Let Me Know When Malkin Comes Back

I'm not even going to pretend I can write anything constructive about this game because I saw a total of four minutes of the third period when I stopped at my parents house to pick up my kids after a night of shopping. It was enough to see Daniel Paille walk in on a breakaway against Marc-Andre Fleury and watch as he fucked up again by going down too early. To be fair he did only give up two goals (the third was an empty netter) but he still lost for the third straight time and 4th out of the last 5 games. Unfortunately the injuries are just too much for the team right now. We can't score, we can't stop the other team from scoring, the power play is a disaster, etc. For a team that looked unbeatable just a few weeks ago, they have now slipped back into the pack in the East and won't be getting any better until Evgeni Malkin comes back. It's as simple as that. Hopefully that occurs next week when I'll be at the game against Anaheim. I can only hope.

Next up the Pens finally come home after a disastrous road trip to face their toughest competition in the Atlantic Division, the New Jersey Devils. The Devils are one of only two Eastern teams to have beaten the Pens this year and that play that incredibly boring style that makes vampires cry out of boredom. They are only two points behind the Penguins, but have played three less games so they are about to pass us just a month into the season. Hockey really sucks sometimes.

Notes: Crosby failed to pick up a point for the fifth straight game for the first time in his career...Pittsburgh has not scored a goal in the last 149 minutes, 9 seconds...Brooks Orpik was injured in the first period and did not return...the Mike Yeo coached power play is now 0 for 23 during the last five games...the Pens recently called Chris Ferraro, who is playing with Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL, to see if he would be interested in returning to the team so they would have three guys named Chris who suck balls.

Mile High Clubbing

Going into this game I did not have a good feeling. The Steelers typically do not play well in Denver and they were going into the game without three key starters and a back-up to one of those starters on defense. They were also coming off the bye week which could have resulted in some rust and the Broncos were trying to bounce back from a humiliating loss the week before in Baltimore. It just seemed like everything was stacked against us.

After the offense put up a pitiful performance in the first half yet we were still winning 7-3, I knew we were going to win. There is a pattern with Ben Roethlisberger where if he starts hot, he fades in the second half and we lose. But if he struggles early on, he battles back in the second half and we win. It helped that they stuck to the run in the second half and the defense had their first really dominant 60 minute performance. After the initial drive that netted Denver a field goal, the Steel Curtain came down and the Broncos never came close to scoring, especially in the second half when they only crossed midfield once. The defense is finally back and that is bad news for the rest of the league.

Time to see what did work and what didn't work. Here we...go!:


WHAT DID WORK

The word genius gets thrown around too easily, but it definitely applies to Dick LeBeau. After watching Denver's first drive, he went to his defense, pointed out the tendencies, and the Broncos did nothing offensively the rest of the game. The supposed offensive "genius" Josh McDaniels could do nothing against a Steel Curtain defense that punched his team in the face on every down and intercepted a previously near perfect Kyle Orton three times. The Broncos could do nothing on the ground, gaining just 27 yards total for the game and only 1 in the entire second half. The longest pass play Orton completed was for 20 yards, which occurred on the first drive of the game. They've given up 6 points in the last 6 quarters of football. Do I need to keep going? I didn't think so.

Troy Polamalu is an amazing athlete. I know they say this is a team sport and no one man can make or break a team, but I would argue that Polamalu is that type of player. He was running full tilt all night and looked as good as he did in Week 1. If he hadn't sustained an injury in that game, I have no doubt he would have been having a career year. In this game, he only had three tackles, but two of them were highlight reel plays. He chased down Brandon Marshall from like 20 yards away to stop him for a relatively small gain and destroyed Correll Buckhalter in the backfield for no gain midway through the fourth. The very next play Polamalu intercepted Orton's pass to set up the Steelers in great field position. It was his third interception this year in just his fourth game. It does not surprise me in the least that they have only given up 30 points in the games he has played this year. That's 7.5 points a game people. You win a lot of football games only giving up that many points in a game.

Tyrone Carter had an excellent game filling in for Ryan Clark, who was wisely held out of this contest. He didn't get burned in coverage and was responsible for the lone Steelers touchdown in the first half when he picked off Orton and ran it back 48 yards for the score. His second interception effectively ended the game. So in one game he almost matched his career high of three. Can't ask for much more from your back-up safety.

Rashard Mendenhall ran right over the #1 ranked Denver defense and he made it look easy. He had runs of 24, 28, 36, and 18 yards, all in the second half. In total he carried the ball 22 times and gained 155 yards for a 7.0 average. For the season Mendenhall is averaging 5.7 yards a carry, which is good for second in the entire league, just behind Chris Johnson of Tennessee (who has a 91 run that inflates his average). Denver fell to 8th against the run after Mendenhall ran like he was playing against children all night long.

Ben Roethlisberger had a decent game, although he had a costly fumble and an interception which stopped another scoring drive. It was how he responded to the sack/fumble/touchdown that impressed me as he lead the team 80 yards in just 4 plays to retake the lead that they never relinquished. After a rough first half, he completed a total of 72% of his passes and connected with Mike Wallace and two times with Hines Ward to give him 14 TD passes for the year. He only had 17 all of last year and is looking to beat his career best of 32 back in 2007. He has the weapons at his disposal so it is a possibility.

I don't give enough love to the offensive line, but they have played really well the past month. Max Starks did a tremendous job against Elvis Dumervil who entered the game second in the league in sacks. While Dumervil did get credit for .5 sack, that was more to do with Roethlisberger holding the ball too long and nothing to do with protection. Dumervil only had one tackle the entire game and Big Max was a big reason why he was ineffective. All of the guys played great in allowing Ben to have time in the pocket and clearing lanes for Mendenhall. Probably the best effort they have had all season long.

The receiving core had a strong game after struggling against Minnesota. Santonio Holmes lead the team with 6 catches for 93 yards; Wallace pulled in four including a long touchdown that broke Denver's back, and Ward nabbed 7 balls including two for scores. Not a lot of teams can boast that much fire power at the wide receiver position.

Keyaron Fox quietly had a very strong game. He lead the team in tackles with 9, including 8 which were solo tackles. The biggest plus was he was never mentioned for being out of position or failing in his tackling. I have no doubt he would be starting for any other team, but I'm glad we have him in reserve because it looks like Timmons is going to be dealing with this high ankle sprain all year long.

Although I hate him, Brett Keisel had a really strong game. Both of his tackles in the game were sacks and he deflected a pass in the fourth quarter as well. Probably the best game I've seen him play in a Steelers uniform.




