As we wrap up the season...

This will be my final post for the regular season, playoffs start in about a week.  To wrap up the season so far, the Pittsburgh Penguins have taken first place in the Eastern Conference.  They have been a amazing team so far, and they are schedule to play the New York Rangers.

The biggest rivals for the Penguins this year include Chicago and Boston.  Besides that, I can't see any teams being a big threat to the Pens in playoffs.

Even though the season was cut short about four months, it was a great season all together.  All teams had to make adjustments due to the shortened season, especially with playing more games back-to-back.  It was very exciting to see such a quick rise in leaders this year.  

If anybody out there is interested, go check out the Penguin's on the jumbo-tron outside the arena downtown during playoffs.  It is an amazing time, and maybe I'll see some people I know down there.

To finish up for the regular season, I wanted to have a little fun, and show some of my favorite clips of hockey's best and funniest moments.  Enjoy! 

Got to love this, it is hilarious!!

And finally, the hardest position in any sport, the goaltender.  This video put a smile on my face.

The Hart Trophy

The Hart Memorial Trophy, or Hart Trophy, is the oldest and most prestigious award in hockey.  It is award annually to the player who is considered most valuable to his team.

The Hart Trophy has, so far, been award 87 times, to 54 different players.

The picture to the left is Alex Ovechkin when he won in 2008.

The question is who is going to win the trophy this year.  Will it be Ovechkin, Crosby, Stamkos?  Maybe a player who sprouted this year such as Kunitz or Craig Anderson.



Who ever you may think will win the Hart Trophy, these players are on the list for the potential candidates to win this year.

Obviously there is no doubt Crosby is on the list, but in fact, Crosby is ranked number one to win this year.
Stamkos is number two for a candidate to win the award.

My opinion:
Crosby will win for his significant performance this year.

Since the regular season is over next week we will surely find out who the winner is.  In my opinion it will be Sidney Crosby for his outstanding skill on the first line of the Penguins.  Although he is out with a broken jaw, he pulled up at least 30 assists and 25 goals in the regular season.


Continue on to find out the other candidates for the Hart Trophy this year.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1547955-power-ranking-the-top-10-candidates-for-the-hart-trophy

NHL Playoffs are right around the corner!!

Who's ready for hockey playoffs?!  The best time of the year in my opinion.  In addition, it seems that the Penguins have made the number one seed in the Eastern Conference.  

Playoffs begin on Tuesday, April 30.  It is a very exciting time indeed!!

The last time I was this excited for the Pens to play in playoffs they won in 2009.  What an amazing time that was.  

My personal predictions for the playoffs:

1. The Pens will beat the New York Ranger with only five games in the series played.  

2. The Pens will play a tough match against Boston, but win in seven games

3. The Pens will play in the championship against the Chicago Blackhawks.  The Pens, with a full roster, beat the Blackhawks

Thankfully Philly and New Jersey have both  been eliminated so we will not have to face either of them in the playoffs. 

Use this link to check out all of the current match ups for the NHL playoffs, and to also check out which teams were eliminated.

http://espn.go.com/nhl/playoffs/matchups

Pens strive for first seed in the playoffs

The Pittsburgh Penguins haven't always been the best team in the NHL.  Hell there was time when they were a really bad team.  However, I'd say they have really stepped up their game the last several years now.

After picking up several new players, all from other NHL teams, the Pens have rallied a team of superstars to hopefully win them the cup this year.

In my opinion, I truly feel like the Pens will take home the cup.  They have almost guaranteed the number one seed for playoffs.

Depending on how the next week or two goes for the competing teams in the league, I would see the Pens playing the New York Rangers in the first round of playoffs.  If this is true, I can very well see the Pens taking it by game five of the series.  The Rangers have a good team, but we have beaten them two games to one in the regular season.  They just don't have the skill that we have, even before we made all our trades.

