tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353188862024-03-07T04:15:58.898-05:00The ConfluenceHasty, harebrained and quite often hot-headed opinions on all things related to Pittsburgh sports, where the Allegheny and Monongahela meet to form the Ohio...Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08517937579047958866noreply@blogger.comBlogger222125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35318886.post-75922924330568321712007-03-03T15:11:00.001-05:002008-11-27T21:57:34.754-05:00The Confluence has moved to Kukla's Korner, please update your bookmarks...Friends,<br /><br />I have moved to Kukla's Korner for all of my Penguins posts. The new URL is <a href="http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/tc/">http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/tc/</a>, and the RSS feed is <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheConfluenceOnKK">http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheConfluenceOnKK</a>.Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08517937579047958866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35318886.post-6001082273742086952007-03-01T22:11:00.000-05:002007-03-01T22:12:02.048-05:00Pens 4, Rangers 3 (SO); Get Shorty….<a href="http://mvn.com/nhl-penguins/2007/03/01/pens-4-rangers-3-so-get-shorty/">http://mvn.com/nhl-penguins/2007/03/01/pens-4-rangers-3-so-get-shorty/</a>Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08517937579047958866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35318886.post-2858509388250764002007-03-01T17:21:00.001-05:002007-03-01T17:21:50.132-05:00Pens Gameday; Debut for the tougher Penguins….<a href="http://mvn.com/nhl-penguins/2007/03/01/pens-gameday-debut-for-the-tougher-penguins/">http://mvn.com/nhl-penguins/2007/03/01/pens-gameday-debut-for-the-tougher-penguins/</a>Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08517937579047958866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35318886.post-14059203502384609382007-02-28T18:23:00.001-05:002007-02-28T18:23:45.132-05:00Devils 1, Pens 0; Marty, Marty, Marty….<a href="http://mvn.com/nhl-penguins/2007/02/28/devils-1-pens-0-marty-marty-marty/">http://mvn.com/nhl-penguins/2007/02/28/devils-1-pens-0-marty-marty-marty/</a>Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08517937579047958866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35318886.post-52765823406265044922007-02-27T17:06:00.000-05:002007-02-27T17:24:16.888-05:00Pens Gameday; Time to refocus, boys…<a href="http://mvn.com/nhl-penguins/2007/02/27/pens-gameday-time-to-refocus-boys/">http://mvn.com/nhl-penguins/2007/02/27/pens-gameday-time-to-refocus-boys/</a>Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08517937579047958866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35318886.post-66135724083024107072007-02-27T17:05:00.001-05:002007-02-27T17:05:54.087-05:00Trade Deadline passes; A couple of blasts, followed by a thud….<a href="http://mvn.com/nhl-penguins/2007/02/27/trade-deadline-passes-a-couple-of-blasts-followed-by-a-thud/">http://mvn.com/nhl-penguins/2007/02/27/trade-deadline-passes-a-couple-of-blasts-followed-by-a-thud/</a>Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08517937579047958866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35318886.post-62516545346786847892007-02-26T21:03:00.000-05:002007-02-26T21:04:16.400-05:00Fasten your seatbelts, 19 hours and counting, and it’s wild already…<a href="http://mvn.com/nhl-penguins/2007/02/26/fasten-your-seatbelts-19-hours-and-counting-and-its-wild-already/">http://mvn.com/nhl-penguins/2007/02/26/fasten-your-seatbelts-19-hours-and-counting-and-its-wild-already/</a>Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08517937579047958866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35318886.post-20856264759235399792007-02-25T20:33:00.000-05:002007-02-25T20:34:01.213-05:00Bolts 5, Pens 1; Another horrible performance in Tampa Bay…<a href="http://mvn.com/nhl-penguins/2007/02/25/bolts-5-pens-1-another-horrible-performance-in-tampa-bay/">http://mvn.com/nhl-penguins/2007/02/25/bolts-5-pens-1-another-horrible-performance-in-tampa-bay/</a>Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08517937579047958866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35318886.post-90916540342861686282007-02-25T13:59:00.001-05:002007-02-25T13:59:48.314-05:00Pens Gameday; Gawking needs to stop for a Pens win…<a