WHAT DIDN'T WORK

Um...Ben had a fumble that was returned for a touchdown and threw an interception in the end zone that ended another potential scoring drive. Brandon Marshall had 112 yards receiving. William Gay got burned repeatedly on the first drive. And that's about it.


Next up the Steelers face off against one of the teams that beat them this year, the Cincinnati Bengals, for sole possession of first place in the AFC North. The Bengals are coming off of a second win against the Ravens and are looking to sweep the season series against Pittsburgh as well. One thing that will be different than the Week 3 loss? Troy Polamalu will be in uniform. Suck on that, Carson.

Go Steelers.

Week 9 NFL Predictions - The Results

I gotta stop picking afternoon games. Going into the 4 o'clock games I was 5-2 with my only losses being the upset loss by the Packers and the total dismantling of the Bears who hadn't lost at home previously all year. I'm pretty sure every analyst picked those games the same way so I was feeling pretty good. Then the afternoon came and the wheels fell off the bus for the second consecutive week. I guess that is why they play the game.

I knew what I was talking about with the games I won. The Bengals took a small step to respectability with their second win over the Ravens; New England was motivated against Joey Porter and the Dolphins; the Colts stayed unbeaten by squeaking one out against Houston; the Jaguars held off a late rally from the Chiefs; Atlanta had no trouble with the Redskins; the Saints kept their perfect record intact after rallying against the Panthers; and the Seahawks erased a 17 point Detroit lead in the first quarter to score the comeback win.

What can I say about the games I lost? The Packers allowed 21 points in the final quarter against the previously winless Bucs; Chicago's home winning streak was demolished by Arizona; the Giants lost even more respectability by allowing a late touchdown in a loss to San Diego; the 49ers couldn't stop the Titans rush attack; the Eagles finished off a stretch of three consecutive games against divisional opponents with a loss to the Cowboys; and Josh McDaniels couldn't dial up a way to stop Rashard Mendenhall or the Steelers defense in a crushing loss on MNF.

Let's see how I did with my predictions from Week Nine:

The Glorious Bastards (or teams I said would win and they proved me right!)









The Sons of Bitches (or teams I said would win and who shit the bed on gameday!)

Fleury = Chum

See that puck behind Fleury? We've seen a little too much of that lately.

If you stayed up to watch this game you most definitely were kicking yourself, or you just happened to catch it because you were drunk somewhere and it was the only thing on. The only way to sit through this debacle was to be drunk, which unfortunately I was not. I was stone cold sober as I watched Marc-Andre Fleury shit the bed for the third straight game (yes, I'm counting Anaheim even though we won). Fleury once again gave up an extremely weak goal that any mite team goalie could stop because he failed to hug the post for the 37th time this season. Fleury once again got completely beaten on a shot that he clearly saw and should have had the correct angle on but just didn't. It was that goal just 1:41 into the second that ended his night. For the night Fleury allowed 3 goals on 14 shots for a whopping .786 save percentage. He has given up 11 goals in 3 games in the month of November. This is obviously not his month so the Pens should tell the world he has a high ankle sprain and bring him back in the month of January.

There weren't any goal scored so it's not like we can talk about anything positive from this game. What I will talk about is how the Evgeni Malkin injury has clearly proven who is the better player and who the Pens should keep when the decision comes down on whether to keep him or Crosby. When Crosby went down with his injury a couple of years ago, Malkin put the team on his back and became a much more dynamic player. He was showing flashes of Lemieux and Jagr as he would single handily take over games and propelled the team to victory. Crosby on the other hand has wilted under the pressure. He got 2 assists in the first game that Malkin missed but hasn't scored since and is a -2 to boot. Crosby is a great player, don't get me wrong, but if you want to argue over who you should keep, the answer is obviously Malkin.

Next up the Pens limp in to Boston to face off against the Bruins on Tuesday. This is another game on Versus and since DirecTV and Versus are still embroiled in their pissing contest, I won't be able to see it. The Bruins stopped a three game slide with a win over Buffalo yesterday and are tied for second in the Northeast Division.

Notes: Crosby failed to pick up a point for the fourth straight game for the first time in his career...Pittsburgh is 2-14-2 in California since the start of the 1999-2000 season...Kris Letang was injured in the first period and did not return...the Mike Yeo coached power play is now 0 for 21 during the last four games...FYI, John Curry is available to back-up Brent Johnson if we need him to.

Week 9 NFL Predictions

Do you know what is great? Chevy Chase in "Community". Do you know what is not great? Trying to do NFL predictions a week after being a humbling 7-6 and just not being in the mood to do it. I'll mailing this one in folks. I'm just too worn down for the Pens road trip to really care.

SUNDAY

The Ravens are coming off a huge win over the Broncos, the Bengals are well rested and looking to sweep the series. BENGALS WIN!






The Dolphins are undefeated in the AFC East, the Patriots have beaten their last two opponents by the combined score of 94-7. PATRIOTS WIN!






The Texans are on a three game winning streak, the Colts have injuries mounting on both sides of the ball. COLTS WIN!






Todd Haley should have stayed with the Cardinals, the Jaguars are looking to prove they are better than their performance last week. JAGUARS WIN!






The Packers will be happy they won't have to face Brett Favre the rest of the year, the Buccaneers haven't scored more than 21 points in a game all season long. PACKERS WIN!







Dan Snyder is apologizing for the awful product the Redskins put out on the field on a weekly basis, the Falcons have fallen back to Earth after a 4-1 start. FALCONS WIN!







The Cardinals are undefeated on the road this season, the Bears are undefeated at home this season. BEARS WIN!






The Chargers didn't beat Oakland as bad as they should have last week, the Giants need to stop a three game slide. GIANTS WIN!






Tennessee had the Curse of Cope lifted so they could win their first game last week, three of San Francisco's losses have been by 4 points or less. 49ERS WIN!






Carolina beat a legitimate opponent for the first time last week, the Saints are looking to stay perfect. SAINTS WIN!






The Lions couldn't even beat the winless Rams last week, both Seahawks victories have been shutouts including one against the Rams. SEAHAWKS WIN!






Dallas have gotten back into the playoff picture with three straight victories, the Eagles are starting their usual midseason push that will ultimately end with them not winning the Super Bowl again. EAGLES WIN!






MONDAY

The Steelers will be playing without three key defensive players (Aaron Smith, Ryan Clark, and Lawrence Timmons) and never do well in the high altitude, the Broncos look to rebound after being humbled last week against Baltimore. BRONCOS WIN!








