Pens win, Ruutu for President

The Pens won last night against the hated (and horrible) Islanders, 3-1. Ruutu netted three points, on a goal and two assists, which was his highest offensive output ever in a single game.

Everyone was psyched to see Crosby and Hossa play together, but Hossa kept getting knocked out of the game, with the final blow to him being a cheap shot from behind in the beginning of the third, which sent him off the ice for the final time. He also got sent off by a low hipcheck which took out his already ailing right knee, but he returned. No timetable has been released for him yet, and neither has an injury - let's hope this is just playoff manuvering (like the Steelers do when the flat out lie on the injury report), and not us covering up something serious.

Crosby and Hossa were both shut out of the scoring.

There was also the addition of the new look power play, which had Sid the Kid running the point with Gonchar, and Malkin, Hossa and Malone. The potential from this PP is ridiculous - three of the best scorers in the league, with one of, if not the highest scoring defensmen and a power forward on the cusp of 30 goals is perhaps the most talent EVER assembled on a line.

There will be more on this subject to come as Diego thinks the old PP of Malone, Malkin, Sykora, Gonchar and Whitney is better. I told him to lay off the crack rocks but apparently he didn't listen, so look for our conflicting views to be rather evident throughout the rest of the season and playoffs...

But back to Ruutu; Georges Laraque and him were absolutely handling business last night. On Geno Malkin's opener, Big Georges leveled some poor bastard in front of the net, allowing Geno's shot to squeek past. Rutuu then scored the second goal on a wrap around, where he flew up the boards and swooped behind the net so quickly that he beat not only the goalie but all the defenders as well to the net. And finally, Ruutu set up the final goal by shuffling a sweet saucer pass to Big Georges, who then flipped it in and did his patented "jump into the glass move" that he makes when he scores. The crazy SOB almost squashed some poor Isle against the glass during his celebration.

So congrats to Big Georges and Ruutu - keep it up men, we need ya to play like this in the playoffs.

In their honor, I'm going to post a couple of clips of what these two gentlemen are more known for...

Enjoy!

Quickie for yinz...

Diego is busy at work today, so for the time being I'm gonna fire some links up for ya to keep you occupied...He should have something for ya lata today or tomorrow, and I'm going to throw up a recap of the Pens game later on tonight...

Enjoy, and don't forget to check out our new top 10 list on Mondesi's House...this week's is a good one, and last week's was picked up by Sports Illustrated Online and Deadspin, so we're pretty happy with where it's heading...

(Pic from youthoughtso.com)

YEAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

Here's a link to a new Pens fight song on youtube, brought to you by the Soul Merchants...(thanks for the link guys)

The Pens are back in action tonight against the Panthers...Last game was great, with Ruutu scoring his first goal in a little under a century. We need another strong performance from Conklin, and some more scoring from the likes of Talbot, Armstrong and Taffe would be nice - at least until Sid and old man Roberts get back. Check out the clip below, it's what ole Jarkko is a little more used to doing...

In NBA news, it looks like the on again, off again trade of Jason Kidd to the Mavericks is on again. Basically, the Mavs get Kidd and the Nets get 2 first round picks, Devin Harris, Diop, and a bunch of expiring contracts (plus $3 million)...I dunno how this will help the Mavs seeing as the rest of the West got big men, but we'll see. Kidd is still the best assist man in the league and can play D with the best of them, so maybe Cuban and his boys were just looking for a leader with some toughness (sorry, Dirk)...

The Marlins may have found a use for old Snack... apparently, cheerleaders aren't enough - they want fat guys to go and dance around and make asses out of themselves. Snack is always down to do a little Tootsie Roll for the fans, especially if he's had a few...if you wanna see Snack perform, the best place is Crystal's on Penn Ave...Diego and him are regulars on Friday Kareoke night, so come on down and watch the show. I promise it doesn't disappoint...

(Pic from dailyhaha.com)

Is that Big Snack?

And finally, our boy Cotter over at One for the Other Thumb knows how to blog when the Steelers are off...He made a little top 10 list of his own, and as long as you like the ladies, you should check it out...

Until lata

Pens win 4-1...

The Pens beat the Sabres 4-1 tonight in Buffalo. It was another outstanding performance from Ty "Who?" Conklin, and Geno Malkin scored again. He's really picked it up since Sid went down, and continues to be near the league lead in points (I hate you Ovechkin).

The hihghlight of the game, however, was Jarkko Ruutu scoring his first goal in 60 games. After being sent off with a minor penalty, Ruutu sprinted out of the box and caught a long pass from Ryan Malone for a breakaway, and finished it off by flipping into the top corner. It was a phenominal play and real game changer.

Until then, it was Buffalo who was the aggressor - they fired 17 shots at Conklin in the first and he turned them all aside. They were poking and provoking our boys, and we played right into it, giving them the first three powerplay opportunities of the game. Luckily for us, those morons from the grizzly north couldn't find the back of the net with a team of Navy SEALS and a flashlight...

(Pic from answers.com)

Buffalo is in Canada right?

Big Snack's three stars for the game have to be Geno as the third, Ruutu as the second, and Conklin as the first.

We're still right in the thick of things as far as the playoffs go, but the margin for error gets smaller every day - I for one am as happy as a fat kid (Snack) in a candy store that Sid and Gary will be back soon...

And sorry for not posting as much as usual last week - it was a busy week for us, but we'll be back to our normal style this week...

Until lata...