Who is our Mario Lemieux?

The Pittsburgh Penguins have done what some thought inpossible. They beat the Detroit Red Wings at the Joe to win the Stanley Cup Finals!

I would like to extend a huge Congrats to the Penguins. It was an exciting series to watch and the Penguins really showed people what they are made of. MAF and the Penguins defense stood on their head last night and they totally deserved to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup.

The Penguins had quite the run this year, filled with ups and downs. They struggled to win a game in Detroit. After the first two, it looked like it might be over with but they won at home to hang in the series and then stole it last night. I am not going to get into too much detail/recap because I am sure you were all glued to your TVs last night!

It truly is a great story and if you look at where the Penguins were a few years ago, truly amazing. It brought a tear to my eye to see Mario Lemieux lift the cup.

I do feel bad that the finals may have been slightly overshadowed by the events in Phoenix (you can thank Mr. Moyes and Mr. Balsillie for that) but it does bring us to an important point…

The Coyotes are in almost the same position the Penguins were in not too long ago. Mario Lemieux came in and turned the franchise around. Now, the Coyotes already have a pretty good player base and with the right owners and coach, this team will go far. In a few short years you will be hearing “The PHOENIX COYOTES have WON the Stanley Cup!!! Can you believe it? After all they have gone through?”. Now that is something I can not wait to hear!!!

Who is our Mario Lemieux?

Thursday and Friday Night Games

On Thursday night, the Coyotes beat the Penguins 4-1. Congrats go out to Kevin Porter, as he got his first NHL goal (and a special shout out to Boedker who went over and collected the puck for Porter).

The refs seemed to be leaning toward the Penguins. There was an obvious hooking on Bods, but nothing was called. And then they called a boarding call on Carcillo that was so not boarding. Never the less, the Coyotes were able to overcome the non-calls and bad calls to win the game.

Rhino had an impressive return. He was all over the ice and making some smooth moves. He also had a couple of assists and was really setting the guys up nicely. Maybe we need to sit Rhino more often… he comes back with a vengeance!

Overall, the boys played well. They held the Pens scoreless in the first and answered the Pens first goal quickly. They did slump a little bit in the second but not as much as they did against the Flames and thye came back strong in the third. They were hitting hard and taking hits. They were fast and kept their feet moving. When they lose, they aren’t doing all of the above.

On a side note… I am very disappointed in Sidney Crosby. I didn’t like him much before (too much whining) but I can’t believe what he did Saturday. He left after the second for an “injury” (probably thanks to the hit from Doan, yah, he was DOANED!). He later said he would have to watch the tape to see how he was injured (ok, how do you NOT know what you injured?) and that he couldn’t have done much in the third anyway. Ummmm, you were down 2-1 in the third. There was plenty you could have done. Wow, what a great captain. I guess I am spoiled having Doan as our captain. He is the type to play with a broken hand for over a month (and was the best player in the NHL for that month) and the fans didn’t even know until after his hand was healed. That is a captain. That is a leader. In my opinion, Sidney Crosby is not a leader. What kind of leader leaves his team for an unknown injury (unknown by the player…yah still don’t believe that) and then says there was nothing he could have done?

Thanks to the woman behind me I am losing my hearing. She is very loud and when she screams, it is very high pitched. I am thinking they are season ticket holders, as they have been there the last couple of games. I literally cringe whenever she yells. I am pretty sure she doesn’t know much about hockey, as some of the things that come out of her mouth are just plain stupid (Goal it, wtf?). Also, Saturdays are worse, as they drink, a lot. I also overheard them say they didn’t know who to cheer for when another team comes to town (I believe it was Vancouver) but other than that they are Coyotes fans. Ugh. I hate people like that. You live here now; this should be your team. I don’t care if you cheer for whatever team when they are not playing the Coyotes, but when you are a Coyotes STH, you need to cheer for them even when they play your other team.

Last night we went to the Road Runners game. It was a pretty good game, even though they lost. It took overtime for the Reign to win. Everytime the Reign scored, the Road Runners would answer quickly with a goal. I did notice that the Road Runners weren’t hitting and fighting as much as they usually do. They picked up the hits a little bit in the second and third.

My goalie did an awesome job, even though he let in 3 goals. He doesn’t make me nervous in net like Bryz does for the Coyotes. Speaking of Bryz, I am starting to think he really isn’t starting goalie material. I think we need to go with the tandem. Bryz for like 2-3 games and then Telly for a game or two.