BYE WEEK

Newsflash: Fleury Exposed In Los Angeles

Yikes. That is about all I can say about that game. The Pens were in control for a good portion of the game, holding a 2-1 lead through the end of the second and looked like they were going to add to the lead early in the third. That third goal never came and then Marc-Andre Fleury had a monumental collapse that some of us saw coming. Enviro has always been of the mindset that we win games in spite of him, not because of him. Well, that caught up to us last night in a big way.

I'm not going to go into vivid detail about how bad Fleury played because I know some schmuck who thinks everything the Pensblog says is gospel will hold onto it and decide to e-mail it to me if Fleury makes a big save in the playoffs. We have never once been under the delusion that these players are a part of our family and that they would hang out with us if only given the chance. We know that sports is a business as much as it is entertainment, so the harsh reality is sometimes guys fuck up and we have no problem calling them on it. It doesn't hurt anyone's feelings (unless you run a 'blog' that offers no opinions and is strictly a link dump to other people's opinions) that we thought Fleury sucked a giant donkey dick last night because he got burned on wrap arounds or went down way too early. We know it is a long season and these types of games are going to happen. We also know that saying someone sucked, like Fleury most definitely did in the third period, doesn't mean we have jumped off the bandwagon or anything. You don't have to be happy all the time nor look for the silver lining. Sometimes it is okay to be mad at something. Your 'fan status' will not be affected regardless of what some jagoffs who think having a homosexual man as a mascot is somehow cutting edge and cool says.

To sum up, the Pens lost, Fleury was the reason, and you're an asshole if you somehow think pointing out that truth somehow makes us less of a fan than you.

Next up the Pens finish off the West Coast trip with a game against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. The Sharks just had their six game winning streak halted when they lost to Detroit on Thursday but still sit atop in the Pacific Division.

Notes: Jordan Staal scored his first goal in the last 10 games...Alex Goligoski was the only Penguin to be a plus in the game (he was a +1)...Chris Conner scored his first point in a Penguins uniform...Chris Kunitz lead all Penguin players with six shots on net...the Pens power play is now 0-17 over the last handful of games...Randy Newman really just likes LA as a friend but was forced to pen his signature song because he owed bookies money.

70s Era Porn Star Mustaches Can't Beat A Team Effort

Before I do my quick recap (it is past midnight and I have to work tomorrow) I just have to point out my new favorite non-Penguin player in the NHL, Anaheim's George Parros. Not only is he from Washington, PA, just look at that fucking 'stache! That is legendary. When I saw him skating around in the pregame with that horrible military jersey on (which I really wanted Anaheim to wear in the game) I felt like I had been transported back to the 70s. Well done, George, well done.


As for tonight's game, what more can you say than "what a team effort"? When you can get your fourth liners and defensemen to pump in 4 goals and your #1 and #3 centers to save goals with their hustle, you are going to win a lot of games. It's just that simple.

Mike Rupp scored his fourth goal of the season with a hard shot from the high slot, Kris Letang notched his first by firing a puck from the point through traffic during a delayed penalty call, Alex Goligoski got his sixth of the year with a wicked wrister from just inside the blue line, and Pascal Dupuis blasted home his third of the campaign just 59 seconds after the Ducks had tied the game. Now stop for a minute and look at the names on this list. Guys that rank 10th (Goligoski), 12th (Dupuis), 15th (Letang), and 16th (Rupp) in salary on the team are the ones that came through with the big goals. Does Shero and Byslma know what they are doing or what?

The other guys who get paid a salary came through in other ways as well. Tyler Kennedy got back into the lineup and was a force all game long. He ended up with two assists which were created by his intense hustle. Jordan Staal stopped a sure goal in the second when he got his stick on the puck and Sidney Crosby made a great diving save in the waning minutes in the game after Marc-Andre Fleury got caught way out of position. For all of the Crosby haters out there ask yourself this, would your superstar player sacrifice their body to stop a puck in an early November game that you were winning just to save a goal? If you are a Crapitals fan, there is no way you can make that claim since that scenario would require Ovechkin actually being in the defensive zone. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

But it wasn't all good in this game. Fleury let in a couple of soft goals, especially the one to Saku Koivu to tie it at 3, and was so out of position on several occasions that he needed Staal and Crosby to bail him out. But to be fair, he did rob Koivu late in the third and was under a barrage at the end but didn't let in any goals during a critical time.

The other negative from the game was the power play. They spent almost half of the first period on the power play but could generate NOTHING! They are 0 for their last 14 power plays which is just pathetic. Everyone will point to the absence of Evgeni Maklin and Sergei Gonchar, but let's be honest, they weren't racking up points when they were in the line-up either. The real problem is Mike Yeo. Maybe he is a good guy and is well liked, but he cannot coach a power play to save his life. There is no movement, no net presence, no second chances, nothing. I understand the players have to execute, but they also have to have good coaching which they obviously do not have with Yeo. They need to hire someone who knows what they are doing. Hell, Toronto has 1 win this year but rank 4th in the PP. Some will point out that a successful power play obviously does not directly translate to wins, but imagine how incredible this team would be with a power play that scores at that rate. We'd set a record for wins in a season.

Finally, how great was it to see Ryan Whitney fuck up for another team? All of the old Shitney traits were there: not being physical, not being able to hold the puck at the blue line, not being able to pass, sucking enormous cock. Yep, same Shitney.

Next up the Pens travel up the coast to face the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. It will be the first game against former Penguin Rob Scuderi, who is currently a -2. The Kings snapped a two game losing streak with a victory over Phoenix last night and currently sit in second place in the Pacific Division.

Notes: The Pens won their seventh straight road game for the first time in team history...Brooks Orpik had two assists for his first multiple point game in the last 54 games including playoffs...Matt Cooke was a +3 in the game and is now tied for fifth on the team with a +7 rating...Fleury did not reach 10 wins last year until December 22nd...former Penguin Erik Christensen did not dress for the game due to being demoted to the minors...Parros has to keep Shitney away from his junk in the locker room because Shitney keeps confusing him with a 70s era porn star and constantly wants to show off his sucking ability.

Week 8 NFL Predictions - The Results

Remember when I said this week was going to be a cake walk? Yeah, I don't know what the fuck I'm talking about.

I knew what I was talking about with the games I won. Baltimore dismantled the previously unbeaten Broncos; the Colts won a hard fought victory over the 49ers; Houston had no problem with Buffalo, San Diego beat Oakland for the 100th straight time; Chicago beat up on Cleveland; Dallas smacked the Seahawks around; and the Saints stayed unbeaten by holding on against Atlanta.

