Do or Die...

As I’m sure everyone is well aware, it is do or die for the Penguins tonight. The puck drops at a little after 8, on NBC.

No doubt both clubs will be ready to go. The Penguins managed to weather the storm against the Red Wings on Monday, but they must be ready again tonight. The Wing’s will be giving it their best effort in order to secure the Stanley Cup.

One thing the Pens have learned over the last couple games is that no lead is safe, so scoring early and often is essential.

I can’t wait for the action to get started tonight and to hear the fans going wild to cheer on our Penguins…

Daily Pens Links

The instant-classic game from Monday night has helped to propel hockey to the forefront of the sports spotlight in the USA. This is definitely not an easy task. No wonder why everyone believes Gary Bettman and the NHL love the Pens so much.

Red Wings fans heard the hype about Crosby before the series began, but now they are witnessing it first hand.

Sid’s new nickname, the "Greasy Mexican"...

10 things you didn’t know about Sidney Crosby

Both Ryan Malone and Sergei Gonchar are expected to play for the Penguins tonight (Did you really think they’d miss it?) Also, the Flower gets even with the octopus twirler.

Safe to say that Max Talbot will become much more well known thanks to his heroic effort last game. One thing is for sure though; this guy will never have to pay for a drink again in the Burgh.

The Pens must once again utilize the “us-against-them” mentality in order to stretch this series even further.

Now after his team gave it all they had in game 5, and still came up short, it’s Mike Babcock’s turn to start whining about the refs. PS, In the series so far (from the box scores):

Pittsburgh - 32 Penalties

Detroit - 22 Penalties

Wah Babcock Wah!

Complaining won’t win you games A-hole...

While you sit around being lazy, the Mellon Arena crew is hard at work making sure the ice will be up to par tonight for the Igloo’s last game of the season.

If you want a ticket for tonight’s game chances are your going to have to either sell your left arm, or auction off your first born child on ebay. (While the scalpers are grinning as they rub their hands together greedily)

Or, maybe the scalpers aren’t so happy after all. Apparently even they are having trouble scoring tickets.

I guess that's whythey're selling fake tickets instead.

Here’s the pic of that punk kid who tossed the octopus onto the ice of the Igloo during the anthem of game 4. I guess Hot Topic is paying pretty well these days, if this jagoff can afford to buy tickets and get thrown out before the game starts. If anyone sees this dude, please kick his ass on principle.

Nice braclet, Jim Jones!

Until lata...

PS (From Snack) - I saw this on one of the links and felt it was worthy of being posted by itself...Enjoy!

Summer Concert Preview

Yes, I know, today is the rare three peat for Diego and I, but we figured we'd write a preview of our first concert of the summer, coming up next Tuesday - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers with the legendary (hahaha) Steve Winwood opening up for them.

It's out at Coca Cola Pavillion (Starlake for those in the know), and it will assuredly be an all day affair. Literally everyone we know will be there, so if you got nothin' better to do next Tuesday, get your butts out there...

Here's a little preview of the action, and note the classic-ness of both of these performers...Enjoy!

Until lata...

So you're tellin' me there's a chance...

Whoo hooo!!! I don't have to stop any more shots tonite!

Sorry Red Wings, but you can tear down the plastic, put the champagne away, stop polishing that Cup, and put it back in it's case. You can also put that “We want the cup” chant on hold…

We want the Cup too, jagoffs!

In one of the greatest hockey games I’ve ever seen, the Penguins managed to hold off the Wings in an unfriendly environment and deny them the Stanley Cup. This game kept you on the edge of your seat for nearly 110 minutes of gameplay as these two teams battled late into the night.

The game was back and forth all night, but one stabilizing factor was the ridiculous play of goalie Marc Andre Fleury. The Flower was nothing short of amazing last night, but there were other heroes as well.

Tyler Kennedy, 21 years old, and Jordan Staal, 19, were both flying around the ice in the overtime periods like men possessed. These young guys seem to never run out of gas. TK made up for taking a penalty in the 3rd period that led to the game-tying goal, with his outstanding hustle in the overtime periods.

Ryan Malone taking a mean slap shot to the face, skating off under his own will power, and returning shortly after shows this guy has guts. And Bugsy would eventually be on the ice for the game-winning goal.

Nobody makes me bleed my own blood...NOBODY!!!

Mad Max Talbot definitely needs a mention here for the effort he put forward last night, to mention that game tying goal he managed to poke in. (did anyone else see him bouncing around on the bench with Malkin before the start of the third OT, what was he taking an IV of red bull between periods?)

