The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Penguins 5 / Maple Leafs 2 

 

If you were to judge this post by its title, you could be excused for thinking it was about Christmas.  But no, not for me.  My favorite month is October.  Halloween and Hockey.  

Specifically today, hockey.  I'm a one trick pony.  I might like to watch a Blackhawks game, I might love to watch Pavel Datsyuk, or, as I call him, the Sneaky Russian, and if all else fails, I'll watch a Kings game. But my first, undying love, is the Pittsburgh Penguins.

After the last few years, I have to admit that for all my appreciation of Dan Bylsma, I was ready for a change.  This is only the second game of the season, but so far, I'm liking what I see with one major exception.  Penalties.  And not the sort that were hinted at with the overhaul of my favorite team.  I haven't seen nitty gritty, in your face penalties.  I've seen, for lack of a better word, stupid ones.   And I am well aware that my favorite player has been accused of taking his fair share of dumb penalties, but in just two games, it seems to be pretty universal across the board.  I can only hope this isn't a trend.

All in all, the defensive pairings really seem to be working well.  I particularly love seeing Simon Despres and Rob Scuderi out on the ice together.  I might have been in the minority, but I was not thrilled last season to see Despres consistently scratched.  He plays like a Letang, but without the flashes of brilliance.  In his defense, he also doesn't play with the flashes of sheer stupidity that Tangers has been known to display on occasion.  With the loss of Matty Niskanen, my newly crowned favorite defensemen is the Baby FinPen, Olli Maata.  I believe I have mentioned in my blog how I misjudged him when he was kept on last season, but, damn.  He is a wonder to watch, and I woke up at four in the morning to do just that during the Olympics. I can only hope he's a Pen for a long, long time.  

From an offensive standpoint, wow.  Sid is on fire and Geno is not far behind.  That first game, against Anaheim, Sid was on point, but Geno was obviously a step slow.  He was still a little slow at times tonight, but then he would just dominate, the way only he can.  Sid has shown a fire and 100% determination that was missing at the waning of Bylsma's tenure.  I can only hope that he stays as happy with Mike Johnston as he is and doesn't fall into another petulant snit.  As for Geno, I get goosebumps imagining what is coming.  And no article on the Pens would be complete without a shout out for my dark horse favorite, Brandon Sutter.  I love that man.  I am SOOOO happy we kept him and didn't do something terribly, irreversibly stupid and trade him last season for the selfish player now in Anaheim, Ryan Kesler.   Did I mention I was thrilled?  And his play is so complete, he is Pittsburgh's version of Jonathan Toews.  And yes, I am well aware there is a gap between the two.  Captain Serious is my favorite non-Pen, so believe me, I know the differences are there.  I may love wholly one team, but I'm not blind or stupid.  If you made me choose one player to watch, and I couldn't choose Geno, I'd take Jonathan Toews.  It'd be a close tie after that, across all spectrums.  Olli Maata, Anze Kopitar, Pavel Datsyuk...yeah, I'd have to work on the exact order.  And I'd probably change my order as soon as I set it.

Finally, a tip of my hat to the Flower.  He might have not had the best stats in that Anaheim game, but he has also shown a renewed fire and agression.  I can only hope that he has something to prove, and, perhaps, he feels support that might not have been there before.  I will always been a fan of Marc-Andre.  Feel free to mock me all you want.  For those Pittsburgh fans who might understand, I'd still take Kordell Stewart of Roethlisburger, too.

Until the next game.

First Hockey Rant of the Season

Absolutely, hands down, without a doubt, my favorite month of the year is October.  I love the changing of summer to fall.  Halloween is, in my opinion, the very best of holidays.  I mean, honestly, who odesn't love the excuse to dress up and beg for candy?  But there is one other factor.  October marks the start of hockey season.

I may blog to save my family from my obsessive opinions.  There are about two topics on the face of the planet that I obsess about more than any other: hockey and horses.  Considering that I make money from one obsession, I'll leave that for my day job.  For now, I'll be going on and on about hockey.
Popular or not, I am a diehard Pittsburgh Penguins fan.  I also appreciate watching a good Red Wings or Blackhawks game, but there will never be a conflict of interest.  If, as this evening, the Pens are playing one of the other teams I like, I will still be pulling for my team.  So, in summary, I am a huge Pens fan, no questions asked.

Now that the groundwork has been laid, I'll go into a few details rather than rant to my family.  They tune me out pretty quickly from now until May.

Anyone who follows hockey and doesn't live under a rock, is well aware of the changes that swept through Pittsburgh after their rather frustrating exit to the New York Rangers last year.  I'll admit, for whatever haters want to argue, that I appreciate Dan Bylsma.  He had a certain swagger and a quick mind for offense.  However, there are more than one similarity to be drawn between him and Sean Peyton down with the New Orleans Saints.  After five years of explosive offense and no defense, Pittsburgh decided to make a change.  Blame Marc Andre Fleury all you want, but if your defense has the consistency of Swiss cheese and your offense conveniently forgets how to fall back and help protect their own zone, then any goaltender is going to have trouble.  This is just a rough summary of all that went wrong for years.  But as I sit watching the last preseason game for the Pens, I have to think one thing was not fixed in all of the shuffling.  We have a strong defensive corps, I love Olli Maata.  Our offense has always had stars in reserve, also adore Geno Malkin, and I will always be a supporter of Flower.  So, what is my problem then?  Stretch passes.  Freaking, bloody stretch passes.

