Everything Else

Feed The Animals – Hawks at Penguins Preview, Overdraft Notification

By 1427

 at 

Game Time: 7:00PM CDT
TV/Radio: NBCSN, TVA-S, WGN-AM 720
Noah Didn’t Take No Penguins With Him On The Ark: PensBurgh

Once again the Hawks find themselves a part of NBCSN’s RIVALRY NIGHT with a team they see a sum total of twice a year. The network should just call the event “Wednesday Night Hockey” and play up the rivalry when there actually is one. Though, to much of rockheaded fanbase of this league, there is still somehow a “rivalry” between the captains of these two teams, even though it’s long been established that the one on the Penguins’ side of things is far and away the better player. But a superstar matchup is a superstar matchup, even this late in the season when most of the playoff picture has been settled and teams like this are basically trying to not get hurt.

Everything Else

Dr. Livingston, I Presume: Penguins at Hawks Preview/PFT Test

By 1194

 vs. 

RECORDS: Penguins  38-15-8  Hawks  39-18-5

PUCK DROP: 7pm Central

TV: NBCSN (because hoo boy is this a “rivalry”!!!!)

IRON CITY BEER SUCKS: The Pensblog

PROJECTED LINEUPS

ADJUSTED TEAM CORSI %: Penguins – 51.8 (9th)  Hawks – 51.2 (10th)

ADJUSTED TEAM xGF%: Penguins – 54.0 (3rd)  Hawks – 49.1 (16th)

POWER PLAY %: Penguins – 21.6 (9th)  Hawks – 18.9 (16th)

PENALTY KILL%: Penguins – 80.3 (20th)  Hawks – 76.4 (28th)

You don’t get many marquee matchups in the league anymore. No one cares about the Wild yet, despite their bleeding, so the only teams from the West that anyone in the East is the least bit interested in seeing are San Jose and the Hawks (sit down, Kings, no one gives a shit about you either). And really in the East, there aren’t too many more teams you’d make time out for. So over the NHL season, there’s really only six to eight games that would get the dreaded and overused “Final preview” tag. This happens to be one of them, and you better believe it’s what everyone in the NHL offices is absolutely dying to see. Not that it matters, because if any league could completely biff any momentum from the Gone-Plaid-Speed of a possible Pens-Hawks Final, it’s this home for wayward children.

Everything Else

Penguins Spotlight: Casa De Murray

By 1392

You’d think a guy who won a Cup in his first toe-dip into the NHL would get a little more pub than Matt Murray does. But when you play behind the best player on the planet, perhaps the most gifted player in the league, the one who is always connected to hot dogs, and the blinding good looks of Kris Letang, you’re going to be behind the eight-ball when it comes to attention. We’re guessing Matt Murray is probably fine with that.

In some ways that’s a shame, because Murray has been one of the league’s best goalies, even though he’s not played as much as others due to injuries. He’s also had the constant buzz about whether Marc-Andre Fleury would get dealt or not, and you wonder if the Stars or Jets aren’t kicking themselves about that one now. Still, that hasn’t stopped Murray much.

Everything Else

How Good We’ve Got It

By 2069

Most hockey fans roll their eyes whenever they see the Penguins vs. Capitals on their screen. Actually, they do that when the Blackhawks are on the national broadcast as well. Both are understandable, but we’ll focus on the former for now. Pens vs. Caps was shoved down our throats before we even knew what hit us, thanks to the NHL’s desperation to turn Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin into Bird vs. Magic before either had even made the playoffs. The NHL couldn’t, or wouldn’t, wait for it to happen organically, and for the most part I think hockey fans rejected it. Wrestling fans will tell you about a similar scenario with Roman Reigns, but that’s another discussion for another time with much weirder people.

And I think I, and a lot of other fans, have viewed the games between the teams the same way. But I have brought myself out of it, in time to really enjoy last year’s series between the two, and I hope more fans are as well. Because we have two very special players, ones that don’t seem to be appreciated enough, and both are doing things we might not see again and haven’t seen for a very long time.