What can I say about the games I lost? The Jets couldn't get it done against Miami; the Jaguars made Vince Young look like a MVP candidate in losing to the winless Titans; the Giants got destroyed by the Eagles; Detroit embarrassed their city even more by losing to the winless Rams; Arizona can't seem to win at home after losing to the lowly Panthers; and the Packers let the Brett Favre led Vikings get too far ahead before they tried to come back and now have lost to their former hero twice within a month.

Let's see how I did with my predictions from Week Eight:

The Glorious Bastards (or teams I said would win and they proved me right!)










The Sons of Bitches (or teams I said would win and who shit the bed on gameday!)

Ghost Erections

I love scaring the shit out of myself. UFOs, ghosts, John Maher, they all give me the hee-bee-gee-bees. So I hate to have to admit this, I kind of have got into these ghost investigation shows on TV (Paranormal State being the most credible in my opinion).

There are two reasons why I watch them. First, I think 95% of the supposed paranormal things that happen are either bullshit or acted. I just have a feeling that when things are slow, the acting picks up to fill the gap. Second, the other 5% of the occurrences are actually intriguing without a real explanation. As a scientist I love that shit.

Now the other half of me being a 13 year old pervert, I also began to think of what I would do if I were a ghost. Here for every ones disgust/enjoyment is a top ten list. Happy Fucking Halloween Jagoffs.

1. Would constantly be searching for and watching boobs for hours and hours. That's just obvious if you are a warm blooded man.
2. In between looking at boobs, I would float around the people I do not like and would constantly be giving them a ghost teabags. You like your tea with one ball or two Mike Richards?
3. I would see if I could take a dump. If ghosts use energy to materialize, then that energy gets turned into entropy that must be discarded as waste. Just what exactly is that waste?
4. Once I figured out how to ghost poo, I would clog the toilets of the people I just ghost tea bagged.
5. I would just show up on one of these TV ghost investigations, materialize, introduce myself as Mr. Ghost, hence removing any doubt and cancelling these shows.
6. I would hunt and find Osama Bin Laden. Once found, I would haunt him as a rich obnoxious Jewish ghost character. That would just drive him up the cave wall.
7. I would write a blog called "Boo!, I am a Ghost"
8. I would attend all Penguins games choosing to sit on Sections E and F because of the good ice view and the good fans in those Sections. I would sit on the hottest girls face in the Section.....lol......Ghost Choad
9. I would float side-by-side with Limas Sweed and help him catch balls.
10. I would visit all of my friends wives, multiple times.

I have a plan for everything.

Steigula Sucks

Let me preface this by saying that I couldn't be happier that the Penguins ended up 11-3-0 for the month of October. It was the best start to a season in franchise history and we did it without Max Talbot, as well as stretches of games without Evgeni Malkin, Sergei Gonchar, and Tyler Kennedy. We are the best team in hockey and so far there has been no indication of a Stanley Cup hangover. Life is good.

But, this is a blog where a couple of guys can spout off their opinions regardless of how well or how terrible things are going for our teams. And tonight, I'm a little pissed off at the results of this game. The Pens totally outplayed the Wild. They more than doubled them up in shots, had three times as many power plays, had far more offensive attack zone time, and Sidney Crosby even beat up one of their players. So how is it possible we lost this game?

Real simple, Marc-Andre Fleury. Before we get nasty grams about how MAF is 9-2, let's be honest with ourselves. Both goals he gave up tonight were preventable and should have been stopped. The first goal was a bad rebound that unfortunately bounced right to an open Wild player and the second one he just quit on the play. Both instances he was down before the shot even came, which drives Enviro crazy. The Wild had 4 shots in the first period and 2 of them found the back of the net. That is something that happens to an Islanders goalie, not to a Stanley Cup winning goalie. Fleury did stop the next 11 shots he faced, but it just wasn't enough tonight.

Props to Pascal Dupuis for stepping up his game recently. Not only did he get the lone goal, which was assisted on by Martin Skoula and Craig Adams, but he lead all players with 5 shots on goal and hustled the entire game. With Malkin down for the next few weeks everyone figured Jordan Staal would step up but he's back to his former useless self. What happened to the Staal from the Stanley Cup Finals where he dominated portions of Games 6 and 7? He's gone into hibernation apparently because he hasn't scored in five games and doesn't have a goal in his last 8 games. That's not what you expect from a second line center.

Some other guys aren't pulling their weight either. When you're winning you can gloss over that stuff but when you lose it comes to the forefront. Chris Conner doesn't belong up here. His passes are always behind the players and he doesn't bring any scoring touch. Chris Bourque is too small and has all his shots blocked. I'm surprised they haven't called up Ryan Bayda (for experience) or Luca Caputi (for scoring). And although I love him, Bill Guerin is passing up way too many scoring chances by trying one extra pass. Just shoot Billy, just shoot.

Oh well, you can't win them all. And for some reason we just can't beat this Wild team. Maybe some dyke witch put a curse on us after the Pens beat the North Stars in the 1991 Stanley Cup Finals. As long as we don't meet them in the Finals again, I could care less about that curse.

Next up the Pens embark on a four game road trip with the first stop being in Anaheim on Tuesday. It will be nice to see Ryan Whitney and show off our enormous Stanley Cup Championship ring that he helped us win by going to another team. What a douche. The Ducks recently snapped a four game losing streak and currently sit in last place in the Pacific Division.

Notes: Both Crosby and Alex Goligoski's scoring streaks ended...the Pens record 22 out of a possible 28 points in the month of October...former Penguin Petr Sykora got into a nasty exchange with Kris Letang...this game marked the third straight game the Pens played a team that had a player from last year's team...the streak will reach five games after stops in Anaheim (Whitney) and Los Angeles (Rob Scuderi)...like I said before, Ryan Whitney is a colossal douche bag.

Week 8 NFL Predictions

When I looked at this week's schedule I thought it was going to be an absolute cake walk. There is no way I should lose five games again for the fifth straight week. It's going to suck not having the Steelers to watch, but I can at least hope the Ravens fall for the fourth straight time. Nothing makes me happier on a bye week than watching a rival lose.

SUNDAY

Denver is still surprisingly one of the unbeaten teams, Baltimore has been in every game they have lost this year. RAVENS WIN!






Cleveland only has one victory this year which was also the lowest scoring game, Chicago got embarrassed by an Ohio team last week and are looking for revenge. BEARS WIN!