href="http://mvn.com/nhl-penguins/2007/02/25/pens-gameday-gawking-needs-to-stop-for-a-pens-win/">http://mvn.com/nhl-penguins/2007/02/25/pens-gameday-gawking-needs-to-stop-for-a-pens-win/</a>Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08517937579047958866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35318886.post-13141879206149708742007-02-24T18:39:00.000-05:002007-02-24T18:40:23.356-05:00Thibault to start again vs. Bolts on Sunday…<a href="http://mvn.com/nhl-penguins/2007/02/24/thibault-to-start-again-vs-bolts-on-sunday/">http://mvn.com/nhl-penguins/2007/02/24/thibault-to-start-again-vs-bolts-on-sunday/</a>Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08517937579047958866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35318886.post-24426276850752267892007-02-24T11:19:00.000-05:002007-02-24T11:20:31.598-05:00A plethora of Penguins rumors are heating up…<a href="http://mvn.com/nhl-penguins/2007/02/24/a-plethora-of-penguins-rumors-are-heating-up/">http://mvn.com/nhl-penguins/2007/02/24/a-plethora-of-penguins-rumors-are-heating-up/</a>Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08517937579047958866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35318886.post-42233027874259232432007-02-23T13:41:00.000-05:002007-02-23T13:42:12.512-05:00Pens 2, Panthers 1 (OT); Rewriting recent history<a href="http://mvn.com/nhl-penguins/2007/02/23/pens-2-panthers-1-ot-rewriting-recent-history/">http://mvn.com/nhl-penguins/2007/02/23/pens-2-panthers-1-ot-rewriting-recent-history/</a>Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08517937579047958866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35318886.post-74067187412006165452007-02-23T12:50:00.000-05:002007-02-23T13:04:12.818-05:00The Confluence is moving, for the Pens anyway...I mentioned a few days ago that there would be some minor changes coming.<br /><br />Well, now I can let you know what those are.<br /><br />I have graciously been offered the position as Penguins blogger at the Most Valuable Network, or MVN.<br /><br />The link for my site there is <a href="http://mvn.com/nhl-penguins/">http://mvn.com/nhl-penguins/</a>. I still have some fixing up to do over there, but I'll get it up and running smooth within the next few days.<br /><br />You'll notice that the name of my site there is called "The Confluence of the Three Rivers". I did that to avoid any potential legal mumbo-jumbo that could arise with the same site name.<br /><br />Just kidding, I did it to confuse the shit out of you.<br /><br />So what will happen from now on for my Penguins posts is that I will make the post at MVN, and will have it's subject with a link to MVN on this site.<br /><br />My Pirates and Steelers posts will NOT be affected at all with this move, at least right now. Once they see that I'm the Pens blogosphere's version of Mickey Spillane, maybe I'll start doing Bucs and Stiller articles too, but that's for a later time.<br /><br />So please add <a href="http://mvn.com/nhl-penguins/">http://mvn.com/nhl-penguins/</a> to your bookmarks, and don't delete this one.<br /><br />Once again, thanks to everyone who's made these first five months fun as hell to do, and with hopefully the Pens playoffs on the horizon, I will counterbalance the doldrums of the Bucs' 15th consecutive losing season.<br /><br />Just a hunch.Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08517937579047958866noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35318886.post-72868028451667522852007-02-22T17:12:00.000-05:002007-02-22T17:27:53.401-05:00Pens Gameday; Will history repeat itself ?? Is "Smoke" coming back to the 'Burgh ??The Pens visit southern Florida tonight for what has historically been a lousy experience in meeting the Florida Panthers.<br /><br />Just something about facing the Panthers, no matter how good or bad they've been in the past, they've just had the Pens' number.<br /><br />Jokinen needs to pull a hammy in the pregame skate, not that I wish harm upon him.<br /><br />But I wouldn't shed a tear if it would happen.<br /><br />That goes for the Lightning on Saturday night.<br /><br />As most Pens know by now, Thibault gets the start in goal tonight.<br /><br />I would expect a better defensive effort tonight, it's been widely reported in the press that Therrien has been hammering home the defensive drills for the past few days.