Pens gameday; Road Trip - Confluence Style !!!!

OK, I'll admit, there won't be any trips to a sperm bank, or jumping a closed bridge, but we look to have a great time today as we head down to Raleigh to meet up with my good buddy
Pojo Risin and head to the RBC Center for the long-awaited matchup between Brooks Orpik and Erik Cole, and oh yeah, the rest of the Pens and Canes will be there as well. Five rows from center ice, just to the right of the Canes' penalty box (which should be well occupied tonight).

To their credit, both teams are downplaying the "revenge factor", the Canes stressing discipline, the Pens desiring just to get it over with.

Give me a frickin' break.

Anyone who has watched hockey for any amount of time knows that this is going to be one very rough game. The Canes fans alone are treating this like it's Ali-Frazier. Not only for Orpik/Cole, but let's not forget that bruising hit that Armstrong put on Letowski.

But I have a feeling that Orpik won't be much of a fighter tonight. He's still very sore from his broken wrist, so while I don't think he'll do the 'ol turtle routine, its not like he's going to be throwing haymakers though. I'm sure that Thierren will put Cairns and Roy in the lineup for those matters. Maybe even some other muckers will jump in the frays, like Armstrong or Talbot. It definitely appears to be a very entertaining night.

The game most assuredly will be a sellout, granted mind you, with up to 5,000 Pens fans. The Raleigh-Charlotte area, much like the D.C. region, is filled with transplanted 'Burghers, and us Pens fans always make our presence felt there. One good barometer that I see when I go there, and I think this is the 6th Pens/Canes game I've been down there, is the huge crowd that surrounds the Pens entrance to the ice before their pre-game skate. Other than that, the Canes fans have always been very hospitable towards "the enemy fans".

Not like when I attended Game 7 of the 2003 playoff series between Philly and Toronto in Philly, when taking a leak between periods, I saw Flyer fans pummelling unsuspecting Leaf fans with Sundin jerseys, who were actively pissing, in the back of the head.

I'll give everyone a full report on Sunday.

Let's Go Pens !!!!