 In a nutshell, stretch passes were the downfall of Disco Dan.  It is somewhat justifiable that such talents as Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin will want to how just how talented they are.  But when the whole damn team starts to play like that, you are destined for failure.  I cannot quantify how many times I screamed at the television watching Pens games last season.  Pass after pass would get intercepted.  Professional hockey teams and coaches are not a bunch of idiots.  They study game film, make plans, and then execute them.  When everyone in the league knows you're prone to passing up center, they're going to sit there and pick you off like low hanging fruit.

 Haveing watched two periods of the new fangled Pens, I really think the top line of Crosby and Kunitz needs to be reminded of this rather pertinent fact.  I'll save my ire for a few games into the regular season.  After all, this is only Sid's first game.  But I am not inclined to think kindly of Sidney until he really does something to change my mind.  Again, this will come as something of a controversial point to most hockey people, but I largely hold Sid responsible for the melt down of the Rangers series.  The player that I really thought put himself on the line night after night during that incredibly difficult series was Brandon Sutter.  Sid just seemed to quit at one point, and for that, I'll hold my opinion.  This is a true rarity for me.  Take it while you can.

Quick Thoughts on Olympic Hockey

First and foremost, let me apologize to women hockey players the world over.  I only watched the US v Canada game.  I know I should watch more, and I truly applaud these fantastic athletes, but I'm a one track mind.  I love the Pittsburgh Penguins, and, basically, I've only been following the Olym-Pens.

Now, with that out of the way, a few thoughts on said Olym-Pens and their teams:

To all those Dan Bylsma haters out there, please take note.  The US was undefeated in Round Robin play.  And they were in a harder bracket than Sweden.  I may not like all of the Americans, read Patrick Kane here, but I was impressed by the cohesion and the way they all handled themselves.  I, personally, have always been a fan of Disco Dan.  Here's hoping for more great things to come.

A HUGE shoutout to the Finnish team.  I distinctly remember pundits saying Finland didn't stand a chance without Koivu, et al.  That they would have no offense.  No offense doesn't score eight goals.  (Double negative, I know).  Granted that was against Austria, but, still, 8.  I loved seeing Jussi Jokinen and especially Olli Mataa out there playing some truly amazing hockey.  I'll admit, somewhat sheepishly, that I was rather flummoxed when Pittsburgh kept Olli up when his rookie window was set to expire.  I'll admit it: I was wrong.  (Take note, this doesn't happen often)  Never have I been happier to be so wrong than when watching Finland defy expectations.  Sadly, it looks like they're headed for a quarter final clash with my favorite hockey player in the world.  Not sure where my loyalites will lie.

Canada, the power house, has looked a little off a perfect groove.  And this isn't just wishful thinking.  I truly hoped and prayed for gold for them in Vancouver.  After all, they had Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, and Marc-Andre Fleury (who, granted, never played).  But they won, with a goal from Sid, no less.  To me, there time has already come and gone.  And I cannot cheer for a team that chose PK Subban.  I despise the man.  Not a big fan of Patrice Bergeron either.  I might be able to look past team lines (see Finland and certain Flyers), but I can't get over my aversion to these two.  My passion and hopes for Canada have all been used up, and I know this will make more enemies than friends, but I'd rather see someone else shine now.  That being said, truly thrilled Chris Kunitz made the team.  Not enough to hope they win gold, though.  In that case, go USA.

Finally, the elephant in Sochi.  The Russians.  Two of my favorite players of any sport on the face of the planet are playing for Russia: Evgeni Malkin and Pavel Datsyuk.  But there are so many glaring issues surrounding Russia.  First and foremost, their coaching seems stuck in a Putin-like mentality.  They think that just because they have the most talented skaters, they will win.  I'll give Ovechkin credit, he's been more of a team player than I've ever seen from him, but it isn't enough.  The famous, 'there is no "i" in team' runs like a bad song over and over again in my head when I watch Russia play.  Selfish players not meant for the glory of gold are out there skating with enough talent that AHL players would sell their souls to possess, but these same players cannot fathom the concept so long elusive to them.  Talent alone does not equal success in a team sport.  (I'm a Pens fan, I should know)  It truly hurts to see such gifted players wasted.  The moment when Geno became my favorite player was in Vancouver, four years ago.  Canada was completely obliterating Russia, but Geno never quit.  He sat on the benches, looking up at the score, with his jersey between his teeth.  He just looked so hopeless, I could no longer root against him.  I imagine he thinks of that moment even now, too, as he goes out with reduced minutes and a degraded roll on his team.  All the hopes of a nation rest on these men's shoulders, but they are doomed to fail.  I could be wrong, I've already admitted to being so once today, but in this case, I don't think I am.  At least they'll come back, and I can pull for Geno in a black and gold jersey.  

Well, this wasn't exactly quick.  But then again, it's me, so it sort of was.

BlytheLea