FSN and the Pens Want Your Opinion

As noted by Empty Netters, the Pens are asking for your opinion about their gameday productions, including TV, radio and on their website.

This is everyone's opportunity, especially in light of FSN's new GM Ted Black and Steiggy's contractual status (as detailesd by Smizik), to let them know just how sorely Mike Lange is missed on TV and how much we want him to return to his rightful throne in the Pens TV booth. So make sure you go to this website and voice your opinion about the Pens and Mike:
Fill out the survey here.

Also of note regarding Mike Lange, don't forget to vote for your favorite Langeism over at Going Five Hole. The first round is still going on through tomorrow, when round 2 voting will begin.

For all that is Vegas Black and Gold, be sure to visit the Michel Briere bracket and vote for "Great Balls of Fire" over "Well Shave My Face with a Rusty Razor". Somehow GBoF is a #16 seed and Rusty Razor is a #1. We realize that many people fill out brackets by simply picking the higher seed, which explains the unjustifiable 68%-32% lead the Rusty Razor currently holds. Let's flip that around - go vote early and often!!!

Pens Magic Number is 2

Penguins still have work to do

New Jersey defeated the New York Islanders, 2-1, in overtime Tuesday night, keeping alive the Devils' faint hopes of overtaking the Penguins for the division lead. With a win in either of their final two games against the Philadelphia Flyers or a Devils loss (in regulation or OT) in any of their final three games, the Penguins would win their first division title since 1997-98.

Bucci's Back - Offers Pens Thoughts

Bucci's new column is up at espn.com, and he offers some new insights and thoughts about the Pens:

• I went through all of the remaining games in the East and came up with these final standings:
  Pittsburgh -- 103 points
  Montreal -- 102
  Carolina -- 94
  New Jersey -- 99
  Rangers -- 98
  Ottawa -- 96
  Philadelphia -- 94
  Washington -- 93
• Dupuis has good speed and defensive awareness, which will serve the Penguins well in the postseason. He won't score many goals and may, at times, look a little afraid. The Penguins are still a little green and will have difficulty winning road games against veteran teams. That's why finishing first in the East is so important. They will be difficult to beat at home. What I also like about the Penguins is the play of Jordan Staal. He is growing into a man before our eyes. He is getting quicker and better with the puck. This is why I picked the Penguins to win the East in this space before the season -- because they have a group of good players with room to grow.
• In my eyes, the only thing the Penguins gave up for Hossa was a first-round pick. Everything else was gray matter sprayed with Axe body spray. Getting Hossa for that, paying him for two months, and then seeing how he fits with the talent and culture of your team is far more intelligent than blindly giving him a six-year, $40 million contract in the summer. If I am the Penguins, I offer Hossa six years at $36 million. If he says no, let him walk. That negotiation would take five minutes. Do you want to be a part of a perennial power where everyone takes a little less than they could get on the open market and play with the game's best playmaker AND make $6 million a year for six years? No? Later, dude.
• Malkin has talent dripping from his ear holes. Ovechkin has that, and a spirit that envelops an arena. They are different players and different people. I also think Ovechkin would explode in the playoffs. I'm a little concerned at how Malkin will react -- during last season's playoff series against Ottawa, he had no goals in five games. He is a year older and the Penguins won't be playing against a Stanley Cup finalist in the first round this season, but I do think it is something worth monitoring.
  

Pens Extend Atlantic Lead - Extremely Sour Grapes Emanating From NYC

From the NYC media:
I guess I get why Sidney Crosby gets the benefit of the doubt. On one level, I even believe it's somewhat deserved. After all, if there is anything that should be rewarded in hockey it's when the most talented player on the ice outhustles everybody else. And whatever you may say about Sid the Kid (and I'm sure you Rangers fans have plenty of choice words right about now), you must admit that he works as hard or harder than anybody on the sheet - including the guys who are only in the NHL because of their work ethic. That said, what I don't get is how the hard-working and utterly honest men who referee NHL games can repeatedly be duped by the same maneuver - you know, that fling back of the head in mock horror in reaction to an opponent's stick that didn't come close to striking it. Like, say, the tap to the hip that Scott Gomez gave Crosby, drawing that head flop and a high-sticking penalty in today's third period.

But even more mystifying is how Jaromir Jagr could have begun his career in Pittsburgh, developed into a superstar here and never learned the diving and face-clutching and horrified equipment shedding that has been part and parcel of Pens hockey ever since Mario Lemieux decided to shame the league into enforcing its obstruction penalties by embarrassing all officials who didn't do so.

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/rangers/2008/03/jagr-failed-pens-acting-classe.html

This reaction is so outlandish and whiny, it's beyond dignifying a reaction to.

Sarge Gets Some Love

It's coming in from all precincts this morning. Quietly have another superb year, or at least not as disastrous as his Penguin debut, Sergei Gonchar is getting mention as a Norris candidate. Not a winner, but a candidate. And when you think about how bad some of the Pens defensemen have been this year (Whitney, Sydor, Orpik early), Sarge's season is even more impressive.

• The Tribune-Review's Rob Rossi thinks "Pens' Gonchar among elite defensemen"
• The PG's Shelly Anderson says "Teammates can't forget Gonchar's 2-way brilliance"
• Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal notes:
  

  Nicklas Lidstrom is going to win his sixth Norris trophy, but Sergei Gonchar may finish in the top three. The Penguins defenceman has been maligned for years for his play away from the puck, but this year he's been very good. He might deserve more praise than Zdeno Chara in Boston, or Brian Campbell before he was traded from Buffalo to San Jose. "He matches up against the other team's best players every night. I think his game has gone to another level there," said Penguins GM Ray Shero. "And he's second in defence scoring (61 points to Lidstrom's 66). He's a pretty quiet guy (Evgeni Malkin's translator and landlord in Pittsburgh) but he's been terrific for us (plus-13).
  

• Real GM Hockey puts Sarge in his final 3.