But I Just Put the Broom Away!

Sean Avery out for the rest of the Rangers' season.(one game?)

The first report had him not breating in a hospital bed.. dead or dying. Truth comes out..he has a lacerated spleen..in serious shape..but not dead. Lost alot of blood internally.
I hate him. Good chance you do too. But not to death. No one wants that. You know deep down..if he was a Penguin, he would be a favorite. Just like Ruutu.
But he's not a Penguin. He's the biggest piece of classless crap in the NHL.
Still, I'm glad he'll be back. If there were no players to hate..this would be a dull sport.
Get well soon, you little peckerwood. Maybe Sid will bring the Cup to your hospital room.
******

Jagr to Russia?
he went off on one of his emotional tirades in the locker room after last nights game. Hinted that game four could be his last game in the NHL.
Some Russian Super League team has been saying Jags has signed with them for next year..been saying it for a few months. He was with them during the lockout year. Who knows?
He was a man possesed last night. If he had any help, the Rangers would have taken that game. They lost it themselves when Captain Moustache boarded Sykora.
Before that, the Rangers had roared back and tied it. They were swarming all over the ice. The Pens were reeling. Crossbars and near misses..they were coming.
Then *BAM* ...four minutes of box time.. and the Ranger's momentum, the game and their season falls in the toilet..and Geno pulls the flush lever.
Jagr was a mess afterward. Had the heavy sound of defeat in his voice. He has been SUCH a whiny lil girl over Sidney this whole series..I have realy gotten sick of him. But I saw him play like last night like he hasn't played in years..to no avail. I think he wanted to be back in a Black and Yellow jersey.

Game four tomorrow. The fat lady is warming up. The Rangers are hurt, depressed, and down 3-0. Hopefully they get put out of their misery.
Finish It..Go Pens!

Welcome to Madison Square Garden, here is YOUR Pittsburgh Penguins!!

POST GAME SHOW:

Pens:5 Rangers:3

Pens Lead Series 3-0 (zero, nada, zilchereno, goose egg, NOTHING!)
you know what that means..
CUE HER UP BOYS..IT'S ALMOST TIME TO SING!!!

It's too late to talk about just how awesome the Pens played tonight. maybe tomorrow.

Know this much..
BGL was clutch
Staal is Mr. PK
Geno is a points machine
and Gill is a bulldozer in front of Fleury on the PK.
Go Pens!!!

(I swear I had this up before Pensblog had their toilet bowl up....too bad mine sucks and theirs rocks. Guy even used the same photo!!)

BIG GAME. REAL BIG

If the Pens can stand the opening fury we know will come from the Rangers, if they can hang in there and put this one away....
If they can go up 3-0..we know, AND the Rangers know.. it's over. Broken spirits baby.
Die-hard Ranger fans have alot on their minds.

Go up 3-0? Thats a big if, though. I'm expecting a split in the Garden, with game 5 back in the Igloo for that clincher.

Pens have had alot of problems in MSG this year. Let's see how they respond. Hopefully the crowd won't jitter Marc-Andre. That's first and foremost. Then hope gary Roberts plays. His old-school attitude will probably help the gang focus. And.. for the love of all things great and small..if Hossa can hit the back of the net, it would settle the Pens nerves a whole lot.

Variables?
Avery..that little twit. You know he will be on speeders tonight. The question is..will he go overboard and get himself in the bin, or keep his cool and get one of the Pens put away?

Sid.. you know how bad he is going to hear it. I predicted a hat trick for him the other night..unfortunately it seemed like Jagr and the other 'superstars' name-calling had him in a funk. I still say the best way to shut everyone up is to hang three goals on them. Easy for me to say, eh? Idon't have Avery slashing, or Rozsival hanging, or Orr hitting me.
Still..go get em' Sid.

Pens D...they have been stellar..if they can keep their cool in the noise of MSG.. Pens can win.

Whooo! Go Pens!
And remember:

Pens Rangers Game Two! Do it Again!

Anyone who knows my ramblings knows I'm not a Sid defender. I have had Malkin as my favorite since before LeClair dumped him on his shoulder at last years training camp.
I love Roberts more than Sid.. his intensity, is just amazing. Sykora, Ru, George..they are all a notch up my list above Sidney.

WHAT??!!

I DIDN'T SAY ANY OF THEM ARE BETTER.. I just like to watch them more.
It's too easy to love Sid. He's the best of the best.
To translate into the world of cars....
Sid is like a Ferrari. Everone would love one.
But eveyone has a soft spot for other vehicles. Geno is a Viper. Laraque a Hummer. Sykora a Mustang. And Gary Roberts? Well, he is a restored 1971 Chevelle with a 454, dual exaust, chrome headers and a GIGANTIC pair of dice hanging in the windsheild.

That rant was a lead in to this:
Sidney can't get a break.
Guy was injured half the year. Won Art Ross and the Hart last year. Is the one EVERYONE wants to see play at their arena. What does he ever get from the other players and media?
Trash talk. And it's hypocritical blabbing at best.

It's either "Sid is a crybaby!"
OR, like now in New York,
"Sid gets all the calls! Whahhhhhh!!"

