to not have a team to root for but quite another to say the product you are watching is bad. I sense you problem is with the former rather than the latter.

[serge 904]

I'm pretty sure there's no reason to post this in both this thread and the random hockey observations. I don't know why I'm either bothering asking you this but I was wondering what you'd consider exciting hockey? How do the teams left come up short in that regard? It's one thing to not have a team to root for but quite another to say the product you are watching is bad. I sense you problem is with the former rather than the latter.

Honestly I also posted in here, because the Penguins are involved.The first round of the playoffs as well as the second round, I was excited for every game. It was fun for me.Watching teams like Washington, Rangers, Vancouver had some meaning for me. They had personalities, stories and something to root for..I couldnt care less about the Penguins and Red Wings...Carolina is blah and Chicago i dont have a personal connection with.The playoffs for me this year ended when the Caps were eliminated. Very anti climactic.I dont really care who wins the cup, and it will be Detroit again no doubt.Looking for to the draft and July 1st free agency..The NHL season is over for me.

[MapleLeafpoker 1,462]

Honestly I also posted in here, because the Penguins are involved.The first round of the playoffs as well as the second round, I was excited for every game. It was fun for me.Watching teams like Washington, Rangers, Vancouver had some meaning for me. They had personalities, stories and something to root for..I couldnt care less about the Penguins and Red Wings...Carolina is blah and Chicago i dont have a personal connection with.The playoffs for me this year ended when the Caps were eliminated. Very anti climactic.I dont really care who wins the cup, and it will be Detroit again no doubt.Looking for to the draft and July 1st free agency..The NHL season is over for me.

you need to place a bet."Gambling makes a good thing better"no truer words were ever spoken.

[serge 904]

you need to place a bet."Gambling makes a good thing better"no truer words were ever spoken.

possibly...for now I will concentrate my powers on the Jays, who are destroying the American League.

[strategy 4]

the blackhawks are definitely worth following, serge. great city, great young kids.not saying I think they're going to beat the wings, though..

[doox 15]

Honestly I also posted in here, because the Penguins are involved.

There's a Blackhawks thread and a Red Wings thread on this forum as well, yet you only also posted in this one?

[Piddle Duck 0]

There's a Blackhawks thread and a Red Wings thread on this forum as well, yet you only also posted in this one?

No one really posts in those expect rocketdoug, vertigo, myself, and DaveyG. This thread always has the action.

[strategy 4]

No one really posts in those expect rocketdoug, vertigo, myself, and DaveyG. This thread always has the action.

shh, this thread is VALUABLE real estate.

[dEv~ 19]

No one really posts in those expect rocketdoug, vertigo, myself, and DaveyG. This thread always has the action.

It's funny that a "boring" team like the Pens would have an action packed thread like this one.

[Piddle Duck 0]

It's funny that a "boring" team like the Pens would have an action packed thread like this one.

I think it has to do more with the fact that there are way more people from Pittsburgh on this board than Detroit and Chicago. I know a ton of people on FCP from Chicago and none of them care about hockey. If they did that thread might compete well with this one in terms of "action."

[Zach6668 513]

Andrea and I make a cameo appearance in Seth's game report from Empty Netters:(Walking towards the left, with my classic Jagr jersey, and Andrea in her Malkin jersey walking behind me.)Link: http://community.post-gazette.com/blogs/em...me-5-18-09.aspx

[Zach6668 513]