Everything Else

Wheel It Out Here, Carnac: C.I.’s Season Predictions

By 1495

Usually I do this myself, but this year the whole crew is chiming in so you can hang us all out to dry in April. Let’s kick this pig…

Hawks Point Total and finish in the division 

Cieslak – 104 points, 2nd

McClure – 102 points, 2nd (lose on ROW)

Feather – 110 points, 1st

Fearless Leader – 108 points, 1st

Leading Scorer 

Cieslak – Kane, 91pts

McClure – Garbage Dick, 90 points

Feather – Kane, EIGHTY-THREE

Fearless Leader – Kane, 89 pts

Everything Else

The Program, A Couple Other Announcements, And World Cup Weekend

By 1410

So as training camp approaches, it’s time for us to announce a couple changes going on here at our humble home.

First and foremost, the gameday program I have done for the past eight seasons is not coming back this season. I have a couple other projects I’m working on that really wouldn’t allow for the time to do it, and more importantly I just don’t feel it anymore. Those of you who read it every game are owed a level of dedication and focus that I just don’t think I’m capable of right now.

However, I won’t leave you totally bereft. If you feel the need to “complete the set,” I’m making every back issue available here.  It’s $10 bucks for each season, and all three commemorative issues are included with the three seasons they won the Cup. If you feel you need it, it’s there.

Everything Else

We Like To Watch – June 9th: In The House And An Anniversary

By 1379

There’s an added buzz to the hockey world when the Stanley Cup actually enters the building. It will be in Pittsburgh tonight, and one gets the feeling it’s almost certainly going to come up for air. You tend to feel like that when one team hasn’t had a lead all series. At this point it almost feels like we’re just putting the Sharks out of their misery.

You would think that being on the brink would finally force DeBoer to empty the tanks, tell Dillon and Polak that they’re playing eight minutes each at most and try and keep his top four d-men out there as much as possible. But if it hasn’t happened yet it probably won’t now. And basically no matter how well the Sharks play tonight, one shift or two from those will turn the tides.

Everything Else

We Like To Watch – June 2nd: High Speed Dirt (Penguins 2-1 Sharks)

By 1385

Well I didn’t get that one right. I thought the Sharks’ PP would clock the Penguins’ high-action PK (they only got one look). I thought the Sharks would get a better handle at the pace the Penguins play. They didn’t, though Martin Jones almost made it hold up to take a split back to California. Wasn’t to be though when the Penguins ran a pretty brilliant play off a faceoff in overtime.

Only when San Jose’s top line is on the ice are they consistently getting things going, because those guys are generally skilled enough to weave around the Penguins flying at them and then can mash them along the boards until something else opens up. All the other Sharks’ lines are having problems.

Everything Else

We Like To Watch – May 17th – The Vas Difference

By 1359

So it took a little bit longer than it looked like it was going to after the the first 10 minutes of the game, but the Penguins salvaged a split at home after Tampa won Game 1. These are two incredibly flawed teams, particularly on their respective blue lines, but the speed and dynamism among their forward corps is what got both within three wins of representing the East. Somehow Pengs coach Mike Sullivan allowed both Justin Schultz and Trevor Daley on the ice together at home in a conference final game, and behind Christ Kunitz (who fell down) no less. Predictably that shift resulted in the second Tampa goal. However, Sidney Crosby ended the OT period forty seconds in after cement mixer face Jeremy Roenick said that he wasn’t working as hard as Jonathan Drouin during the second intermission.

Everything Else

Muscles From Brussels – Hawks at Penguins Preview, Human Resources Webinar

By 1784

evil empire vs budicepenguintin

Game Time: 6:00PM Central
TV/Radio: CSN, SportsNet, WGN-AM 720
Ben Roethlisberger Is A Gray Dicked Rapist: PensBurgh

In a matchup of rivals that never were, much to the chagrin of Gary Bettman and NBCSN (despite what they’re pitting tomorrow’s game as), the Hawks travel to Pittsburgh for the first of yet another inter-conference mid-week home and home knocking out the season series in 27 hours. And in an even more remarkable turn of events, both Jonathan Toews and Sidney Crosby are upright for at least tonight’s contest, something that’s eluded both of them in this non-existent battle. Though to what degree is debateable.