Make up your mind! Either he's a crybaby OR YOU ARE. Can't have both.
Sid didn't dive. He fell to one knee. He didn't blow the whistle. the ref did. Sid fell at least a dozen times the first period..no calls. HE CAN'T CONTROL THE WHISTLE.
He is always flailing around if the puck is near him. And usually three opposing players are trying to keep him from it. Guy scrambles and falls. IT IS AT THAT POINT THE REFS HAVE TO DECIDE IF IT WAS A PENALTY OR NOT.
If you don't want to get called..KEEP YOUR D-MEN FROM GANG PILING HIM.
I've said it before. Sid gets more no-calls than calls. That game the other night was a perfect example. No-call on the throat-culture Avery tried to take from him on the ice. But the end penalty was, I ADMIT, borderline. (although, tell Marty Straka that was a penalty all year long, just not usually in the playoffs)

You would think a team that watches Jagr get the same treatment as Sid night in and night out would get how these things work. But I suppose not.

The good news is, my Kleenex stock is going through the roof in anticipation of three more games like the last one.
I suggest to any entrepreneurs out there, take a truckload of this to the Big Apple, you will make a killing before this series is over:

We all know Sid well enough to warn the Rangers..if all their crying to the media has pissed him off enough.. he may just hang a hat trick on them. Either way..this one will be nasty today. Worse than game one.

ps. and curse this diving topic for taking me off the real point of game one:

JARKKO FRIGGIN RUUTU!!!!!

Take It to the House, Pens!

Get used to that one. It'll be around for a while.

'Tonight's the Night' isn't just a crappy Phil Collins song. It's a call to arms.
White-Out at the arena..wear your white jersies or just take off your shirts and show off that winter no-tan. On second thought..Just wear the white jersies. There are women and children present.

Let's see how the series goes. Unfortunately..it may be too close...and it will be decided in a way no one wants.

Playoff referees.

I'm afraid it's going to really take a serious injury to a superstar before they start calling the playoffs like the regular season.
There is no reason a slash in October is seen and the same one in April isn't. How is a charging penalty in November called just a "solid hit" in the springtime? And the holding, grabbing, tripping, and goalie interference..all unseen now.
Some one..and I hope not a Penguin..is going to get injured by a nasty cross check or elbow before the League steps in. And thats sad.

Hopefully the Ducks early exit this year will start a trend AWAY from the current one..where playoff teams have to play like the 1970's Oakland Raiders of the NFL.
I like big hits..we all do. But it has gotten so bad that the players can't play and the stars can't shine.

It's time for Bettman and Co. to draw a line in the sand and stick to it.

Get your vaccinations up to date. Rangers coming to town.

Led by a team of overpaid has-beens and one classless joke..the Rangers have defied the odds and made the playoffs.
Jagr and Shanny.. a thousand goals and a hundred Kleenex boxes in the last 20 years. Impressive. Straka..forever Robin to Batman..he still wears the lil tights for Jaromir. I liked him back in the day. Still kind of do..but not for the next two weeks.
New York defeated the Devils to advance to round two. And the biggest highlight of the series is Avery playing playground goofball. What a guy.

Sean Avery: Putting the 'ass' in 'classless'
Naturally, Rangers Fans all over the New York City went crazy with excitement!

So here we go..the seniors shitizens versusthe young whippersnappers.
I think the Pens have just enough youth PLUS one gnarly old Roberts dude to run the old men out of town.
Pens in six.
I will add, there is a chance the Pens fell asleep waiting for round 2, and may drop game one..I doubt it..but if they do..Pens in seven.

And at last we have a challenger......

And so it begins....

Finally. Let's rock the Garden, baby.
The good news..they are just as rested (meaning OVERrested). No worries about one team being fresh, having momentum, tired or not.
Real Men versus Real Men and Sean Avery.
No excuses, no surrender. Bring it. Both even, ready to rock. See you Friday, jokes.
How did we get to this?? Well..

Nice Game 7 OT tankage.
And that show by the refs pretty much tosses out all conspiracy theories. Except the one about Alex Ovechkin being Encino Man. That one may stick.

Pauly Shore was unavailable for comment.
Grats to the Flyers on pulling off the last second double-fate reversal. Now go kill the Habs.
Time to reload.
As I type this..I am watching Calgary and San Jose abusing each other. Silently, I cheer for the Flames. Mostly... because I have heard how great the Sharks are for months.Blecht. But some is just because California sucks and will some day sink into the Pacific due to the weight of all the egos.
Good night and Go Pens!

Patience is a virtue... So is desperate boredom

Ducks choked. No repeat. Nice smack down, Dallas.

Detroit finally nailed down Nashville..wasn't easy.

But no change in the east.
And still we wait.

Tonight, we will know some, if not all, of how it will go. We will know if the Pens play Boston or not. And perhaps the Flyers will finish up. Or are they in mid-choke? Ask me tomorrow. I am picking games at near 100% accuracy the day after they are played. Creepy, I know.

Perhaps one of my favorite photoshops I have seen on Pensblog, brought here for anyone who enjoys that sort of thing:

Ruutu/George is just creepy.

What an awesome job this guy did, eh?