Ron Cook Is Everything That Is Wrong With This Town
Malkin should be beyond that. He is no kid. He's 23. This is his fourth NHL season. He is a scoring champion, a Stanley Cup champion and a Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoffs MVP. He shouldn't still need Gonchar to hold his hand through the tough times. It's enough to make you wonder what will happen to him if the Penguins don't do a new contract with Gonchar and allow him to leave as a free agent after the season.
Can you say Jaromir Jagr?
-Ron Cook, PG 1/11/10
If you think we aren't responding to something like this, YOU ARE nuts.
In one column, Ron Cook underscored everything that is wrong with this town. He creates a situation that does not need to be created. Like so many in the Pittsburgh media, he makes nothing out of something and, in the meantime, starts the much-needed negative energy that sportswriters in this town need in order to survive.
What a disaster. What a shame.
What a mistake.
In his column titled "Sulking won't cure Malkin's Slump," he blisters Malkin.
Quite frankly, he embarrasses him.
See, believe it or not, people read Ron Cook.
And people actually think he knows what he is talking about.
This will fester.
If we have to kill someone over this, we are prepared.
Brooks Orpik Day-to-Day
From the Pens website:
Pittsburgh held an optional practice at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota on Sunday. One player who did not participate was defenseman Brooks Orpik, who left the team’s 4-1 victory at Toronto on Saturday night with an undisclosed injury in the first period after playing only 2:57.
35,964,000. PENS WIN.
Big win. No elaboration needed.
As for the Leafs, they have problems. That's putting it mildly. But Burke has at least one thing in common with Ray Shero: he has a plan and he sticks to it. Burke's tried to put his mark on this team, but has been largely handcapped by bad decisions and awful contracts handed out before his arrival. And it probably doesn't help that Charlie is throwing pebbles at his son's window.
But at least for Burke, lots of contracts are expiring for the Leafs this off-season, so he'll have more room to work with.
Next year looks to be the make-or-break for Brian and his wet dreams of success.
We want Toronto to get back to the playoffs.
The ghosts of Garry Valk need to be exorcised.
And the Pens start the road trip 1-0. Huge.
Minnesota on Monday. Should be interesting.
GAMEDAY 46 - MAPLE LEAFS
7:00 PM
Air Canada Centre
Listen to the game at [WXDX]
Know The Enemy:
The beginning of a five game road trip.
The Pens will visit four Canadian cities and Minnesota.
It begins tonight.
Sergei Gonchar and Ruslan Fedotenko will both be game-time decisions tonight.
The Pens are 1-1 against the Leafs this season.
They lost 4-3 in Pittsburgh on December 27th.
Ron Wilson isn't happy with the Leafs in general and Phil Kessel specifically.
Kessel has one goal in his last eleven games.
The Leafs lost 3-2 in Buffalo last night.
They are a struggling team playing the second half of a back-to-back.
This is the sort of team the Penguins should beat.
The Leafs have only won two of their last nine games.
One of those wins was against Pittsburgh.
Robert Morris Stuns #1 Miam[OH]
The Mellon Arena has seen alot of things.
But it is never too old for something new.
Last night at the Igloo, the Robert Morris hockey team stunned the number team in the NCAA Miami [OH] 3-1.
It is amazing that with all of the major schools in PA, Robert Morris has developed the best hockey school.
As the Penguins become more popular, and reach out to more people, it is only a matter of time until you start seeing hockey programs develop. There was only 3,700 people there last night, but you could imagine next year if they play a game at the CEC, people will flock.
The next 5-10 years should be very interesting for that. We'd love to see Robert Morris go on a big time run in the NCAA tournament
Friday Night Lights
There's a sense of anticipation for this road trip to get under way.
Actually we have no clue what people are thinking.
We just know we're pumped as shit.
Some things have gone down in the NHL recently.
Including a bizarre Friday night in New Jersey.
Closed Internet Meeting. PENS LOSE.
This kind of game has been looming for a while.
Sure, bizarre losses to the Lightning and Panthers sting.
And losing 7 of 9 drives lesser people to suicide.
But an embarrassing home loss to the Flyers? Man.
The Pens players held a closed-door meeting after the game.
What they really should do is close their newspapers and laptops.
Because journalists and bloggers are ripping them apart.
People need to calm down.
We've all watched this team long enough to know that they are in a funk.
They're going to snap out of it.
But in the meantime, everyone wants to blast the Penguins.
That's like beating off in the socks you're gonna be wearing that day.
All teams have a funk like this during the year.
It's happened the past three years to the Pens.
So, what are the issues with the Pens?
The goal of any NHL coach is to have their team work hard.
That hard work usually leads to three things.
1. A goal.
2. A scoring chance.
3. A powerplay.
Ohh. Powerplay.
Powerball is threatening to pull their sponsorship.
The Penguins powerplay, or lack thereof, is the reason they are losing games.
Going 0-3 when the Flyers go 2-2 will result in a win maybe 1 out of 10 times.
Speaking of which, the funniest part is people blasting the PK after this one.
They are 11th in the league. They needed a lift from their own PP in this game.
They didn't get it.
The Penguins system revolves around being efficient on the powerplay.
They will be on the PP a lot.
And they'll trot out a cavalcade of stars for the man advantage.
To be 30th in the league is completely shocking. To not even be able to set things up is mind-boggling. To have the defending Art Ross Trophy winner, a left-handed shot, playing the left point is actually maddening. A player of Malkin's talent, a forward at that, shouldn't be wielding his left-handed stick on the left point of the PP.
But if he puts home a slapper through traffic, we're all touching ourselves.
Malkin was on the left point for a chunk of the season last year.
A closed-door meeting -- with a 42-game road trip on the horizon, including a jaunt through the hinterlands of Western Canada -- may be what rights this ship.
Edward Smith had the same thing in mind when he put those jokes in the crow's nest, not knowing they were gonna be playing grab-ass the whole time.
GAMEDAY 45 - FLYERS
7:30 PM
Mellon Arena
Listen to the game at [WXDX]
Know The Enemy:
Their Gameday
The Flyers like to think that they're an improved hockey team.
And in some ways they are.
They've got a new coach.
They've won five of their last seven.
They sit only two points out of a playoff spot.
It seems as though all is well in Philadelphia.
Once again their fans are talking about how Pronger's tough physical game will bring the team a Stanley Cup.
They speak of how Mike Richards' leadership, once definitely in doubt, is driving the team toward success.
They name off talented young players that are going to break through and dominate.
And, of course, they speak of the team's toughness and grit.
Fans of the Philadelphia Flyers are once again seeking vengeance and the team's apparent turn around has the orange-clad masses in a frenzy of anticipation for what will come next.
But none of that matters, because the road to success goes through Pittsburgh,
These Philadelphia Flyers have yet to prove that they can defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Sure, they can rough them up and sometimes they can even win a game or two, but when it all comes down to it the story ends the same way each time:
The Pittsburgh Penguins winning.
The Philadelphia Flyers angry and confused at how they let another one slip through their fingers.
And we wouldn't have it any other way.