San Francisco is trying to find a quarterback who can win games, the Colts have one of the best quarterbacks in the league. COLTS WIN!






Houston has only lost one game on the road, the Bills have won only one home game. TEXANS WIN!






Miami fell apart last week in letting the Saints rally at home, the Jets have been apologizing all week about a hot dog. JETS WIN!






The Giants need to stop a two game slide to stay atop the NFC East, the Eagles four victories have come against teams with a combined record of 5-22. GIANTS WIN!






This is St. Louis' best chance for a win all year, this is Detroit's best chance for a second win all year. LIONS WIN!






Seattle hasn't had a 100 yard rusher since Week 1 against the Rams, the Cowboys have won three of their last four without a 100 rusher. COWBOYS WIN!






The Raiders look to avenge their Week One loss to the Chargers, San Diego looks to pad their stats against Oakland. CHARGERS WIN!






Jacksonville needed overtime to beat the lowly Rams, the Titans are still under the Curse of Cope. JAGUARS WIN!






The Panthers lost to a Bills team that could only muster 3 points against Cleveland, Arizona is on a roll with three straight wins. CARDINALS WIN!






Minnesota is not as good as their record would indicate, the entire state of Wisconsin wants Favre to fail when he returns to Lambeau Field. PACKERS WIN!






MONDAY

The Falcons had an off week in Dallas and lost, the Saints had an off week in Miami and still won after putting up 46 points. SAINTS WIN!






BYE WEEK

The BJs Blow Another One

If you are a coach in the NHL and your next opponent is the Pittsburgh Penguins, how the fuck do you go about constructing a game plan to beat them? And I'm not talking about beating them for a period or even two, I'm talking about putting your name next to the winning side and their name next to the losing side. Because tonight the Columbus Blue Jackets had a two goal advantage with under three minutes to go in the game in front of their 'home' crowd and they will wake up tomorrow with an OTL in the standings. How do you prepare for that? Newsflash: You can't.

Playing their first game without Evgeni Malkin, the Pens pretty much were sleep walking through the first two periods. There were shifts here and there which contained effort, but for the most part it was all Columbus. Brent Johnson was the only reason they weren't getting blown out early in the game. The Blue Jackets were the beneficiaries of several questionable calls, including the worst penalty called on Brooks Orpik I think I've ever seen. He put a solid check on a guy near the net and he got called for slashing? His stick never touched the guy! Of course, like it usually happens when bad penalties are called, the BJs scored on the power play when Rick Nash smacked in a rebound from his knees. This of course led to Paul Steigerwald racing to say "Monster Nash" as much as he could before the commercial break.

The second period was more of the same. Mike Commodore had a questionable keep at the blueline and the BJs capitalized again when all three forwards decided to stay high instead of covering Nash on the boards. After that the Penguins got into penalty trouble again. But with Bill Guerin in the box for hooking, Chris Kunitz got a semi-breakaway short handed. THe BJ defenseman dove to hit the puck, but never touched it while taking out Kunitz's legs. Somehow the ref, who saw the whole thing, decided that wasn't a penalty. It didn't matter because Sidney Crosby would pick up the loose puck, end up behind the net and fire a pass to Kunitz in the slot and he would bang it home for his second in two games. The rally would be short lived however when Derek Dorsett got a goal late in the second which seemed to salt the game away.

The Pens came out with a little fire in the third, but it wasn't until Crosby laid out some dude on a hard check that the tide started to turn. Columbus started playing the hockey equivalent of the prevent defense, which we all know only prevents you from winning. But to their credit they had only given up one goal through the first 57 minutes of play. But you have to play a full 60 to win. The Pens second line started getting pressure and eventually the puck came to Martin Skoula at the point. His shot went way wide but bounced off the boards to a wide open Ruslan Fedotenko who buried it into an empty net since Steve Mason was tied up with Jordan Staal in front. Just 39 seconds after that, Crosby got the puck down low and fed Alex Goligoski at the point. GoGo settled the puck down, picked his spot, and fired it above Mason's glove to tie the game. You would have thought it was a home game with how the crowd reacted.

The overtime was the typical waste of time. The shootout started and if you don't have butterflies at the beginning you are not normal. The BJs decided to go first and Antoine Vermette missed the net. Kris Letang was the first shooter for the Pens and he promptly rung one off the post. Nash got his chance and didn't even come close to hitting the net. Crosby took his chance and his attempt at putting the puck through the five hole was denied, but the puck so desperately wanted to go in that it willed itself over the line. How Mason missed that one is beyond me. It was up to Kristian Huselius to keep the game going, but Johnson robbed him with a great glove save and the Pens road winning streak was able to continue.

Funny side note. When I looked at the box score before I did this post, I noticed the scratches for the game. While we all know about Malkin and Tyler Kennedy being out of the lineup, I was surprised to learn that Kris Letang was out due to knee surgery. If Letang was having knee surgery, who was that guy wearing his jersey playing 25 minutes tonight? Was it his brother? The plot thickens...


Next up the Pens return home to face the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. The Wild snapped a two game losing streak with a victory over the Rangers tonight but currently sit in last place in the Northwest Division.

Notes: Crosby has a 6 game scoring streak and Goligoski has a 7 game scoring streak...Crosby is 4 for 4 in shootouts this year...Kunitz has more points in the last two games than the previous 11 games combined...Skoula got his first point in a Penguins' uniform...Goligoski has the highest shooting percentage on the team...former Penguin Mathieu Garon watched the game from the bench...The Crypt-Kicker Five are too cool to let Nash join their group.

No Lame Trick Or Treat Puns Here

This game could pretty much be summed up in one play. Sidney Crosby was carrying the puck down the left wing boards, former Penguin Hal Gill was on that defensive side, and Crosby proceeded to jet around him as if Gill wasn't even there. He didn't score on the play, but that three second play was indicative of how far behind the Canadiens were in talent and effort last night. The Pens dominated every facet of the game and the score reflects that.

Jaroslav Halak was starting for Montreal and was on a four game winning streak. Not a good time to make your first start against the Penguins. They got off and rolling about midway through the first when Chris Kunitz kept the puck in at the blue line after initially flubbing the play and got the puck to Bill Guerin. Guerin fed a perfect backhand saucer pass to Crosby who buried the one timer past a sliding Halak.

