Lv-Bills

He was just making up for Gomez playing like a goon in game 1. Quit whining about hits. Wahhhhhhh. Good game though.

The Devils won a ton of cups based on a system. Did I say they didn't? It's just BS hockey though. It's boring, but it worked. Nothing wrong with it. But my god, they score and try to pack it in all game. If everyone played the game like Montreal, nobody would like hockey. I'm not saying they shouldn't play that way......they should......as a matter of fact, they have to. It's just painful to watch. They really aren't that gritty. They aren't great shot blockers, they just pack it in the zone and get hit by default. It's just kind of weird, you aren't really sure what is being done to you, but you end up losing the game. Their defense doesn't allow a lot of good chances, so I'm not sure if Halak is good yet, or if they are just a system team. We'll see more Tuesday night. I can see why the Caps lost though, because no one has seen this type of system yet.

Talent will beat the system in the end. I can't imagine how someone could sit and watch this boring system all year. But hey, it worked today.

We've got ourselves a series now. 1-1. It looks like the Habs are the new makings of the NJ Devils. I gotta admit, I haven't watched them play much, but god are they boring. 6 shots pretty much in the 2nd and 3rd periods. Until that third goal that is. It seems like they have 4 guys in their own zone in front of Halak at all times. It's not like they are good shot blockers, they just clog up the zone so much it's always hitting one of them. Not a bad system I guess until their talent will allow them to open it up a bit. Good game. It will now be talent vs. system the rest of the way out. Interesting, if you like system hockey. See ya Tuesday.

Or that he spends his money on his team. The REALLY doesn't hurt.

Are you taking bets on this??? Please tell me you are accepting bets?

LOL. Good Point. I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, and I love the Bills first, but also the Pirates and Penguins. It's amazing what my expectations are for the Penguins, as compared to the Pirates and Bills. I probably like two teams that are the worst two teams in their sport. When Lemieux took over the Pens though, it raised expectation levels. However, the Pirates and Bills.......LOL. Still love em, but hey you are right, "At least we don't suck as bad as last year".

LMAO. Not that I really disagree with anything you say here, but..................................this just occured to you now? You're like 4 months late with this anger. Most of us already exclaimed this, shouted about it, got over it, and renewed (even upgraded) our season tickets by now. Needless to say, I have no expectations for this team.............................again. But, for some stupid reason, I'll be there again this year.

They based it all upon rest. There apparently is a history with Halak being subpar with minimal rest. The analysis of the situation also said that it would be impossible to sit Halak, however, knowing what everyone knows about Halak, starting Price for game one would have been the smart move based on Halak's past. They also said that no one would have done it based on how he played vs. Washington.

I hear ya. Good Luck in Game 2.

There was nothing wrong with Cooke's hit there. Matter of fact, I was kind of amazed at how easy Markov went down. They both had pretty good leverage, but Cooke seemed to get the better of that hit, which kind of shocked me. If you didn't like Cooke's play tonight, I'd have to say Gomez played 2 times dirtier with his stick tonight than anyone on the Pens. Although, I wasn't put off by anyone's rough play on either team.

It's only game one man, don't take it so hard. LOL. One point that Versus actually made tonight that I agree with. I agree they maybe should have considered starting Price instead of Halak, and let Halak rest and come back fresh for the Sunday afternoon game. Tough to do though, because the Habs fans would have wanted blood. However, it may have been the best way to steal a game (#2) with a fresh goaltender. I thought that was some sound logic. I don't think the Habs made a mistake by starting Halak tonight, but maybe a good point about waiting until game 2.

Halak solved, chased, replaced and without him playing like he did against Washington, Montreal looks like the true 8th seed. Pens in 5.

Sidney Crosby walks into a bar. Crosby: "I'd like an Ovechkin.” Bartender: "What's that?"Crosby: "It's a White Russian with no Cup." WOOHOO! Go Pens!

WOW

Ahhhh, no thanks. Been there, done that, when I interned with the SI department with the Atlanta Braves. Buddy of mine's company also had suite tickets through Laidlaw, and I never used those seats either. I did go in to eat though before a game or two. Anytime someone in those suites gets halfway excited, people look at you like your crazy. Almost like, wow, I didn't know you were here to actually watch the game. Those who would rather sit inside during a football game instead of out in the elements, deserve to all be with each other. In your case though, I understand you are working, which is cool. I'm my case, I'm there to get away from reality for one day. In the elements, and actually watching the game.

For those in 137 with only two seats, I would imagine you have good options. We were also in 137. There were all kinds of options in 135 and 134, especially down lower than Row 10, which are terrible if you ask me. Even the ticket rep advised against that. But for only two, you should be looking at most likely around the 20 yard line, hopefully higher than row 20, at least. I think those of you with only two seats will be happy. That's strictly based on our call. Based on our group's call, with only two tickets, we could have had 35 yard liners if we had split up, which we didn't want to do.

