I have to say that Rexall place was a little somber last night. The surprising thing for me was how many people were there with Pens jerseys on. Unfortunately i forgot my camera (along with my wallet) at home making my night a little less enjoyable. As soon as the Pens hit the ice for warn-up they got more cheers than the home team which i found surprising. But i have to say watching the Pens warm up is a treat because i have never seen a warm-up like that before and even before game time i was excited to see them play. The olympic torch relay stopped in Edmonton and the little presentation featuring some former and current olympians was and added treat. Made me go out and order my Drew Doughty team canada jersey. I know why not get a Crosby jersey. Sorry.

But now for the first period was kinda of a wash and the Oilers fans didn't start getting into the game till the double minors were called at the end of the first period. An i was spending most of my time trying to ignore the attractive women sitting next to me that wouldn't stop talking. But by the end of the first I had her blocked out and focused more on the game. But with only 7 combined shots all period it wasn't exciting hockey. The highlight of the period for me however was the first Penguins PK where Eaton lost his glove trying to stop a shot from the side of the net. The play continued and he blocked another shot from the point gloveless. Way to sacrifice the body for the team.

The 2nd however started off well if you an oilers fan. So close to killing a 5 on 3 with 13 seconds left on the kill the oilers put one in the an the place just exploded. I sank in my seat a little after that one. But play continued and the Pens kept on applying pressure on the oilers until Rupp went off for boarding. Giving The Oilers their 3rd PP of the game. And yet again after another great kill by the pens the oilers get one late in the PP and its 2-0 oil. I sink a little further into my seat. The Pens came close to cutting that lead down however when Billy G came in the break away but he was stoned twice but the rookie net-minder. There was a chance of the oilers to make their lead 3-0 when Dustin "Beer Fridge" Penner (who me and my brother started calling Beer Fridge during the game, Man is he big) came in the the break away and MAF come up with a brilliant poke check to save the day. As the period was coming to and end Robert Nilsson was coming hard to the net and ran over MAF, cat like MAF pounces on him and starts laying into him much to my surprise. The oiler fans were not happy with the calls think MAF should have been the only one called. But oh well.

Then i heard the quote of the night from and edmonton fan. "If the Pens score within 5 minutes of the 3rd we're F#$%ed." And sure enough thats what happened. It was all the 3rd line here on in with TK getting one for the Pens 03:18 into the third period and all i heard was a collective sigh from all the oiler fans like they already knew it was over. A few minutes later Cooke of all people pots one in the net and the home fans were done for the night. They were done of the night and you could tell the place was quite except for the guy running around with the drum yelling "lets go Oilers!" but to no luck. The final nail in the coffin was on a really lucky bounce off Dupes on a centering pass by stall. But what the hell i'll take it. The last 10 minutes were full of hums and haws by the hometown fans but they were out of gas. All in all it was a great night. My first live ever Pens game and they came out with the win. Made me and my brother talk of making a trip to Pittsburgh to catch a game at mellon before they retire the old girl. Sorry for not getting Pics.

the Pens are the 2009 stanley cup champs and it it well deserved. It was a hard road but they made it to overcome all odds the final thing for me to do is post my playoff beard in it many forms. Go Pens Go. 

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The immortal Commish 

If you didn't catch the lastest news please let me inform you. The midget a.k.a Bettman has stated that he would rather see the Yotes be moved to Winnipeg than Hamilton, stating that the newer arena would better suit an NHL team. He's more than likely using this excuse to cover his true motive. The likelihood of the team moving for the 09-10 season is unlikely. Either way Balsillie is willing to keep the team in the desert for one more season, but the NHL will cover any losses (I heard this on the NHL network and was too lazy to look for the article to back it up). 

The Article also states:

His sworn statement was one of several documents submitted to the Arizona bankruptcy court by Moyes's lawyers on Friday. In one filing, the NHL is accused of looking out for its own interests rather than those of the creditors who would be paid if Jim Balsillie's US$212.5-million bid to purchase the team was allowed to go through.

The only thing I can think of is he wants to protect the markets for the Sabres and the Leafs. I don't see the Leafs suffering any (even if the team was moved in next door) but the Sabres fan base has quite a few Canadians who jump the border to support the Sabres. 

Also speaking of supporting a team, there are only about 500 in the desert who support the Yotes. I am no mathematician but 500 isn't a large number when you're speakin' business. The city of Winnipeg also had a rally but the entire city showed up to that one. Something like 30,000 people to keep the team in Winnipeg. I'm just taking TSN's word on it.

Either way how this goes down the Yotes have only one more season before it dies in the desert. Lets make it a good one and go out with a bang. Or am I getting a little ahead of myself?

After the story broke last night it was too tempting not to do a write-up, even though it doesn't concern the Pens. The man planning to purchase the team is Jim Balsillie, owner of Research in Motion. He made his intentions known in a media release on on Tuesday which confirmed that a $212.5 million (US) offer was on the table to purchase the team.  One condition of the purchase was that Balsillie would relocate the franchise to an unspecified region in Southern Ontario. There is a not so flashy website which makes me think the offer is a joke. 

Yes Ontario. It already has two teams. Can it support another one? Even in a province that has the population of most US States? It is a huge hockey market and Balsillie has already sold out season tickets in Hamilton Ontario when he tried to purchase the Nashville Predators (thats better). Will Bettman let the team be relocated though? Bettman had 10 years to sell hockey to curtain areas in the states with some minor success. In these areas you're fighting with sports that have been in the area longer like the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NCAA (which has some of the best basketball IMO, and I don't like basketball). In Canada the only competition is the CFL (Canadian Football League, which only has 8 teams) and maybe Curling (yes it is a sport that Canadians actually take seriously) 

The solution in my opinion is the NHL has to have a change of the guard and let go of Bettman and bring in some new blood.  There was also an interesting article on Alexander Medvedev, the owner of the KHL, who said, "It's a very strange situation when real hockey (cities) like Quebec don't have an NHL team". Yes Quebec City had a team and lost it. It was a new owner's choice to move the team to a new location (which Bettman made really easy for him to do) after the team was sold. But why is Bettman making it so hard for Balsillie to buy the Yotes and move them to Canada. Maybe the NHL should look into testing these unproven markets with AHL teams to get the area use to the idea of hockey in the area so there is less chance of loosing major coin. 

I would love to hear everyones thought's on this one.

i know this isn't directly related to the penguins but the firing of carbo will effect the tight race for those last 4 playoff spots. which is a little to crowded for my liking. with all the coaching changes around the NHL this year. 7 in total i think and their effects on those teams it is safe to assume that the canadians will play harder to solidify a playoff spot. but the kicker is it will be gainey behind the bench. i though the GM to coach move only worked for the devils. if anything i think this move will harm the team more than anything making the pens push a little easier. and with the panthers, canes and rangers playing well as of late that push won't be getting any easier.  i'd like to see how some of you weigh in on this.