The second period was all Pittsburgh. Crosby got his second after gathering in a Kunitz's rebound, doing a spin move and lifting a high backhand shot over a prone Halak. About 8 minutes later, while on a delayed penalty call and the fourth line on the ice, Mike Rupp poked in his third of the year during a scramble in front of the net. Halak's nice got even worse less than 3 minutes later when Crosby finished off his third career hat trick by making a power move in front and although Halak made the initial save, the rebound bounced off Crosby's skate and into the back of the net. After the period Halak would be pulled and Carey Price would enter the game.

Montreal got on the board early in the third 16 seconds after Marc-Andre Fleury gave them a two man advantage by shooting the puck over the glass. Tomas Plekanec got a rebound from right in front and put it home on a shot Fleury had no chance on. The Pens would regain their four goal advantage when Alex Goligoski wristed a shot from the point on the power play that found it's way through traffic to find the back of the net. And finally, while on another power play, Kunitz took a pass from Chris Bourque and raced in alone on a breakaway. Price didn't even try to make a save and Kunitz fired the puck between his legs for his first of the year.

It is nice to see Crosby scoring more goals this year and the easy answer as to why is the fact he is shooting more. He is leading the team in shots on goal and it seems has gotten out of the 'pass first' mentality. He scored 39 goals as a rookie so we know he can score. It's a little early to believe the projection of 62 goals (which will never happen) but he should be able to net at least 40 this year. And now with Evgeni Malkin out for 2-3 weeks, we're really going to need him. Jordan Staal is the other guy who is going to need to step up.

Next up the Pens travel to Columbus to face the Blue Jackets on Friday. The Blue Jackets have lost four of their last five games and currently sit in second place in the Central Division.

Notes: Crosby has 9 goals in the month of October for the first time in his career...Kuntiz had his first multiple point (4) game this season and sixth with the Pens...Rupp has as many goals through 12 games this year as he did in 72 games last year...Bourque got his first point in a Penguins uniform...Goligoski is leading all NHL defenseman with a +11 rating...former Penguin Georges Laraque did not dress for the game...my Sloth Halloween costume is now officially an Alex Ovechkin costume.

Week 7 NFL Predictions - The Results

In the day of the blow out (11 of the 13 games were decided by double digits) I fell apart late again. I don't know what the problem is. I pick the early games at an astounding pace, this week only losing one game that started at 1 PM, which happened to be decided by 3 points. But then the sun starts to go down and so do my predictions as I went 2-4 after 4 PM. At least I got the Monday Night Football game correct, which to be fair, was a very easy one to pick.

I knew what I was talking about with the games I won. The Steelers needed a big win due to their defense and they got it; the Chargers had no trouble with the Chiefs; the Colts remained unbeaten by destroying the hapless Rams; the Patriots crossed the Atlantic Ocean to beat up the Bucs; the Jets shut out the "playoff bound" Raiders; Green Bay only gave up a field goal to Cleveland; the Saints had an explosive rally against the Dolphins to stay undefeated; and the Eagles ran over the Redskins.

What can I say about the games I lost? San Francisco made a valiant comeback against the Texans but fell a field goal short; the Bears didn't show up against the Bengals and got embarrassed; the Panthers lost at home to Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Bills; the Falcons picked a bad day to have a bad game against the Cowboys; and Eli Manning threw the game away as the Cardinals came back to beat the Giants.

Let's see how I did with my predictions from Week Seven:

The Glorious Bastards (or teams I said would win and they proved me right!)











The Sons of Bitches (or teams I said would win and who shit the bed on gameday!)

The Defense Finally Wins Us A Game

For three quarters, this was one of the most boring football games I have ever watched. It was so boring in fact that during a commercial break, which there seemed to be one after every third play, I flipped around and watched some of "Nacho Libre" starring Jack Black. Now, I love Jack Black, but that movie sucked. The fact that I watched it for a good four or five minutes should tell you how involved I was in this game.

Of course, that all changed in the fourth quarter. There has never been in the long history of the NFL a game in which there were three touchdowns scored over 60 yards in the fourth quarter. Stop and think about that for a minute. You just watched history on Sunday afternoon and probably didn't even know it. I know somehow football analysts who are in love with Brett Favre will be able to spin it to how he was involved in another historical game, but the fact of the matter is Favre did what Favre has done best in the twilight of his career, throw away games at the end. I see this as the start of the downfall of Favre and I couldn't be happier that the Steelers started it.

Time to see what did work and what didn't work. Here we...go!:


WHAT DID WORK

Despite the fact Favre threw for 334 yards, the defense is the reason they won this game. Everyone knows what has happened so far this year in the fourth quarter, but this time the defense bent all the way but never broke. They held Adrian Peterson in check, they didn't allow Favre to throw a touchdown pass, registered four sacks, created two turnovers for touchdowns, and had a game changing goal line stand from the 1 in the third. Impressive job by the entire unit.

It's hard to chose which defensive touchdown was bigger, but I'm voting for Keyaron Fox's 82 yard interception return. The Vikings were in prime position to either score the winning touchdown or at least tie it. The scenario had played out in both losses this year and it looked like history was going to repeat itself before Fox snagged the ball after Chester Taylor couldn't bring in the high pass. People don't realize how tough that catch was because Fox wasn't looking for the ball at first. It hit him in the guy and he hung on. The whole time he was running I was screaming for him to go out of bounds, but after Favre appeared to be shot during his attempted tackle, I wanted Fox to seal the game away. And that is exactly what he did.

LaMarr Woodley's 77 yard fumble recovery for a touchdown was quite possibly the slowest scoring play in the history of the NFL but it was effective nonetheless. But Woodley really hasn't been dominating like he was last year, and the play was really made by my least favorite Steeler, Brett Keisel. I honestly don't know how he gets credit for a sack there, but I guess we'll take it.

James Farrior easily played his best game this year, leading all defenders with 15 tackles, 9 of which were solo tackles, as well as a sack. I've been pretty hard on Farrior so far this year because it looked like he lost a step and quite frankly appeared to quit on some plays early in the year. Maybe he was injured because he came out firing on all cylinders in this one.

James Harrison had another impressive game, recording 7 tackles including 2 sacks. He now has 8 sacks in the past five games after not registering one in the first two weeks. He is on pace to match his 16 sacks from a year ago.

Mike Wallace had a big impact even though he only caught 3 passes. Those catches went for 72 yards and the only offensive touchdown of the game however. On a side note, you can find Limas Sweed jerseys for sale outside the stadium for $5.

Rashard Mendenhall had as many yards as Adrian Peterson on 8 less carries. Once again Arians got ahead of himself and stopped using an effective Mendenhall even though he was averaging almost 7 yards a carry. Yes, he did have the fumble near the goalline in the fourth, but don't you think that was because that was only his 10th carry of the game? He needs more carries over the course of game, Bruce!