Flames 4 - Coyotes 1

Tonight the Coyotes lost to the Calgary flames 4-1. It was not the coyotes best (although, hardly the worst that they have played). They were just flat. They seemed to have no energy and absolutely no offense tonight.

Telly stood on his head. Yah he let in 3 goals, but it could have been so much worse (the 4th was an empty netter). Congrats to Fridge for getting his first goal of the season!

I don’t have much else to say about this game. I am wondering if their play tonight is any reflection of their morning skate. The guys were having too much fun and not doing anything really productive. I don’t have a problem with having some fun, but maybe they were goofing around a little too much.

Apparently the Coyotes really liked the picture of me and Carcillo on my blog, as they took it and used it in their Rookie STH presentation.

Next up, Thursday Sidney Crosby and the rest of the Penguins come to town. It will be nice to see Ziggy and Billy T but I hope we can get the win. Also, Brooks Orpik should prove to be fun to watch.

Ok, well my brownies are almost done, so I am out!

Probably the Best Hockey Game I Have EVER Watched!

Holy shit, what an amazing Game 5! I was literally on the edge of my seat after the third period! The pens were up 2-1 and the wings made it 3-2. I was pretty sure the game was over and the cup was going to make its way to the ice. Watching the clock count down the final minute of the game, I was surprised to see the puck go in with about 25 seconds left. I sat straight up and screamed. Did that actually go in? Did I see that right? It did! Holy shit holy shit the pens had tied the game!

I sat nervously through the first two overtimes. Could the pens really pull this off? Could they force a game 6? I was praying to the hockey gods to send this series back to Pittsburgh. Finally, about half way through the 3rd I saw the puck going in the net. I know it wasn’t actually in slow motion, but I swear I saw it going in in slow motion. It was just amazing. I couldn’t believe the Pens had just pulled off the win. Wow.

This game 5 had the highest TV audience for a game 5 since 2002. Wow, that has got to be good for the sport. Unfortunately there are people like Tiger Woods who say unintelligent things like, “I didn’t know anyone still watched hockey”. To that I say, go to hell Tiger Woods. If I was a golf fan, I’d no longer support you. I hope you get bad. And by the way WHO THE HELL WATCHES GOLF?!?!?!?!?!? That has got to be one of the most boring sports to watch on TV. Do they even get a good TV audience for that?

Rumors:

From Ek - Spezza and the LA Kings is still out there, but don't rule out the Calgary Flames who may make a bold move for Spezza if they fail to land Jokinen.

Why the fuck would Spezza go to LA? If he does, at least I will see him more often but the kings? Jesus.

Not much else, Spector reports the Avs may resign Jose and shop Budaj.

Well, I am going to finish watching game 6. I’m hoping the Pens pull out the win and force game 7. It’s not looking like that’s going to happen. They couldn’t get anything going for a 5 on 3 and Detroit is up 1-0 in the second. C’mon Pens!

Stanley Cup Finals, Wheeler is UFA and Rumors

Four games down in the Stanley Cup Finals. Detroit is up 3-1.

Detroit came out strong in the first two games. The Penguins entered unfamiliar territory at Joe Louis Arena. These teams did not meet once this season (I am so glad the schedule is changing next year) and the Penguins were definitely not prepared for the Wings. Crosby and Malkin were invisible the first game. Crosby came back in the second, but going into the fifth game, Malkin is still pretty much MIA. He is not the force he was during the season.

Osgood denied the Pens any goals those first two games. And he also did some damn good acting (Holstrom did some pretty good acting too)! Once at home the Pens seemed to wake up. Their first home game, they played a physical game and really beat down the wings. They were able to solve Osgood and pull of the win. The second home game for the Pens wasn’t nearly as pretty. They got the first goal, played physical and then died. They can not keep up with the Wings for a full 60 minutes (not many teams could this season).

The series moves back to Detroit. Based on what I have seen, the Pens just aren’t going to be able to pull this off. I would love to see this go to seven games and the Pens win, but that’s not going to happen.

Brooks Orpik is a monster. He has hit any wings player that moves. I swear to god. I have actually found someone on the Pens that I enjoy watching. I also like his name. I read on nhl.com that his dad wanted to name his Herb (after Herb Brooks) but his mama vetoed it and they settled on Brooks. That is just a cool story!