<br /><br />---------------------------------<br /><br />Got some hot rumors going around today (no, not simply Eklund, a few other places as well) that the Pens are close to reacquiring former Pen Bryan "Smoke" Smolinski. I have no idea who is being offered as going to Chicago in the deal.<br /><br />In addition, I'm also reading that the deal to move badass George Laraque to the Pens is heating up as well.<br /><br />Who knows how close to authentic these deals end up to be (I'd like to see some D-man rumors, although I saw some Brent Sopel rumors a couple of days ago). But I think it's pretty apparent that Ray Shero is not going to stand put through Tuesday's trade deadline.<br /><br />LET'S GO PENS !!!!Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08517937579047958866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35318886.post-52318513932995431512007-02-21T20:15:00.000-05:002007-02-22T17:24:36.980-05:00Therrien benches Fleury for Panthers gameAs we've all seen this year, Michel Therrien is not a shy man when it comes to making changes.<br /><br />Well, just to show everyone that he's an equal opportunity unemployer, Therrien benched the slumping Marc-Andre Fleury for Thursday night's game in Florida, and Jocelyn Thibault gets the start.<br /><br />But really, when you come to think about it, considering how lousy the Pens have played in the state of Florida (that being 1-17 at both Florida and Tampa Bay in recent years), it may not even matter who's in net both tomorrow or Saturday nights.<br /><br />However, in a "pick your poison" point of view, I guess that I'd want Fleury back in net for the Tampa game anyways.<br /><br />Whatever the goalie lineup, the Pens are gonna have to get right back up and dust themselves off after the Islanders loss. The schedule gets no easier after the Pens get back from Florida, as they're only home for one game vs. Jersey next Tuesday before going back to back on the road at the Rangers next Thursday and Carolina next Friday.<br /><br />The Carolina game next Friday will be <em>The Confluence's</em> third road trip of the year, the second to Raleigh. It sure as hell looks like since the Pens will be at MSG the night before, I'll be sure to see Thibault against the Canes again. Hopefully it won't be a similar outcome like the last 6-2 debacle.Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08517937579047958866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35318886.post-57770339508929836942007-02-21T19:53:00.000-05:002007-02-22T17:25:51.265-05:00Bucs full squad workouts begin; Hope springs eternal...The Buccos took the field today for their first full squad workouts of the year.<br /><br />Of course, during the 40 day or so adventure commonly known as spring training, you're gonna see a lot of different combinations of players, playing all kinds of positions.<br /><br />Most of which you don't give a second thought to, until at least mid-March anyways.<br /><br />But perhaps it was a little more than interesting to see that for the entire day Jose Castillo was taking ground balls at third base as opposed to second base, which was where Freddy Sanchez was parked.<br /><br />Should anyone read anything into it ?? Well, in my opinion, the only way you <em>should</em> read anything into it is if you're looking at the positioning of Castillo at third strictly as a psychological move on Jim Tracy's part.<br /><br />And nothing more.<br /><br />Hey, it couldn't hurt, ya know ?<br /><br />In the past 45 days or so, Castillo has been called out by his double play partner and has been told by his manager that he must beat out Jose Bautista to keep his starting job.<br /><br />Maybe a little more motivation is gained by sticking him at third base on the first day of practice.<br /><br />Besides that, I sure hope all of the soap opera bullshit between Laverne and Shirley is put to rest.Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08517937579047958866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35318886.post-4191866716013328492007-02-20T19:00:00.000-05:002007-02-22T17:26:25.061-05:00Think that Shero should "stay the course" at the deadline ?? Read this first....Those who think the Pens' loss yesterday in Long Island was just an aberration, a bump in the road, or whatever clique you want to throw at them, take a quick glance at the following stats and tell me if you think that Ray Shero should keep the team as is (as a lot of fans have speculate), or if they should make some moves.