WHAT DIDN'T WORK

Bruce Arians is a fucking idiot. Minnesota was playing without their best cornerback and replaced him with a rotation that consisted of backups and a guy who has never played a NFL game in his life. And what does Arians do? Never attacks that side of the field. Even the dumb Fox announcers were questioning why he would do that. It's easy, because he thinks that Minnesota would expect them to test those guys so he wouldn't do what they expected. They would expect it for a reason dumbass. From horrible play calls to not knowing how to run effectively, he has to be the worst offensive coordinator in the league.

The special teams unit looks more like a special ed unit. This is the second straight week that a big touchdown was answered on the ensuing kickoff which killed all momentum. The Steelers used to lose games because of their special teams work and unfortunately if they keep playing like this history will repeat itself.

Ben Roethlisberger had a subpar game. He only had a 54% completion percentage and a season low 175 yards. He did throw a touchdown pass late in the first half, but that was mainly Wallace doing all the work. In a game against his idol, Big Ben came out flat and never got going.

Hines Ward had a horrendous game. One catch for three yards? Those are Matt Spaeth numbers, not Hines Ward. I know Minnesota did a good job of neutralizing Ward, but he dropped a pass over the middle that would have gone for at least 30 yards and never got open the rest of the game. I think the coverage of him leading the league in receiving at the age of 33 went to his head.

Jeff Reed. What a douche. I don't care about his off field exploits because I myself like to down a few cold ones with some buddies so I can relate. What I can't relate to is his half assed attempt to tackle Percy Harvin on the kickoff return for a touchdown. Why was he trying to push him out of bounds when he was a good 5 yards away? And saying it was a push is being generous. Hell, he pushed the cop harder on Carson Street last week. Enviro said it best that his off field shenanigans are now affecting his play on the field. If you are a Jeff Reed fan, you have 9 more regular season games to watch him because he is gone after this year.



We got the bye week coming up so we can rest up before we have to travel out to Denver to play the potentially undefeated Broncos. If they can win that game they will be right on track to finish the season at 12-4 like I predicted at the beginning of the year.

Go Steelers.

Fleury Was Softer Than A Gay Man At A Titty Bar

Over the course of an 82 game season, you're going to have a few games like this. Games where the other team gets the breaks. Games where your goaltender gives up soft goal after soft goal. Games where your superstars don't show up. Games where you just have no shot of winning. The Pens have been fortunate to not have many of these games, but they had one tonight.

The NHL should put a lifetime ban on Jacques Lemaire because that motherfucker plays the most boring style of hockey you will ever see. It puts hyperactive children to sleep. The NHL wanted more scoring so they got rid of the two line pass, so why not get rid of Lemaire as well? Seriously, who wants to sit and watch 'dump the puck, get it out, get the puck back, dump the puck, get it out, get the puck back' for 60 minutes? You might as well go watch soccer.

The Pens came out and dominated the first 10 or so of play but they couldn't get anything past Martin Brodeur. They of course weren't taking the highest percentage shots either. Pretty much all the chances were coming from the side boards out high, which is real easy for a goaltender to defend because the angle is so great. When the Devils finally got into the Pens zone to take a shot, Mark Fraser, a 23 year old defenseman who was playing in just his 8th career game, sent an innocent shot to the net that Fleury stopped. The puck popped up in the air and when Fleury attempted to glove it he knocked it right into his net. It was the worst goal I have ever seen him give up.

After that it was full on Lemaire boring ass hockey. Niclas Bergfors (who?) got a power play goal when Fleury let a soft shot slide between his legs like he was David Lee Roth looking to ease the seat back and the puck was just sitting there for the guy whom I've never heard of. Travis Zajac scored just 26 seconds into the third when David Clarkson confused Fleury for an Persian rug and laid on top of him in the crease. Zach Parise would add a goal with less than four minutes to go to add salt to the wound.

The only bright spot of the entire game was the play of Alex Goligoski. He scored the only goal, which broke up Brodeur's shut out with about 10 minutes to go in the game and almost scored another on an end to end rush a few minutes later. He is going to have to play a much bigger role with Sergei Gonchar out and so far he has been playing great.

Next up the Montreal Canadiens come to the Mellon Arena on Wednesday. The Canadiens have three straight after losing five in a row and currently sit in fourth place in the Northeast Division.
Notes: Goligoski has scored in a career high five straight games...Sidney Crosby is leading the team with 41 shots on goal...Brooks Orpik is last on the team with a -3 rating...the only good thing to come out of Montreal was Mario Lemieux.

Week 7 NFL Predictions

Ever since I stopped doing long drawn out narratives on each pick, this has gone a lot faster and probably smoother for the reader. Maybe I'll switch it up this week and offer a one line synopsis for each pick. It probably still won't help me go better than 9-5 for the week.

SUNDAY

The Vikings are due for a loss, the Steelers are due for a big win over a quality opponent. STEELERS WIN!






Green Bay has given up 93 points this year, the Browns have scored 69. PACKERS WIN!






San Diego can't afford to fall further behind in the AFC West if they hope to make the playoffs, the Chiefs haven't won back to back games in over two years. CHARGERS WIN!






The Colts are rested, the Rams haven't won a game since George Bush was President. COLTS WIN!






The Golden Calf is riding high after stomping the Titans, the Bucs have lost by at least 7 points in every game but one this year. PATRIOTS WIN!






The 49ers were embarrassed the last time they played, the Texans are not a good home team. 49ERS WIN!






Both Bears losses have come on the road, both Bengals losses have been at home. BEARS WIN!






Rookie sensation Mark Sanchez has fallen back to Earth, the Raiders can't get lucky two weeks in a row. JETS WIN!






The Saints have been lighting up every team they've faced, the Dolphins cannot play from behind. SAINTS WIN!






The Bills are relying on Ryan Fitzpatrick at QB, the Panthers have won two straight after the bye. PANTHERS WIN!






The Falcons are sticking with the Saints for first place, the Cowboys needed overtime to beat the Chiefs last week. FALCONS WIN!






Arizona does not do well on the East Coast, the Giants have something to prove after getting blown away by the Saints. GIANTS WIN!






MONDAY

Every Eagle should be embarrassed for losing to Oakland last week, Washington can't decide which coach is going to be calling plays. EAGLES WIN!






