Game 1 is Tonight!

Let's Get It On! What can be said that hasn't already been said other than to acknowledge that this is a wonderful time of year. The Pens spoiled their fans throughout the 90s but the early 2000s brought us back to reality and last year's brief flirtation only whetted the appetite for playoff hockey. The Igloo will be rockin tonight.

To help you pass the time at work or wherever you are until 7, here are a few interesting items:

• Some yahoo named Don Brennan at the Ottawa Sun thinks:
  "Crosby's got a bad RIGHT ankle? How will it stand up to a two-hander? The Senators have to find out. As much as they will be looking for timely goaltending and scoring, the Senators need somebody to emerge as a modern-day Bobby Clarke. Maybe hockey historian Jason Spezza can explain to his teammates what the former Flyers captain did to Russian star Valeri Kharlamov when the latter had a bad ankle in the 1972 Summit Series."
• It's Crosby's LEFT ankle.
• The Toronto Globe and Mail's David Shoalts thinks the Pens learned from last year and will be ready.
• So does ESPN's Scott Burnside.
• Bucci's Back with his season review and playoff previews.
  
• Optometrist who prompted Fleury to switch from yellow to white pads is from Ottawa.
• Empty Netters has compiles its own stellar playoff preview, videos, and tidbits.
• James Mirtle offers his prediction of Pens in 6 at Fanhouse.
• We've said it before: Marc Andre-Fleury is the key for the Pens. The Toronto Sun thinks he is the 12th best out of 16 goalies in the playoffs, while ESPN likes him a lot more.
• Can't get a ticket? You can still battle the crowds and traffic to watch the game.
• Don't forget to vote in the second round of Going Five Hole's Mike Lange Quote Tournament! Our current favorite (Great Balls of Fire inexplicably lost in rd 1) is: "He hasn't scored since the 8th grade picnic!".
• Do you know the very first Penguin?
  
• Calgary Sun's Eric Francis supports Yahoo Brennan's philosophy for the Flames vs the Sharks, just in a little less inflammatory way.

Let's Go Pens!