It's Electric, Boogie Woogie Woogie

There are not many more ways that I can describe my feelings for Matt Cooke.  Cooke is one of the most energetic players that have recently graced the Penguin ice.  In fact, Cooke turned down an opportunity to star in the Mt. Dew Voltage commercial.  That might

be a lie, but if the good people at Pepsi would watch and see the way Cooke plays, they wouldn't have to resort to weird glows and mosquitos.

When I saw that Michel Therrien started Pascal Dupuis alongside Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, I was a little bit upset.  I truly feel that there is only only player on the Penguin roster that can elevate the superstars' talent leve -- Matt Cooke.  Fortunately, Therrien corrected this matter by restoring Cooke to his rightful spot as Crosby's left hand man.  I don't mean to insult Dupuis, because I feel that he is one of the hardest working players on the team.  I feel that with this Penguin team, Dupuis is a second liner.  He just doesn't deserve Cooke's spot on line 1.

A lot of people are probably wondering... "Why is Matt Cooke the best option to play beside Malks and Sid?"  I would have to answer, "Because Ryan Malone is playing for the Bolts."  Ok... real answer -- If the Penguins are going to play a "2 line system" with Malkin as Crosby's superstar winger, they need an alternate winger with as much grit and grind as Malks has talent.  There are a lot of grinders that can score goals.  There are not, however, a lot of grinders that can elevate Malkin and Crosby to another level.  The 2007 Giants might have had their 5-hour energy drinks, but the 2008 Penguins have Matt Cooke.  His energetic presence is what gives Sid that extra step, and it gives the Penguins greater potential.  Matt Cooke manufactured the 2 goals that he, Sid and Gino got against the Leafs in the 3rd period.  Hopefully, he continues to receive the respect that he deserves.

Zigomanis, Garon and the Rangers Oh My!

Aloha,

It's been a while, and seemingly while I have been searching for my terrible towel in the basement, the Pens have gained their swagger back. In some unfortunate news, Mike Zigomanis looks to be out for four to six months with successful shoulder surgery. His faceoff skills have certainly been missed as he is a valuable asset for the Pens.

Ray Shero has acquired veteran goaltender Mathieu Garon from the Edmonton Oilers for Netminder Dany Sabourin, Baby Pen Ryan Stone and a fourth round pick in 2011 Garon has played 199 career games touting an impressive 2.84 GAA and a record of 91-82-3-10. In lieu of avoiding a lateral trade, Shero hopes that Garon can provide a backbone for the playoff push. The move should level the drop off in goaltending when Flower is out of the lineup.

The Penguins came out today and absolutely destroyed the New  York Rangers in every facet of the game. More importantly, Flower got a shut out and neither Sid or Malkin registered a point. While this may be bad for their points race, it is a confidence boost for the rest of the squad. Chris Minard lit the lamp for his first goal of the season, and also may have shed the "Baby" from the front of his uniform for a while. Kennedy and Sykora provided insurance with their 8th and 17th goals on the season.   NHL Score Sheet.

The Pens look to weather the Hurricanes on Tuesday January 20th. After the All-Star break, the battle of the Staals continues for the third straight contest, as the Rangers come back to Pittsburgh for hopefully another thrashing on the 28th of January.

Here We Go Steelers, Here We Go!!!!

Aloha

A Game of Losses

Not only did the Penguins suffer a punishing 6-3 loss last night against the Washington Capitals, they lost Sidney Crosby and the confidence gained in the win against Philadelphia.

Crosby left the game, but then returned, after failing to get out of the way of a sliding Capital. Pens fans did enjoy a sigh of relief when the captain came back down the runway and played the rest of the game. It was announced today that Sid is listed as day-to-day with a lower body injury.

As far as the game was concerned, it looked as if the Guinos were going to continue Tuesday's strong effort right through last night. A couple of bad bounces, however, sacrificed the Pens' early lead and put them in a hole. From my standpoint, the Penguins missed several key chances that could have put the game out of reach, before the tides had their chance to turn.