BYE WEEK

Crosby Does A Three Way With Your Mom And Sister

You've heard the old adage "Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good." In the case of the Pittsburgh Penguins it's more like "Sometimes you only have to play a period to win."

After 40 minutes of this game I figured the Penguins had taken the night off because Marc-Andre Fleury was sitting on the bench. That meant that back-up goalie Brent Johnson was going to be left high and dry again in his second home start of the year. He was the only one that showed up in the Phoenix game, and for all of the first and a good portion of the second, he looked like the only one who decided to show up for this one as well. But it was after giving up two quick goals to some dude named Steve Reinprecht that he really proved himself. He stopped several quality scoring chances, including a shorthanded breakaway and a 3-on-1 in the second. If he doesn't make those saves and keep the Pens in the game, then we're talking about how we lost to a 2-5 team on home ice.

The Pens started coming on in the second and that carried over into the third. Floria took two penalties in the first 40 seconds (although the second one was questionable) and they finally figured out how to get one past Tomas Vokoun, who up to that point had been spectacular. Evgeni Malkin made a great hustle play to keep the puck in the zone and he got it to Alex Goligoski. He fired a cross ice pass to Sidney Crosby who buried it behind a sprawling Vokoun.

The rest of the period saw the Panthers trying to hold on for dear life. When Brooks Orpik took an interference call with less than five minutes to go, thoughts immediately turned to a pulling the goalie situation. But there never was a sense of panic. Instead, Malkin drove hard to the net and when he came out from the backside he shoveled a pass to Crosby whose shot deflected off a defenseman and behind the goalie for the tying goal. It was the first short handed goal of his career.

The rest of the period and overtime was about the Pnathers trying to hold onto a point and the Penguins trying to end it. It eventually went to a shootout, which to be honest, I didn't think they had a chance to win. Kris Letang started off with a lackluster attempt but Johnson was able to stop Steve Reinprecht. Crosby was out next and he deked Vokoun so bad that he didn't know whether to cry or wind his watch. Two more saves and the Penguins were victorious for the 9th time this year.

Next up the New Jersey Devils come to the Mellon Arena on Saturday. Everyone is talking about how they are undefeated on the road. So are the Pittsburgh Penguis. I'm just saying. The Devils have won five of their last six games and currently sit in third place in the Atlantic Division.

Notes: Jordan Staal left the game in the second with an undisclosed injury but did return...Johnson recorded his first win in a Penguins uniform...Crosby played in his 300th career NHL game...Martin Skoula blocked 4 shots in the game...Crosby is the most proficient player at the shootout this year scoring a goal on each of his three attempts...the greatest trick the Devil every pulled was convincing Martin Brodeur that he could beat the Penguins.

Cell Phone Pictures Are All We Got

Since my wife had to work on Sunday, I had to make arrangements for my parents to watch my boys so Daddy could go off to Pittsburgh to drink himself stupid and cheer on another Steelers victory. In the mad scramble to get a 2-year-old and a 9-month-old ready and grab all the necessary diaper bags and stuff, I forgot my own bag which contained my camera, as well as the new Alice in Chains CD that we were going to rock out to on the drive down. Missing both of those was disappointing, but something I easily got over.

I usually like to document our Steelers trips because sometimes we forget what happened. The Buffalo trip has a ton of those 'remember when you did this?' moments. Unfortunately, I wasn't going to be able to document our latest exploits. But low and behold, Brandon stepped up and supplied some pictures from his cell phone. These are the clearest ones he had because Brandon drinks a lot and even though he is part Japanese, he doesn't take the greatest of pictures.

Enjoy.

Enviro looks longingly into the distance as he prepares to uncork some Cummings Cider. Notice in the bottom right hand corner, those were the decorations Sweet Dee had in her trunk that Enviro would later decide to wear.

Nothing says 'tailgating' like uncorking a bottle of Cummings Cider. Look how Enviro lovingly holds the bottle. I'm obviously impressed.

Taking a drag of Jameson's Whiskey from Enviro's flask while he ponders how I got to be so big.

I have no idea what the fuck I'm doing in this picture.

Enviro waves to razordiesl to thank him for coming to the site again while I laugh at an imaginary leprechaun that fell over drunk. I was toasted.

Example of the blurry pictures. Enviro is talking to Brew Master Jake while hanging out with Andy Warhol. Notice the large American flag decoration that Enviro is wearing. That stayed on for the entire game. At one point, Enviro stood up at the game and exclaimed "Hines Ward is for America" which got a cheer from Section 518. I'm still amazed we found wives and have children.

Shero Was Playing Chess While Everyone Else Was Playing Checkers

Back in late September Penguins' GM Ray Shero made a shrewd move that went unnoticed by many people, including myself. While I was touting the signing of Ryan Bayda as a good move to add depth to the forward lines (which resulted in Bayda being assigned to the minors), Shero was working his magic to sign some depth to the defensive core when he landed Martin Skoula. Most people don't know who Skoula is because he will never be mistaken for an all star defenseman. But he is a very serviceable defenseman.

Skoula has been with the Minnesota Wild for the last three plus seasons collecting 8 goals and 40 assists, but was a disappointing -19 during his tenure. I would assume some of that had to do with the fact the Wild don't score many goals so there is less possibility for pluses during a game. For his career Skoula has 41 goals, 144 assists, 185 points and a +13 rating. He has also played least 78 games in each of his nine seasons. Surprisingly he doesn't turn 30 until next Wednesday, which will be the start of his 10th NHL season. He was on the 2001 Stanley Cup winning Colorado Avalanche team so yet again Shero brings in a guy with Cup experience.

In no way do I think Skoula will replace Gonchar, but I have a lot more confidence in a veteran defenseman who knows how to win filling in as opposed to a kid from Wilkes-Barre Scranton. Skoula was brought in to play the Phillipe Boucher role this year, which was stepping in when the need arised. Well, the time is now. If Skoula plays well, Shero should win executive of the year hands down. How many other teams in the league can have a top defenseman go down and replace him with a 9 year, Stanley Cup winning veteran who was just sitting and waiting for his chance to play? Yeah, that's right, no one.

I'm actually not that upset about the Gonchar injury because I want to see how they play without him. Everyone knows what happened last year when he went down but he's going to retire eventually so they are going to have to learn to win consistently in his absence. It's early enough in the season to where this shouldn't impact them greatly in the standings, but they have an opportunity now to grow even more than they already have the past two seasons.

Plus, come December, we'll be getting back both Gonchar and Max Talbot so the future definitely looks bright.

In Shero we trust.

Let's go Pens.