My only worry is that Crosby and Neal won't be back by then.  Although I believe we will have a full roster come playoff time.  *KNOCK ON WOOD*  If not, though, we have enough power to keep our team in the playoffs.  Thankfully we have Letang back who is a very powerful defenseman.  He was out for a couple weeks, but thankfully he has made it back in time for playoffs.


My only concern would be the Pens against the Boston Bruins.  They aren't the best team, but they have a solid defense and goaltender, and they have a very well rounded team.  I can bet if we face the Bruins in the playoffs that, although we would win, it would probably go to game seven.

The last time the Pens won the Stanley Cup was in 2009.  I would love for them to win it again this year.  Personally, hockey playoffs are my favorite time of the year.


LETS GO PENS!!!

Best shootout goals in NHL history

This blog topic is a little different.  I wanted to talk about the past shootout goals that became some of the best goals in NHL history. 

For anybody that does not know, a shootout occurs after overtime if no winner has been proven.  When it takes places, each player goes head to head against the opposing team's goalie.  This is interesting to see what skill the individual player has by himself.

A shootout is one of the best things, in my opinion, about hockey in general.  I always enjoy watching a shootout take place at the end of the game.  Unless it is one of the 3 hour long games that goes on and on, but I still enjoy it regardless.  

Shootouts have changed over the years.  Compared to years and years ago, goalies now are required to wear much more padding, this makes it much harder for a shooter to score a goal, resulting in a lot less points in a shoot out.  This also adds to the skill it now takes to score those points.  

Here are the top 10 shootout goals according to ESPN.  You be the judge.  Personally, the second best goal  by Datysuk is my favorite.

For some extra fun, I think this goal scored by Alex Ovechkin is absolutely amazing!  Ovechkin is from the Washington Capitals.

CHECK THIS OUT!!  What a goal!!

Definitely my favorite goal of all time

The Pittsburgh Penguins may play the Chicago Blackhawks outside next year

There may be a chance that in March, 2014, the Pens and Blackhawks will play at Soldier Field. 

Apparently, after the canceled 2013 Winter Classic game, the NHL plans to pay back the fans with these outdoor games.

The Pens and Blackhawk game will be one of six outdoor games scheduled for 2014.

Above is the expected dates of next years games.  This was tweeted from Radio producer Lawrence Dushenski.


Pittsburgh has previously played in two outdoor games, winning the 2008 Winter Classic against the Buffalo Sabres and losing the 2011 Winter Classic to the Washington Capitals.


It isn't official yet as to what exactly will happen, but it is very exciting to see that there will be several games played outdoors, just like the Winter Classic.  Anybody that has gone to a Winter Classic game can agree that it is another level of fun at a hockey game.

The Pens and Blackhawks are two of the best and biggest teams in this shortened 2013 season.  One can only guess at how both of these teams will do next year in the regular season.




Information taken from:

http://www.pensburgh.com/2013/4/16/4232654/report-penguins-blackhawks-to-appear-in-nhl-stadium-series-at-soldier

Penguins want that cup badly!

The Pittsburgh Penguins are doing everything they can this season to get the Stanley Cup. 

Already making it on a current 13 game win streak, breaking the record, and hoping to continue that streak tonight against Winnipeg. 

The Penguins have made three very serious trades over this past week to bring in some very good players to add an edge for our team.  This was done without removing anybody from our current team roster, too. 

The newly added players are Brenden Morrow, a defenseman from the Dallas Stars, who was the captain of the team.  Douglas Murray, a defenseman from the San Jose Sharks. Also, as of yesterday the Penguins have picked up.  Jarome Iginla who was a forward on the Calgary Flames.

Although  we can only speculate how these three new additions will hold up, it's exciting to see some good players be added to an already amazing team.

Click here for new information on the recently added players.

http://www.rantsports.com/nhl/2013/04/21/new-acquisitions-finally-comfortable-in-roles-for-pittsburgh-penguins/