Penguins Run to the Stanley Cup

The Penguins had a crazy year that ended up with a Stanley Cup and it couldn't have ended up any better. They had to go through the Rangers, Capitals, Lightning and Sharks to win it all. For the first two games of the first round against the Rangers, Jeff Zatkoff started the game as a backup for the Penguins and won game one, but lost game 2. In game 3 rookie Matt Murray who has basically no NHL experience started for the Pens and only allowed one goal that game. In game 4 Murray got his first NHL shutout in a 5-0 win with 31 saves. The Penguins ended that series at home in game 5 when they won 6-3. The Rangers in that series looked totally unprepared, but the Penguins came ready to play at the very get go. For round 2 the Pens had to play the Presidents Trophy winner Washington Capitals which proved to be not as bad as expected. This was also Eric Fehr's former team so it was obviously special to play them. Game one was a 4-3 overtime loss with Capital's forward T.J Oshie getting a hat trick. Game 2 was a close game, but a win for the Penguins with a score of 2-1. Game 3 was a home game for the Pens while the series was tied so it was important to win at least one of the two games at home. Murray faced 49 shots while only allowing 2 goals while the Penguins had less, so he really stole game 5 form the Capitals. Game 4 was a close one that had the Penguins taking it 3-2 in another overtime. The Capitals were facing elimination at this point so they played really hard in game 5 and emerged victorious with a 3-1 win. Game 6 was a memorable one that had to Penguins win 4-3 in overtime on Nick Bonino's memorable overtime goal. That series really boosted the confidence for the Pens for they took out their rival Capitals once again in the second round. Now the Penguins had to play the former Eastern Conference champion the Tamp Bay Lightning. Game one was a 3-1 loss, game 2 was a 3-2 win, game 3 was a 4-2 win, game 4 was a 4-3 loss, game 5 was a 4-3 loss in overtime, and game 6 had the Penguins facing elimination for the first time this year, but the came out on top 5-2. Game 7 was a do or die for the Penguins and they won 2-1 with Bryan Rust scoring the only two goals for Pittsburgh. The Penguins would have to take the final test against the San Jose Sharks who miraculously made it to the Stanley Cup Finals. Game one was up and down, but had Nick Bonino give the Penguins a 3-2 lead late into the game. Game 2 was all Penguins with Conor Sheary winning the game in overtime. Game 3 proved that the series was far from over when the Penguins lost 3-2 in overtime and instantly gave the Sharks the momentum going into game 4. Game 4 was the Penguins once again winning the game, but this time it was 3-1 in San Jose. Game 5 gave the Penguins the chance to win the Stanley Cup at home for the first time in their history, but Sharks goalie Martin Jones made 44 saves and prevented the Pens from winning it at home. 4-2 was the final score. Game 6 was close, but had Brian Dumoulin, Kris Letang, and Patric Hornqvist all score goals in the finals game of the 2015-2016 NHL season. Through all of this Sidney Crosby won the Conn Smyth trophy and everyone in Pittsburgh can now celebrate with the Stanley Cup. Did Crosby deserve the Conn Smyth? Are the Penguins going to repeat as champions? Is this the beginning of a dynasty? stay tuned....

Penguins Win Stanley Cup

THE PITTSBURGH PENGUINS HAVE WON THE 2016 STANLEY CUP. They beat the Sharks 3-1 in San Jose and have won their first Stanley Cup since 2009. Sidney Crosby surprisingly won the Conn Smyth trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs. He also passed the Stanley Cup to Trevor Daley who broke his ankle during the playoffs and he passed it to Pascal Dupuis who had a blood clot that ended his career during the season. For the Sharks, they have made an amazing run to the Finals that ended 2 games away to the Stanley Cup. 18 year Sharks Patrick Marleau sadly did not win the Cup and this could be his only chance to win the Stanley Cup unless he plays somewhere else in the future or wins it here in San Jose. Brian Dumoulin, Kris Letang, and Patric Hornqvist were the scorer for the Penguins with Hornqvist's being the empty netter. Logan Couture was the only one who scored for the Sharks this game. The Penguins will be having their Stanley Cup, parade soon and the Sharks will just have to hit the golf course. I will be putting out more info tomorrow in my Penguins season review that should come out tomorrow morning. Could the Sharks have won the game? Did Sidney Crosby deserve the Conn Smyth? Will the Penguins win it next year again? stay tuned....

Stanley Cup Finals Game 5

It ain't over till *** *** **** *****. The Sharks beat the Penguins 4-2 at Pittsburgh and got their first lead of the series in the first 2 minutes. There were 4 goals in the first 5:06 which is a new NHL record. This game the Sharks' super stars finally came to play. Brent Burns scored 1 minute and 4 seconds into the game when he had the puck behind the net and skated out to the bottom of the left circle and turned and fired it in. Matt Murray went down way to early on the shot which is why Burns was able to score that specific shot. Logan Couture got the next one 2 minutes and 53 seconds in when he deflected Justin Braun's shot from the point in front of Matt Murray. Evgeni Malkin scored 4 minutes and 44 second in when Phil Kessel passed it to him from the other side of the ice and Malkin from the bottom of the right circle shot it at the net, but it deflected off of Justin Braun's skate and went in. Carl Hagelin tied it up when Nick Bonino got the puck and shot it from the top of the left circle and Hagelin deflected it in. Melker Karlsson gave the Sharks the lead again when he got the puck in between the two circle and snapped the puck that hit Murray's glove and went in. This was all in the first period which was the only period with goals except for Joe Pavelski's empty netter and the end of the game. Overall the game was close because of Martin Jones which he stopped 44 shots and Murray stopped 19. Game 6 is in San Jose on Sunday at 8 PM ET. Will Murray start game 6? Can the Sharks force a game 7? Will Martin Jones continue to play like this? stay tuned...