<br /><br />Even though fans have been steadily clamoring for a right-handed D-man all year, they should be yelling from their rooftops now. Since the streak started on Jan. 13th, check these stats out;<br /><br />Jan. 13th at Philly: Blew 3-1 2nd period lead in 5-3 win<br />Jan. 18th at Boston: Blew 2-0 2nd period and 4-3 3rd period leads in 5-4 shootout loss<br />Feb. 1st vs. Montreal: Blew 4-2 3rd period lead in 5-4 shootout win<br />Feb. 8th at Philly: Blew 4-2 3rd period lead in 5-4 shootout win<br />Feb. 10th at Toronto: Blew 3-0 2nd period lead in 6-5 overtime win<br />Feb. 14th vs. Chicago: Blew 3-1 2nd period lead in 5-4 shootout win<br />Feb. 19th at Isles: Blew 3-1 2nd period and 5-4 3rd period leads in 6-5 loss<br /><br />The defense's play has been so poor that I'm reading fans' pleading for the quick return of career minor leaguer Alain Nasreddine. Are you people serious ??<br /><br />And those defensive gems don't exactly help out the goalie's stats, as witnessed by Fleury's dropping totals;<br /><br />At least 3 goals given up in 10 out of the last 17 games since streak started.<br />7 out of 15 games Fleury started in which his save percentage was under 90%.<br /><br />So if Shero's goal is to make the playoffs, OK sure, keep the team as is.<br /><br />And even that's not guaranteed, not at all.<br /><br />But to make noise in the playoffs, a move for a righty-Dman is a must.Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08517937579047958866noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35318886.post-33275353915472051022007-02-19T16:07:00.000-05:002007-02-22T17:26:54.809-05:00Isles 6, Pens 5; Well deserved loss....It was just a matter of time.<br /><br />Defensive lapses up the wazoo and a poor performance from MAF, including giving up the soft game-winning goal with 23 seconds to go, were enough to spell defeat for the first time in over a month today for the Pens.<br /><br />Ironically, in my view anyway, today was the first game since the Pens defeated Nashville in which I thought they were very responsible with the puck and did not make many poor passes at all.<br /><br />But defensively, the Pens played one of their worst games in quite a while. Both goals which got the Islanders back in the game within 15 seconds were caused by poor defensive coverage.<br /><br />And MAF arguably gave up 2 or 3 soft goals today.<br /><br />But let's face facts, and I've been saying it game by game for quite a while now, they've been winning games and getting points in 16 straight games, which of course for Pens fans has been fantastic, but their lack of intensity, their poor defensive play, and their mediocre goaltending lately have made them skating on thin ice for wins (no pun intended).<br /><br />It simply caught up with them today.<br /><br />And now the Pens must go to Florida on Thursday for a quick 2 game road trip, Florida being a place that has never historically been kind to the Pens.<br /><br />So the Pens must forget about this game. They must realize that this day was going to come quicker rather than later, based on their play as of late, and work on their lapses.<br /><br />Let's also not forget, the GM's are meeting now until Wednesday in Florida. While most of the "meetings" will be discussing various league issues, you can bet your ass that their will be trade talks galore as well.<br /><br />Don't be surprised if the Pens have a new teammate or two by Thursday's game in Sunrise.Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08517937579047958866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35318886.post-45223344261210519182007-02-19T10:52:00.000-05:002007-02-22T17:27:21.667-05:00Pens Gameday; No rest for the weary....This should be quite the test for the Pens.<br /><br />Not because the Islanders will be any more a difficult opponent than they usually are (although they are playing better lately).<br /><br />But because by the time the Pens and the Isles finish today's game on Long Island, the Pens will have played three games in 68 hours.<br /><br />Fortunately for the Pens, they have relatively younger legs than just about any other team, so that will no doubt assist them in getting through today's game.<br /><br />MAF will be back in goal today after Thibault filled in admirably yesterday against the Caps.<br /><br />We'll see if the Pens can continue their remarkable point streak without the aid of Sid scoring goals, which now stands at 1 goal in his last 10 games.