Make it Six! Pens Win Again 6-2

Another game, another win, another day.  Every time the Pens are on, I can't help but hum in my head, "All we do is win, win, win, no matter what...", and so on.  The battle for Pennsylvania was a laugher as the Penguins beat the hated Philadelphia Flyers 6-2.  Some observations:

With Fleury on the shelf with a concussion for the second time this year, Matt Murray currently has been holding the fort strong.  Not only did he shutout the Islanders the day before, he was spectacular in shutting down the Flyers by stopping 28/30 shots.  However, with that being said, I would like to see the flower back and healthy for the playoffs.  Not saying I don't have confidence in Murray, just the playoffs are a whole other animal.

The Pens power play once again registered a goal thanks to Sidney Crosby.  It is nice to start seeing the power play gel on a more consistent basis without Malkin in the lineup.  Without Malkin in the beginning of his injury, the Pens struggled to create any momentum or chances on it.  Furthermore, the Pens were able to score a short handed goal for their third straight game, as Eric Fehr found an empty net at the end.

Last, their domination in all phases of the game is apparent.  What really stands out, is that they have 5 or more goals in their last five out of six games.  We aren't just beating teams, we are bludgeoning them.  The Penguins return back to action tomorrow night as they face the Ottawa Senators.

https://sports.yahoo.com/news/penguins-build-early-lead-rout-flyers-6-2-000536770--nhl.html

Magic Number is 2 as Pens Beat Predators 5-2

The Penguins currently are playing hotter than a fox in a forest fire.  Last nights win against Nashville gave them their 10th win out of their last 11 games.  The Penguins aren't just winning, they are a team that now seems to register four or more goals on a regular basis, while destroying their competitors.  Some observations:

The Penguins were relentless in their puck pursuit in the offensive end.  If they weren't creating scoring chances, they were badgering the Predators all night trying to leave their defensive zone.  Furthermore, their power play seems to be coming back to life without the presence of Evgeni Malkin, as they went 2/4 with goals from Letang and Hornqvist.

Next, the play of Phil Kessel has seemed to silence the critics for now.  He has five goals and six assists equaling eleven points in his last ten games, while also getting great scoring chances.  Everyone was critical early on, and maybe justified, but I thought it was going to take time to get acclimated to Pittsburgh, and having to deal with two coaches your first year here is no picnic.  Mike Sullivan's style of play has definitely helped Kessel flourish.  We will need the same amount or maybe more production in the playoffs from him.

Last, it is no secret that the best team in the NHL currently resides in the steel city.  The expectations again going into the playoffs are very high, and who would of seen this coming after the way they stumbled out of the gates.  I won't definitively say they will win the Stanley Cup, but I expect a deep run, who knows maybe till the middle/late of June :) 

Source: Yahoo! Images

Pens Rally From Down 3-0 to Beat Sabres 5-4

Not all games are pretty, that's for sure, but the Penguins were able to win again as they scored four times in the second to win 5-4 in a shootout against the Buffalo Sabres.  Some observations:

The game overall was played very sloppy I felt by both teams.  The Sabres were playing on back to back nights, after playing in Detroit the night before.  However, Buffalo was able to score a power play goal, a short handed goal, and a four on four goal, all in the first period to take a 3-0 lead.  Matt Murray was not very sharp in the first period, but who could blame him when Marc-Andre Fleury gets the majority of the starts in the net.  

Then Buffalo returned the favor for the Penguins in the second period by letting four goals in.  The Penguins were able to capitalize by scoring TWO, yes two, short handed goals on the same penalty by Buffalo .  The second one was an atrocious blunder of playing the puck behind the net by goaltender Chad Johnson, in which led to Nick Bonino depositing the puck into a wide open net.  

Lastly, this was a game of special teams as you can tell.  Combined it equaled for three short handed goals, 2 power play goals, a four on four goal, and the game ended in a shootout.  Kris Letang would end up scoring by going five hole in the shootout, and Phil Kessel ripped it past Chad Johnson for the Penguins to come away with two points.

It may not have been pretty at times, but I guess a win, is a win, is a win.  The Penguins return back to action tomorrow night against the Nashville Predators at 7:00.

https://sports.yahoo.com/photos/penguins-rally-top-sabres-5-4-shootout-photo-021319038--nhl.html

Pens Demolish Red Wings 7-2

Watching the Penguins game yesterday made me feel like I was at an Oprah Show with her shouting, "You get a goal, and you get a goal, and you get a goal, EVERYBODY IS GETTING GOALS!"  The Pens put on a superb performance by smothering the Red Wings in all facets of the game as they won 7-2.  Some observations of the game:

I was pleased by the bounce back performance by Marc-Andre Fleury after Thursday's night disappointment against New Jersey.  The two goals he let up were not his fault.  One was due to a bad defensive change with the puck turned over in the neutral zone by the Pens, and Kris Letang was too late to get on the ice and allowed a breakaway score by Red Wings Anthanasiou.  Another goal was given up on the power play where the puck bounced three times before going behind Fleury.  All in all, he played a spectacular game and was not fighting off pucks to make saves like he was against New Jersey.