In Coyotes news…Wheeler has opted for free agency instead of signing with the Coyotes. It seems he wants his choice of where to play and not the money (as Coyotes are the one team that can offer him a ton of money because of the old CBA). A lot of people are very angry about this and hoping that he gets his ass kicked. I just hope he doesn’t go to a division rival and end up being an amazing player in a year or too. A lot of people also think he wants to go to the Wild. From what I have read that is just speculation since he is from Minnesota. Other speculation is he wants to go to a worse team the Coyotes in order to have a shot at the NHL right away. Here he would have a lot of competition and have to fight for a spot with the big club. I would have loved to have seen Wheeler in a Yotes uniform but I guess that won’t be happening. L I wish him well and hope this turns out to be the right decision for him.

There was an open house the other night. The usuals were there, DMo and Fuhr. I went but only to check out some stuff at the den and talk hockey with some people. I was going to talk to Ryan about my season tickets, but that boy is always busy! He is definitely one of the more popular ticket reps, along with Neils. I didn’t get a chance to say Hi to him either. I did get a free pop, hot dog and popcorn though! I was about to fall over by the time I got there.

Here is good article. It’s an “as told to” by Daniel Carcillo. So, fighting in his own words!
http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=414297#start_comments

Some Rumors that interest me:

Looks like the Preds may have another fire sale this summer…(from Eklund, not the most reliable):
Dan Ellis The Senators are the likely team that will sign Ellis who is quite the commodity right now...so much so that the Preds may be out of the bidding soon. Don't rule out the Red Wings as well who got a very good look at Ellis these playoffs.Shea Weber or Gary Suter Speaking of the Preds......Shea Weber talks are very heated reportedly. I do expect the Preds will get Shea signed, but if they can't long term look for them to trade his rights prior to July 1. If Shea is signed, the Preds will likely move Suter....

I’m thinking he means Ryan, not Gary. Gary would be Ryan’s uncle, similar style but different players. Ellis was phenomenal for the Preds this year (I would die if he became a wing! I could handle a senator but then I’d never see him). I would love to see him stay there. And Ryan should stay too unless he comes to Phoenix!

OTTAWA SUN: Bruce Garrioch reports the Senators could buy out goalie Ray Emery as soon as within 48 hours of the end of the Stanley Cup playoffs but if they pass on that would have to wait until the buyout period of June 15-30, and because he won't be 26 until September, Emery's buyout would be at one-third the remaining value rather than two-thirds. Garrioch cites sources claiming the Sens have tried to shop him but received only mild interest from one or two teams and it's doubtful any club will take his full current salary.
SPECTOR'S NOTE: It'll be surprising if the Senators don't avail themselves of the opportunity to buy him out for one-third his remaining value of his contract. No team will take him off their hands right now.

I would like them to buy Ray out, have another team give him a small contract and see what he can do. He may just have had an off year because of his wrist surgery and apparently some personal problems were involved too.

BOSTON GLOBE: Kevin Paul Dupont reports the impressive physical play of Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik could make him an attractive target in this summer's UFA market by teams seeking a physical presence on their blueline. Dupont suggests the Penguins might not be able to re-sign him and Orpik could command up to $5 million per season on the open market.
SPECTOR'S NOTE: At 42 Roberts could opt for retirement, and if the Penguins win the Cup I believe he will retire, preferring to go out a winner.Orpik is in the prime of his career and will attract a lot of attention as a UFA this summer. It doesn't appear as though he'll be re-signed as it's believed he's clashed at time with head coach Michel Therrien.

Holy crap, if we can’t get Suter maybe we can get Brooks! That is too funny that I found that after espousing my new found love for him!

Playoffs

Well, it’s been awhile since I’ve written about the playoffs. I skipped a whole round!

It is Detroit and Pittsburgh in the finals. The first game is Saturday. I am not sure if I will watch it. I’ve got something going on that afternoon and am not sure what time it will be done. I will be recording it though, as this promises to be a really good series.

Detroit is the veterans while Pittsburgh is the young guys. Detroit has the dirty players while Pittsburgh has the whiners and divers. I think this will go all seven games. If it does, I will have to beg my dad to record it since I will be busy that day and not able to watch it.

The Detroit/Dallas series was very good. Turco played his little heart out. He was probably one of the best players for Dallas. He definitely got them out of the first round and the second round. If his teammates had been able to muster up the offense, he could have gotten them into the finals. I’m not going to go on and on about these series because they are over.

Pittsburgh and Philadelphia was a sad series. Philadelphia looked like a completely different team then the previous games. They did lose a lot of players to injuries but that should have made the other players step up. Briere did exactly what I thought he would. Disappeared.