<br /><br />LET'S GO PENS !!!Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08517937579047958866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35318886.post-41447447953352173792007-02-18T20:37:00.000-05:002007-02-18T21:03:25.494-05:00Pens 3, Caps 2; Redundancy in its true form...Is this getting absolutely ridiculous, or what ?!<br /><br />In yet another mediocre effort, the Pens did just enough to defeat the Caps Sunday afternoon with a 3-2 win.<br /><br />That's 16 straight games with a point for the Pens, with a 14-0-2 record over that stretch.<br /><br />You have to give props to the Caps. They came out strong, delivering punishing check after check. The vast majority of those were not reciprocated by the Pens.<br /><br />The Pens sure looked like they were going to blow the Caps out today, especially after the early powerplay deflection goal by Recchi.<br /><br />They quickly gave up the tying goal in the 1st, and it stayed that way until Malkin uncorked a laser from the right goal line on a one-timer to make it 2-1 in the 2nd.<br /><br />Talbot continued his strong 2nd half play by scoring on a one-timer to make it 3-1. The Caps scored with about 40 seconds remaining in the game with an empty Caps net, but that was all they could muster.<br /><br />I'm really trying not to sound like a broken record here (showing my age on that one), but I think that most knowledgeable Pens fans would concur that although the Pens continue to win, they're showing considerable chinks in the armor, so to speak.<br /><br />The Islanders are up next on Monday afternoon at 1PM.Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08517937579047958866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35318886.post-4100643158187143372007-02-17T10:31:00.000-05:002007-02-22T17:28:27.711-05:00Bucs Spring Training; Must be baseball season, another pitcher hurt<ul><li>Here we go again. The Bucs didn't even make it to the first workout of the season before they had their first pitcher injury of the season. Brad Lincoln, the Bucs' 2006 1st round draft pick, <a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07048/762889-63.stm">has what the Bucs are calling "irritation" in his right elbow</a>, and although they don't believe it to be too serious, it could force Lincoln to miss all of spring training. Great, just great.</li><li>As probably should've been expected, Japanese pitcher Masumi Kuwata, he of the whopping 83 MPH fastball, has made Bradenton look like they kidnapped Ichiro in the offseason. The Bucs' PR people have stated that <a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07046/762279-63.stm">they have issued 50 credentials for the Japanese press contingent</a>. Kuwata is expected to be headed for AAA Indianapolis.</li><li>We'll see if the weight that Jose Castillo is rumored to have lost in the offseason will relate to any reduction in bonehead plays he's made in the last couple of years.</li><li>Call me crazy, but don't the same visa delays happen EVERY year with the Central American players ?? Couldn't one time, for a change, the management and the players actually be proactive, and start these visa proceedings more in advance so that by the time they're resolved, they can actually report ON TIME ??</li><li>Neil Walker is permanently moving from catcher to third base. I'm sure Neil is a great athlete, but I have to admit I'm not very thrilled about this. As is the case with Ryan Doumit, the Bucs are too happy with Walker's defensive liabilites behind the plate, so they felt moving him to third gives him a better shot to get to the big club in a quicker timeframe. I'll believe that when I see it.</li><li>The Bucs start their spring training schedule on March 1st vs. Cincinnati, unless you count the annual slaughter vs. Manatee CC on Feb. 28th.</li></ul>Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08517937579047958866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35318886.post-64099549861068098332007-02-16T22:07:00.000-05:002007-02-16T22:28:22.337-05:00Pens 5, Devils 4; Flirting with Disaster....On behalf of all Pens fans, let me exclaim, "we'll take it".<br /><br />Another game, another game with a big lead, another game with a blow....<br /><br />Not so fast.<br /><br />The Pens combined some fortunate deflections with a less-than-Brodeur-ish effort, and then held on for dear life in defeating the Devils 5-4 in front of thousands of empty seats at the Meadowlands. The official attendance was 15,404, but obviously the weather played a part in many of those paid ticket holders staying home.