Saturday, December 20, 2008

A New Era in Toronto

Although it was pretty clear that Mats Sundin would not play for the Maple Leafs any longer, a new... leaf, if you will, can be turned in Toronto. The long time Maple Leaf captain made his decision earlier this week to sign with the Vancouver Canucks.

What does this mean for the Toronto franchise? Truthfully, it means just about nothing. I don't believe that anyone fully expected Sundin to wear a Leaf on his sweater anymore. The team has moved on from their former captain and will continue to do so after his decision.

What does this mean for the Penguins? Regardless of Sundin's decision, the Pens wouldn't have seen him suit up at the Mellon tonight. So once again, I guess the decision does not impact the Penguins' game against the Leafs.

So now you ask, "What does this have to do with me?" Nothing. We just found it hard to find something to write about with the Maple Leafs. I guess all we could come up with was YET ANOTHER Mats Sundin story, even thought it has NOTHING to do with the game tonight. Congratulations to us.

Regardless of the Leafs' record, or how well the Penguins can play, our northern rivals have always given the Pens a good game. I for one miss the days when Tie Domi used to come to the Igloo. Actually, as good as our division and rivalries are now, I miss the old division in general. Oh well.

Look for a good, tough, physical game tonight. I fully expect Marc-Andre Fleury to show up and be a star in the game. I'm also expecting Matt Cooke and Brooks Orpik to punish the Leafs and excite the home crowd. It shouldn't take much to excite the faithful fans; when the Pens wear the powder blues, the fans are always a big part of the game.

What to watch for.

  1. Matt Cooke has been killing people. When 24 is on the ice, get ready for how the Cookie Monster acts without PBS censoring.
  2. Marc-Andre Fleury is one of the best goalies in the world when he is healthy. Look for the Flower to be on top of his game tonight. We also caught word that he may be wearing vintage looking pads tonight. That could be interesting considering they are brown. Everyone has heard the story about the eye doctor that recommended Fleury white pads. Let's just hope the brown ones fare better than the yellow.
  3. Evgeni Malkin is coming off of a 4 point night. We're looking for Gino to add another 3 tonight against the Leafs.

Let's Go Pens!!!

Join Penstation on Twitter!

Penstation is on Twitter!  Join Penstation on twitter at http://twitter.com/penstation to receive updates on games, posts, and to join in the chat!

Let's Go Pens!