Another plus for the Penguins was the contribution of Phil Kessel.  Kessel notched 5 points in the game with one goal and four assists.  If Malkin is delayed in his return to the ice, Kessel needs to be one of the key playmakers for the Pens in the playoffs.  Furthermore, it was nice to get depth scoring by Nick Bonino who also had five points in the game.

Lastly, the acquisition of Carl Hagelin can't go unnoticed.  Since he has come to Pittsburgh from Anaheim, he has 7 goals, 13 assists, equaling 20 points in 29 games.  In Anaheim he had 4 goals, 8 assists, equaling 12 points IN 43 GAMES!  He has 80 shots on goal in Pittsburgh, compared to 82 in Anaheim.  This is all with 14 less games played in Pittsburgh.  Stats don't lie, and Hagelin's contributions have been through the roof!

The Pens look to continue on their winning ways as they battle the New York Rangers at 7:30 PM.

https://sports.yahoo.com/news/penguins-score-4-2nd-period-7-2-win-205910578--nhl.html

Devils Pitchfork Pens 3-0

The game had just started, and yet the game had just ended.  Kyle Palmeri scored 26 seconds into the game to give the Devils a 1-0 lead, and the rest is history.  The Devils would go on to win 3-0 in front of a silent Consol Energy Center.  This would end up snapping the Penguins six game winning streak and Crosby's twelve game point streak.  Some Observations:

This was not the performance you get from Marc-Andre Fleury night in and night out.  Palmeri's fist goal was a very weak goal to give up, as it was a one on one matchup, and Fleury allowed the puck to trickle beneath his pads and into the back of the goal.  I noticed especially in the first period that Fleury was fighting off pucks instead of absorbing the shots and making easy saves.  That was my first indication that it was going to be a very long night.

Another aspect of the Penguins game that has to be rectified is the power play.  Without Evgeni Malkin, the power play is abysmal.  I don't understand how this can be when the Penguins have tremendous talent, and yet the Devils power play ranks eighth in the NHL.

Lastly, I was pretty dissatisfied with the ability of the Pens to create traffic in front of goaltender Scott Wedgewood.  Yes, the Penguins put up 39 shots on goal, but what made them successful in their six game winning streak was the ability to tip pucks heading towards the front of the net, and being able to screen the goaltender.

The Penguins look to march forward as they battle the Detroit Red Wings tomorrow at two o'clock.

https://sports.yahoo.com/news/devils-wedgewood-1st-shutout-3-0-win-over-014729385--nhl.html

Pitt Loses Ugly Game To Wisconsin 47-43

Clink.  Clank.  Clunk.  If you watched the Pitt/Wisconsin game on Friday night, you heard a lot of that noise as the basketball repeatedly hit the rim for both teams.  The number tenth seed in the east region, Pittsburgh, lost to the number seventh seed, Wisconsin, 47-43.

To say this game was awful is an understatement.  Wisconsin shot overall from the field 17-53 (32.1%), while Pitt shot 18-48 (37.5%).  Pitt started off quick, as James Robinson had six quick points in the first few minutes of the game, but fell silent the rest of the game, only scoring one point after.  Only one person scored in double figures for Pitt, Jamel Artis with 13 points.

To give my own viewpoints of this game is very difficult, due to the point that nobody on either team, or a team itself really stood out to me.  This was by far the worst NCAA Tournament basketball game I have watched in awhile.  You expect a 16th seed to not put much of a showing against a number one seed, but you expect a 10/7 game to be entertaining and exciting.  I was never excited when Pitt was up double digits, because I watch too many games of them blowing a double digit lead.  As I sat there, all I could think about was, "So how will Pitt blow the game this time?"  If Pitt could of nailed shots in the first half, they could of easily disposed Wisconsin.  Last, I was surprised that Ryan Luther only played four minutes for Pitt, while not even being in foul trouble.  To me during the season, he was one of the best players down the stretch for Pitt when they were struggling.

All in all, I am grateful that Pitt's basketball season is over.  I could be wrong, but I am expecting more of the same for next year or even worse.  At least we can now focus on the Penguins march to the playoffs, and the hope of the Pirates making a deep run in October.

https://sports.yahoo.com/news/no-7-seed-wisconsin-trudges-past-pittsburgh-47-010217425--ncaab.html 

OT: Verdana Font

Well, here it is, my final non sports blog.  I again was messing around on Word to see what font was interesting, and what I could talk about.  I came across the font Verdana created by Matthew Carter.  It is a sans-serif font, and to me Verdana is very legible.  It is easy on the eyes all around, and could be used across multiple platforms.  If I hadn't decided to use Georgia as my main font for my blog, I would definitely had considered using Verdana.  Below are some examples of the text Verdana:

http://idsgn.org/images/apple-switches-to-verdana/apple_before_after__full.png

http://likeithateit.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/verdana-font.gif

https://99designs.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/dominos-pizza_blog.png