<br /><br />MAF let his share of bad goals in tonight. The shot from the blue line from Zajak that went in the net off of MAF's glove was really bad.<br /><br />Sid finally got off of the schnide tonight with his 26th goal of the season when he beat Brodeur by the 5-hole.<br /><br />Next up are Ovechkin and the Caps on Sunday afternoon on NBC.Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08517937579047958866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35318886.post-18798138322569240742007-02-16T16:58:00.000-05:002007-02-16T17:18:54.230-05:00Pens Gameday; Another mediocre effort won't do tonight...You'll have to excuse me, I've been feeling like dog shit for a few days, so this may be short-winded.<br /><br />The Pens roll into the Jersey swamp tonight on that amazing 14 point game streak.<br /><br />But one thing's for sure, if the Pens play a sloppily as they have recently, they won't get close to overtime against Marty Brodeur and the Devils.<br /><br />The Devils are gonna be without a couple of their starters in Colin White and Brian Gionta. In addition, defensive forward John Madden took a nasty hit to the face with a puck the other day. Madden is expected to play, but his face was awfully swollen recently.<br /><br />With the Devils usual boring defensive style of play, it's gonna be difficult to get a win (or at least a point) without Sid having a good game. Sure, you can have Sid go pointless and win vs. the Caps, but you won't be able to do it vs. the Devils.<br /><br />Looks like MAF will be in goal again tonight, with Thibault getting a start either Sunday against the Caps, or Monday vs. the Isles.<br /><br />LET'S GO PENS !!!Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08517937579047958866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35318886.post-90423749588187780072007-02-16T16:47:00.000-05:002007-02-16T16:58:18.153-05:00Some changes coming your way....There's gonna be some changes, specificially in my Penguins posts, coming in the next few days.<br /><br />Nothing too drastic, but I'll let you know when everything's ready.Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08517937579047958866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35318886.post-86656214868700461382007-02-15T17:18:00.000-05:002007-02-15T17:59:06.022-05:00Pens 5, Blackhawks 4 (SO); By the skin of their teeth...Statistics can be a deceiving thing, ya know ?<br /><br />Certainly, the Penguins' 14 game point streak is a remarkable feat for such a young team. They've earned points in those 14 games in just about every way possible.<br /><br />They've had their share of blowouts and comebacks. They've had games in which their special teams were outstanding, as well as games in which their special teams were absolutely lousy.<br /><br />But one common demoninator remains; They've earned points in all 14 games.<br /><br />But there's one more demoninator, and this is really the reason why the Pens' streak is so remarkable;<br /><br />This team is not playing good hockey at all right now.<br /><br />Their power play is in complete "cutesy mode" right now, wanting to make the pretty pass for the one-timer.<br /><br />Which, of course, leads to 2 on 1's the other way, because the Pens don't seem to want to backcheck in their own end.<br /><br />They've completely sat back on their heels after getting 2 and 3 goal leads lately.<br /><br />Sid is starting to show a resemblence to Jan Hrdina, he's not shooting on some absolutely great scoring opportunities.<br /><br />If it weren't for the muckers, this team, instead of having home ice advantage in the 1st round of the playoffs, would still be fighting for the 8th spot.<br /><br />But, they ARE contributing, and that's a great thing.<br /><br />And let's not forget, MAF has made some incredible saves to save games late in the last several games for the Pens. That save he made on Havlat in OT was amazing.<br /><br />So I really can't believe how they're surviving playing this mediocre and not only getting points, but winning most of the games.<br /><br />Well, one thing's for sure, this type of effort won't do against Marty Brodeur and the Devils on Friday night.Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08517937579047958866noreply@blogger.com0