The tides in need of changing, are the ones controlling the Pens season. Every accomplishment, every feat, every small stride forward is negated by inconsistent play and missed opportunities. And, although the Pens have shown flashes of their Conference Champion selves, they have appeared consistently like one of the league bottom-dwellers.

One thing is for certain; the Pens need to play consistent hockey, because the road to the playoffs is more difficult every day. Crosby being out day-to-day will not affect the ultimate outcome of the season, but for the Pens to make the playoffs, the Kid will need to be an even bigger contributor to the team. Hopefully, for his sake and the team's, Crosby will be back on the ice in no time.

Let's Go Pens!

Battle for Pennsylvania

Pittsburghers are abnormally cheering along the Philadelphia Eagles with the hopes of seeing a Pittsburgh/Philadelphia Super Bowl. While the cross-state gridiron match up would be interesting, there is already a Pitt/Philly game taking place tonight.

The Atlantic leading Flyers are hosting a 7:00 match up with the struggling Penguins. It wasn't too long ago that the teams were in opposite positions and Michel Therrien's Pens are hoping that it won't be long until the roles are reversed again.

The Penguins have lost 8 of their last 9 and have fallen within 1 game of being .500. Despite the free fall, the Penguins are just 3 points out of a playoff seed and 11 points out of the division lead. The fate of the season can take a ginormous leap forward with a win against the rival Flyers. Not only would the Pens move within single digits of the division lead, but they would beat a division rival that will be looking to start driving nails into the Penguin coffin.

After the Pens won game 7 against Detroit this year, I expected the season to continue pedal-to-the-metal. I, personally, never felt that the Penguins would be looking at trying to sit above .500. I actually would say that I was more optimistic about the Pirates being above .500 than the chance of the Pens being below .500. I guess that is the best way that a Pittsburgh Kid can explain the situation.

Hopefully everyone else has been as busy as I have and has been able to look past the Penguin slump. I guess it is a lot easier to handle with the Steelers looking to make their 2nd Super Bowl appearance this decade. As any Pittsburgher would do, wave your towels high, eat some Permanti's (or Bedo's if you prefer ;) ), but continue to root on our Pens.

Let's Go Pens!

Welcome to Thunder Bay

Hola Amigos,

The latest, and in my opinion, greatest addition to the Penstation team has just signed and finalized his contract to write here on the same day as Jordan Staal commits to the city of Pittsburgh through the 2012-2013 season. ESPN.com Pierre Lebrun reports that the deal is worth $16 million. Although this deal is not as lucrative as my own, there will be very high expectations for the rising star. Last game we saw Staal playing center, as well as winging the first line with Sidney Crosby. Sid could provide Staal with the much needed offensive confidence that has been lacking since the Red Wings game, and truthfully since his rookie season.

The Pens fly into Nashville this evening to take on the Predators in hopes of continuing the momentum they gathered from bullying the Thrashers on Tuesday. The puck drops at 8 pm and can be viewed on FSN. Lang and the ole 29er will be gracing the radio airwaves on 105.9 the x.

Andy at the Penstation

Late Night

Pretty late night, but plenty coming tomorrow.

Check back to see all the pics and hear about the season-changing game that we were at!

New writer on board and working with a graphic artist to customize a Penstation.info template. Can't wait for everyone to see all the changes!

-Matt

1/7 Update... I had a post updated and done when Windows Live Writer crashed....... Rewriting when I'm free tomorrow. Sorry for the prolonged wait!

Penstation at Thrasher Game

I am happy to report that I will be making my first trip to the Igloo, this year. As hard as it is to come by hockey tickets in this town, it took a generous Christmas gift to allow me to get to a game. With that being said, I am very optimistic about the Penguins putting on a show to break the 5 game slide.

We will have a couple of cameras at the game, and will try to take plenty of pictures to post on the site. There is a great new look coming to Penstation; look for that in the next week as well. Shiny pictures + shiny new site = pro.

If you are going to the game, be careful of the freezing rain throughout the area. It may be icy after the game, so take your time and drive safely.

One last note-- My brother and I have come to the conclusion that Ilya Kovalchuk should stay in the Pens' locker room after the game.

Let's Go Pens!