Trip Report:Sunday-On the way to the airport, our normal route is closed for some reason, so it takes us way too long to get there, as we had to drop off the dog as well, so we made it with little time to spare. Flight to Toronto goes well. Thank God for TVs on Air Canada planes.-We head through customs in Toronto, and have our first beer of the trip while watching the Hawks/Wings game 1 on TV at a sports bar while killing an hour before the flight to Pittsburgh-we head to the tiny little US terminal and sitting there waiting, I look over and see this guy that I recognize, but I can't quite put my finger on it. A few seconds later, it comes to me. It's Sidney Crosby's Dad. I'm sorta shy in stuff like that, so I didn't bother him right away, he was talking to some other guy, and I'm only like 80% sure it's him at this point. Then they board our flight, and I see that he is on the way to Pittsburgh, so I'm up to like 95% certainty that it's him. We get on the plane, and he sits right across the aisle from me, but he immediately starts reading his newspaper, so again, didn't want to bother him. Immediately when he finishes reading, he falls asleep, so again, don't want to bother him. Finally, when we land, we both get up to grab the carry-on and get off the plane, so I finally ask him if he is infact Sid's old man, and he sheepishly admits it. Easy to tell where Sid gets his humility from, it was pretty obvious he hated making a big deal out of it. I didn't want to push it, so I just said I'm a huge fan of the team and his son, and then got off the plane. Pretty cool little start to the trip, though.-grab a cab to the hotel, which ends up being pretty awesome. Great location, 2 minute walk from the Igloo, and they even had a courtesy shuttle to drive us anywhere we wanted. We go to the room, freshen up, and then grab the shuttle to the south side and grab dinner at Primanti's. I know everyone in this thread has probably heard of them, but if not, it's a regular sandwich, but instead of fries and coleslaw on the side, they put it right on the sandwich. I didn't really know what it'd be like, but it ended up being basically exactly what I expected it would be. And, on top of that, it was really really good. I would recommend it to anyone, even my girlfriend like hers. I drank a dozen beer and Andrea had some mixed drinks and we decided to move on to the next place. We hit a few other places along Carson St. and then finally had to shut it down and head back to the hotel.Monday-Game day! We sleep in, as usual, since we were hammered, lol, then get up around 1 and head for a walk over to the arena to check it out. There were actually a couple people already setting up chairs on the front lawn for the big screen for later that night. We walked around the rink, picked up our tickets from the box office, and then decided to head over to the Monongahela Incline, and some food and drink at Station Square.-The Incline was really cool, it never ceases to amaze me how beautiful the city of Pittsburgh is, there's some fantastic views from the lookout at the top.-We head back down, and go explore Station Square a bit. It's Monday afternoon, of course, so it's not very busy, but there's an interesting fountain show, Bellagio-style, but like 1/10th of the scale, and played to cheesy TV theme songs, so we enjoy the sun and watch it for a while, then decide to grab some food at one of the restaurants.-After a few beers and a decent meal, we head back to the arena. The crowd is getting bigger on the front lawn, and things are starting to get a bit more energized. There's a tailgate type party thing starting for ticket holders and some gay raggae band playing retarded music that makes no sense for a pre-game, and doesn't do anything to get you excited for the game, etc.-At this point, the players start to arrive at the rink, so we stood on the concourse outside the rink, above the players parking lot, with a hundred other fans, and did our best attempts to stalk everyone. Basically just cheered everyone as they entered the rink. I knew in advance that Sid usually used a different gate, and drove his car right into the arena's garage, so didn't expect to see him, but I kinda expected that Malkin would do the same. We were presently surprised when a Range Rover pulled in, and I spotted Gonchar in the passenger seat, I said to Andrea there's only one person who could be driving that car, and sure enough, it was Malkin. Not only that, but Geno's parents were in the truck as well, heh. Biggest cheer was for him, naturally, but Fleury and Talbot both got big ones. Sorta interesting, Billy Guerin was the first guy at the rink for the Penguins. In addition to almost all of the players, we also so Ron Francis walking in, Paul Maurice, and then Pierre McGuire and Gord Miller from TSN.-We take one more walk around, check out the big screen, and that's when we ended up in the photo above. All those people in front of the screen, and it wasn't even 2 hours before game time at that point. We head up and go into the tail gate thing, and grab another beer. Eventually we see people going into the arena, so we go checkout our seats. Sooooo much better than I could have even imagined. Just unreal. We're in line with the end-zone face-off dots, and only like 20 rows up. The only thing that would have made the seats perfect, would be having them at center ice, but where we were was great, and we had no problem seeing the action anywhere on the rink. Easily the best seats I've had all year, and that includes being in the 3rd row, and closer to center, for 2 games in Ottawa (vs the Caps, and Pens).-We take a ton of pics of the rink and the warm-up, and then it's game time. I'm absolutely chilled. I couldn't even yell or cheer for the pre-game video, or the lineups, or the anthem, or the first 5 mins of the game. I was absolutely speechless. This was easily the coolest thing I've ever done in my life. The Staal brothers, fittingly, line up for the opening faceoff, and I snap the only pic we take during the game.-Edge of our seats for a couple power plays, but not goal, then Satan takes a penalty, and we're worried the Pens are going to fall behind, then BOOM, out of the box, Satan, a breakaway from his own blue line. The whole arena stands in anticipation, Satan with a beauty move, backhand, empty net. The whole arena goes nuts. Absolutely unreal moment. I got my voice back and I'm just yelling, jumping, in completely euphoria. Don't think there's anything better than being at the home rink in a standing room only sellout in the Eastern Conference Finals and getting to hear the goal horn and the "hey song". Absolutely unreal. That moment alone made it worth the ~$2k I paid for flight/tickets/beer/hotel/beer. Absolutely amazing. -Just as we catch our breath, less than 90 seconds later, GENOOOO. I get to live it all over again. It's just as good the second time. Unreal.-I won't recap the whole game, but man was Fleury ever amazing. He made like 10 unreal saves right in front of us, since we had the end where the Canes shoot twice. He was out of his mind. Ward also robbed Guerin on that Crosby set-up right in front of us in the second period. Staying with what seems to happen at every Pens game I go to, all the goals are scored on the opposite end of the ice than where we're sitting, but the seats were so good it didn't matter this time. Edge of our seats at the end, but Fleury shut the door.-Wooooooooooooooooooooo!-Wanted to stalk for some autographs, but instead just decided to head across to a hotel bar and drink with the fans. Jam packed, but Andrea and I snag a table when we see a couple leave. We've got a 4-seater, and just the two of us, so we randomly invite another couple to join us, as we saw them looking around for seats. We get some beers, chat it up, and just have a good time. Later on, we were gonna leave, but made it to the door, and decided we were too lazy to head to the south side, or station square, so we just head back into the bar and grab seats at the bar this time. I see a guy in a Sharks jersey, so I buy him a beer because I felt bad for him, plus I texted Cwik to let him know, and he told me to buy him a beer, lol. Turns out he's from Minnesota, so no idea how he became a Sharks fan, or wtf he was doing in Pittsburgh.-Ok, pass out time.Tuesday-Sleep in until the last possible moment, as usual, and head down to catch a cab. No idea when our flight leaves, except that it's 11 something. For some reason, the bell guy simply has no luck getting us a cab. He called a thousand times, and it's getting pretty close to being too late, so he sends us down to the Omni William Penn hotel and we get the bell guy there to grab us a cab, finally, and we make it to the airport. Can't find the Air Canada check in counter, because it's just a tiny sign at the United desk, but we finally do, and we try to do the gay self-checkin thing. We notice the flight leaves at 11:05, and that it's about 10:04. We then notice a sign saying that flights to Toronto have a strict 1-hour cut off time, and that if we don't check in in the next minute, we can't go, lol. We're having trouble with the gay machine, so some guy comes over and hooks us up, and we barely make it.-Back through Toronto, customs somehow doesn't search me like they usually do, short wait and back to Ottawa.-All in all, an unreal trip, and worth every penny. Seeing the Pens win a game this deep into the playoffs, on home ice, is completely priceless. -Here are the photo galleries:Volume 1: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8057...mp;l=99637fc646Volume 2: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8058...mp;l=d8aa379fd0-This was supposed to be short, but I always go on wayyyyyyy longer than I should.