Sergei Gonchar sat out nearly the entire overtime, only to come back for the biggest shift of the night. Sarge assisted on the game-winning goal scored by Sykora.

Lastly Petr Sykora who, along with Malkin, has been ripped for being held scoreless throughout the Final got the last laugh as he buried a wrister past Osgood to send the Penguins fan base into a frenzy late into the night.

Man of the evening...

With their backs pushed against the wall the Penguins managed to withstand the best effort of the Wings and to push back enough to prolong the game and eventually win it.

After an exhausting game the Pens head home with some momentum (and 18,000 fans) behind them. One has got to wonder how much energy this older Red Wing team has left and what they will do to adjust their game plan tomorrow. As Snack mentioned, this is just the type of game that could turn the series around.

Ladies and Gentlemen we are going back to Pittsburgh, and back to the Mellon Arena for the last home game of the season (why not sell out one more). I can only imagine what the scene will look like inside (and outside) the Igloo on Wednesday night.

Be sure to get your rest tonight, because Wednesday night is going to be bananas!

Some links for dat ass

120 Minute Men

Detroit gave it their all last night, firing 58 shots at the Flower, but it wasn’t enough to get the job done. So where does that leave the Red Wings now?

The Penguins defense is just full of quotes this season, here’s another gem from Rob Scuderi, talking about getting whacked in the face with the stick in OT, “I was praying for blood.”

NHL.com breaks down the numbers from that marathon game last night.

Is a $50 Penguins jersey too good to be true? You bet it is. If your buying your jersey off some guy’s folding table or out of a cardboard box in some shady alley downtown, then chances are it’s a bootleg.

It’s not too often a player “calls their shot”, but it happened last night thanks to Petr Sykora. That takes balls my friend…

Cancel that celebratory parade scheduled for today Detroit, and pack your bags, cuz you're goin' back to the Burgh!

Until lata...

WOW

I guess wow is really the only word that can describe last night's craziness in Detroit. For those of you who actually work and couldn't stay up for the end, Petr Sykora netted a goal halfway through the third ovetime to lead the Pens to a 4-3 victory in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Oh yea, I forgot the mention - Sykora told NBC on-ice reporter Pierre McGuire that HE would be the one to score the game winner, and I'll be damned if the SOB didn't pull it off. He also had the game winner a few years ago in a five overtime playoff game for the Ducks, so my man got some experience at this.

By the way, calling your goal in hockey is pretty much like calling your shot in baseball; something that doesn't happen often and is done correctly even less often. All I know is if we end up winning this thing, that will be known as "The Goal" for a long, long time in our fair city, and Petr Sykora will be a local legend on the level of the Bus and Mario and Franco - it was that big of a goal.

One thing that has to be noted is Max "my man" Talbot, coming through with the tying goal with 35 SECONDS LEFT!!! Wowsers that was huge. Everyone, and I mean everyone, thought the Wings were less then a minute away from raising the Cup, and sure enough, the Talbot's second swipe at a puck laying on the right side of the crease found a way into the back of the net. Needless to say, it was the biggest goal of his young career.

It was also a great game for coach Michel Therrien, who put Talbot (huh?) on the ice as the sixth attacker when we pulled Fluery. When asked about it, Therrien said he had a hunch about the Talbot and that's what he went on. Once again, WOW. Of all the people we could have added as a sixth man, I'd say Talbot is about 6th or 7th on that list. Good call, Mikey boy...

It was a gritty performance, with the only disappointment being Malkin's lack of a goal, but hey, we'll take a win any way we can.

The real hero last night (besides Talbot and Sykora) was Marc-Andre Fluery. He saved 55 of 58 shots and was playing on his head most of the night. This is truly the best game he's ever played, and I'm sure it's one that will build the youngster's confidance even more going into Game 6.

You're the man Sykora...

I'd also like to commend Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Malone for playing through some absolutely excrutiating pain. Malone took a Hal Gill Slapper to the face, "exploding" his nose and forcing him to leave the game whilst spewing blood; he was back in minutes. And Gonchar slid into the boards (ala Sid the Kid) and slammed his shoulder into them, causing him to leave the game in the third period (not overtime, period), and, as you can prolly guess, his next shift was in the third overtime on that fateful powerplay where we scored. He couldn't even raise his arms enough to shoot, but his passing and presence was enough to warrent his mention.

I just talked to Diego and he agrees - it was the best game either one of us had ever seen, and something we'll remember for a long, long time.

Until lata...

GO PENS!!!