Stanley Cup Finals Game 4

The Penguins are now one win away from winning it all after beating the Sharks 3-1 in San Jose. The Sharks have to step it up in order to keep this thing alive and get more offense. Ian Cole got the first one when he got the rebound off of Kessel's shot and snapped it in the net. Evgeni Malkin got his first of the series when Kessel's hard pass to him who was at the side of the net hit Justin Braun and then himself and went in. Melker Karlsson got the Sharks within one when a rebound got hit to him and he tucked it in the net with a wrist shot. Eric Fehr scored with 2:02 to go in the third when he got a pass from Hegelin while skating in the zone and he got in between the circles and fired it home. That would be it as the Penguins won 3-1 and have 3-1 series lead with a chance to clinch t home in front of their fans. The Sharks need more offence as they have only 7 goals in 4 game which just isn't enough for more than one win. Once again Martin Jones played amazingly with no support, and Mat Murray played amazingly as well and got offensive support. Can the Sharks get more offense? Can the Penguins clinch the cup in game 5? Can the Sharks keep their season alive? stay tuned....

Stanley Cup Finals Game 3

The Sharks have saved themselves from being down 3-0 when they beat the Penguins 3-2 in overtime in their first Stanley Cup Finals home game and their first win in the series. The Penguins struck first when Ben Lovejoy got the puck and slapped it from the point while the puck was on edge so it was dipping while it was in the air. The Sharks tied it up when Justin Braun used his amazing wrist shot from the point and it went in without Matt Murray even seeing it. Braun at this point continues to be the only offense for the Sharks. Patric Hornqvist gave the Penguins the lead when Ben Lovejoy shot in from the point and he tipped it in. Joel Ward tied it about halfway through the third period when he slapped it from the point on a 3 on 2 rush. Towards the end both teams came really close to getting the lead, but it went to over time instead. Joonas Donskoi won it with 7:42 left in the third when he got the puck behind the net and skated it to the bottom of the left circle and turned around and shot it top shelf. The Sharks were once again outshot badly, but this time it was 42-26, but Martin Jones continues to play amazingly and the Sharks this game finally supported him with offence. Game 4 is on June 6th at 8 PM ET which could be the biggest game of the series since the Penguins can take a 3-1 series lead or the Sharks can tie the series at 2. The game will be played at San Jose. Will the Sharks continue to get this offence? Can Martin Jones continue to play well? Who will take game 4? stay tuned....

Panthers New Uniforms

The Florida Panthers have showed off their new uniforms and they look better than I expected. The home uniforms is red that has a white stripe that's outlined with gold running through it. The alternated logo is a panther on top of a modified version of the state flag. The new logo on the home jersey says 'Panthers' is has a panthers sticking it's head to the left side. The road uniforms has the same logo except it says Florida. The logo overall looks like a soccer logo, but it looks nice with the uniforms themselves.  The road uniforms are mainly white and have a red stripe that's outlined with gold running across it. On both jerseys they have the players' number on it and the numbers and name on the back on the home is white with a gold outline, and on the road is blue with a gold outline. This is a totally different look for the Panthers and isn't all that bad. Maybe in the future they'll release an alternate uniform that can be used as well at home games. What do you think of the uniforms? Will the Panthers keep these? Will they do good in the new uniforms? stay tuned....

Stanley Cup Finals Game 2

Game 2 was yet another Penguins win, but this time it was in overtime on Conor Sheary's goal. The first period was scoreless, but had a lot of close chances in it. The second period had the Penguins strike first when Phil Kessel scored on a pass from Nick Bonino across the goal with Roman Polak trying to block the pass. The game was played close in the third period, but once again a late goal was scored and his time it was for the Sharks. Justin Braun tied it with a slap shot that hit the post and went in from the top of the circle, and all this happened with 4:05 to go in the third. Conor Sheary won it when Crosby won the faceoff to Letang who passed it to him and he shot it home. The Penguins keep finding ways to win and will now have a chance to make it 3-0 in the series with a win in San Jose. The Sharks have only 3 goals in the two game s so far and need to get more sustained offence. Martin Jones has played amazingly for the Sharks since the Penguins have badly out shot the Sharks every game. Matt Murray has been playing amazingly as well since he only allowed 3 goals this series. Game 3 is on June 4th and will be on at 8PM ET. Can the Sharks get some offence? Can the Penguins keep up the amazing play? Who will take game 3? stay tuned....