[MapleLeafpoker 1,462]

Trip Report: Turns out he's from Minnesota, so no idea how he became a Sharks fan, or wtf he was doing in Pittsburgh.-

Aw come on!First, you know that I respect you and all, and I'm very dissapointed I couldnt make it out there with you.And I know your young, so it was before your time, BUT.....how can you NOT know this. go google it dude. North Stars-----> Sharksall kidding aside, that was a fun read. Was just having a late lunch and really enjoyed the TR. Glad you had a blast. I'm also dissapointed you guys didnt go to Casey's!

[MapleLeafpoker 1,462]

Trip Report:-we head to the tiny little US terminal and sitting there waiting, I look over and see this guy that I recognize, but I can't quite put my finger on it. A few seconds later, it comes to me. It's Sidney Crosby's Dad. I'm sorta shy in stuff like that, so I didn't bother him right away, he was talking to some other guy, and I'm only like 80% sure it's him at this point. Then they board our flight, and I see that he is on the way to Pittsburgh, so I'm up to like 95% certainty that it's him. We get on the plane, and he sits right across the aisle from me, but he immediately starts reading his newspaper, so again, didn't want to bother him. Immediately when he finishes reading, he falls asleep, so again, don't want to bother him. Finally, when we land, we both get up to grab the carry-on and get off the plane, so I finally ask him if he is infact Sid's old man, and he sheepishly admits it. Easy to tell where Sid gets his humility from, it was pretty obvious he hated making a big deal out of it. I didn't want to push it, so I just said I'm a huge fan of the team and his son, and then got off the plane. Pretty cool little start to the trip, though.

Did he whine and complain to the pilots about why it took so long? Why the peanuts weren't fresher? Why the guy with the Jagr jersey keeps staring at him?sorry, had to!