I hear ya JR. I love Gonchar, but too realize that he has finally hit the wall. He's still the key to our PP. He's a great point man, but his skills are diminishing FAST. Guerins are all but gone. Goli does suck. He's supposed to be like Gonch, but man, he's just not there. Eaton? I don't even count him....lol. As far as Malkin. He's just not been there this year. You can count on Crosby every night. Their stats, I think, were close in round 1, but Malkin's points and game was no where near as dominant as Crosby. Malkin is also a turnover waiting to happen. Your also right, he's taking bad penalties at times. He's just not anywhere near Crosby's level of play. However, at times, he does play at Crosby's level, and when that happens, the Pens are impossible to beat. IF he decides to bring it, the Penguins will absolutely hammer the next two opponents in the playoffs. However, he hasn't really "brough it" yet. Although, he did look better against Ottawa. And on a side note.................Jordan Staal is the most overrated player in the NHL. I'm getting sick of hearing how young he is, and waiting for him to develop. He's been in the league for years, and all we see, is "his reach". Great Jordan, how about getting your skates out of the quicksand, and do something that actually helps the team score goals, and live up to that repuatation you have.

Minimal difference between Boston, Philly, Montreal, Buffalo, and say #4 Pittsburgh? Cmon man!

Great analysis of Boston. I can agree with this, but they don't have enough firepower, IMO. The notion that defense wins championships in sports is the biggest made up, ESPN driven, garbage in sports. Defense hardly ever wins championships, although it has been done. Even when the Pittsburgh Steelers were winning SB's with the "Steel Curtain", there were five hall of famers on the offensive side of the ball. But I digress. I just don't think Boston has enough firepower to win. They do, though, have hot goaltending, and a few very good players in spots. But eventually, they'll have to score, and I just don't think they'll be able to do that. As far as Pittsburgh goes. I've been telling people this all year. They are not as good this year, as they were last year. Pittsburgh's defense is missing toughness on the blue line, as well as guys like Gonchar, Guerin and other vets are hitting the wall. Pittsburgh's PP has also been terrible all season. That is also a carryover from last year. It has not improved, although it was decent in round 1. Pittsburgh is obviously a good team. They just aren't a superior team this year. Malkin is also very streaky, so whichever Malkin shows up can mean how long a series will actually last. I will say this though.......if Malkin shows up and plays hard, Pittsburgh can end the next two series in four. If he doesn't show up everynight, which is what will happen, they will go six....at least. Malkin single handedly handed Carolina their exit papers last year's Conference Finals. He can easily do that to any of the Eastern teams left......but he most likely won't. I'm not sure though, that the remaining teams in the East can really mount a great challenge against them. If the Pens do win the East, I can see them getting smoked by a Western Conference team. In all, great analysis of Boston, IMO, on your part.

We have three groups of 2 tickets each. 6 tickets in all. One with 28 years seniority, one with 18, and one with 11. We were all able to stay together, lower bowl, Bills side, 28 rows up (so you can actually see), and went from the goal line to about the 18 yard line. Not bad for finding six tickets together. Anyone else able to do OK? Anyone else try?

Nice. I didn't want to talk about the Pens in here, until the Sabres were done with hockey. Cuz no one really cares to hear about Crosby when their team is still in it. I see it as kind of disrespectful. But after tonight, I couldn't help it. I hate Washington with a passion. All my friends on FB are laughing it up at Washington's expense. I think my News Feed has more gloating tonight, than after a Pens win.

As a Pens fan, after the Olympics, I finally think Crosby is better than Ovie. Crosby plays every part of the game correctly. Ovechkin is a pure goal scorer and he hits. However, his hits are also more flash than actual meaningful substance, just like a lot of his goals. Until he learns to lead, he just might be the Dominic Wilkins of of NHL. All stats, no substance. As far as Malkin, he is a mystery. Malkin has some of most meaningless points in the game and disappears for weeks sometimes. Then, he'll dominate for three games. Then disappear, then dominate. I honestly think the Pens would be much better with Marian Hossa than with Malkin. I love Malkin, but he is a turnover machine, and he is very inconsistent. A star? Yeah. A superstar? Not even close. The Pens aren't as good as they were last year. They miss Rob Scuderi badly. But, this first round made it a lot easier. I still not really sure how Pittsburgh beat Detroit last year, but hey, I'm not arguing.

Most people hate or love Crosby too, so I'm sure everyone left in the playoffs and the remaining fans of eliminated teams will be rooting hard against Pittsburgh.

Game 1 will not define the series. Matter of fact, Montreal's best chance might be in game one to make this a series. And yeah, it was mostly Halak. The Caps outshot the HABS like 145 to 65 or something ridiculous in the last three games they lost. That's just unreal. I hate sticking up for the Caps too, but they got jobbed tonight on the goal they had taken away. Again though, if Halak stays hot, the HABS can win. I don't think he will.