I think the Penguins will be good soon

[LtFinFan66]

After sucking for quite awhile now, It looks like the Pens youth movement may make things fun again for hockey fans in Pittsburgh. 18, 19, and 20 year olds
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PITTSBURGH (AP) -- A seemingly insignificant game in late October might be the night the Pittsburgh Penguins (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/clubhouse?team=pit) first gave the NHL a glimpse of its new generation of stars, one that already has the look of being very special, very soon.
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http://espn-ak.starwave.com/i/nhl/profiles/players/3737.jpg
<CENTER>Crosby</CENTER>





The Penguins defeated the Devils 4-2, and among Pittsburgh's goal-scorers were 19-year-old Sidney Crosby, 20-year-old Evgeni Malkin and 18-year-old Jordan Staal. The Pens have scored 25 goals this season, and 13 of them have been scored by players who have not yet turned 21 years of age. Meanwhile, the rest of the 20-or-youngers in the league have combined for a total of 11 goals.
• For more Elias Says, click here (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=2637799)

















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No, the Penguins aren't Mario Lemieux (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?statsId=66), Jaromir Jagr (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?statsId=35) or Ron Francis. They're Sidney Crosby (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?statsId=3737), Evgeni Malkin, Marc-Andre Fleury (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?statsId=3341) and Jordan Staal (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?statsId=3980). All are No. 1 or No. 2 draft picks, and they aren't taking long to show why.
Malkin scored a goal in his fourth consecutive game to start his career, fellow rookie Staal scored his third goal in two games and the Penguins beat the New Jersey Devils (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/clubhouse?team=njd) 4-2 on Tuesday night.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=261024016

[Ebenezer]

yeah, it was nice of the NHL to ensure that Mario Le-Crybaby got to draft Crosby...watch - Crosby is the next one to get all the protection from the league.

[LtFinFan66]

gotta take care of the superstars. How did the NHL make sure they got to draft Crosby:idunno:

[Ebenezer]

after the lockout the league held a behind closed door drawing to see who would get the pick...amazing that the team with the biggest crybaby owner (and who is owed millions of $$) would end up with the #1.

[LtFinFan66]

Oh. Didn't realize Mario was a big crybaby owner. Haven't really paid attention to hockey much lately

[Ebenezer]

Oh. Didn't realize Mario was a big crybaby owner. Haven't really paid attention to hockey much lately
Mario has been a cry baby since he stepped into the league...still waiting for the NHL to suspend him for throwing his stick at a referee during a game here in Buffalo years ago...

[SkateZilla]

i think the Penguins will make the play offs late in the season, squeaking in...

Crosby and Malkin Cannot be Stopped.....

As Of Last Nite, Jordan Staal is on the Demotion List, and will goto Wilkes-barre/Scranton Soon...

I DON'T KNOW WHY!, AND THAT WOULD BE A EFFING STUPID MOVE ON THEIR FRONT OFFICE'S PART, Another Sign they don't give a poo about the team and they just wanna move it.

[Ebenezer]

i think the Penguins will make the play offs late in the season, squeaking in...

Crosby and Malkin Cannot be Stopped.....

As Of Last Nite, Jordan Staal is on the Demotion List, and will goto Wilkes-barre/Scranton Soon...

I DON'T KNOW WHY!, AND THAT WOULD BE A EFFING STUPID MOVE ON THEIR FRONT OFFICE'S PART, Another Sign they don't give a poo about the team and they just wanna move it.
i don't disagree there....i doubt Pitts will have a team in 3 years.

[BuffaloRanger]

Stop the friggin Penguin circle jerk! I think you guys would be happy to see the 8th place Penguins knock the 1st place Sabres out of the playoffs this year. I know that basketball lawyer Bettman would.

But wait, it's impossible for Bettman and the NHL front office to effect the outcome of a playoff series right? That's never happened to the Sabres before. At least not that you guys can remember...

[JD]

Penguins winning the cup would be a huge marketing scheme. I could see them making it happen (bettman, nhl execs)

[Mitchy moo]

Penguins winning the cup would be a huge marketing scheme. I could see them making it happen (bettman, nhl execs)

We could beat the Pens right now being short-handed nearly the whole game, lol.

[BuffaloRanger]

All professional sports are a business. In the Billion dollar sports industry, in which advertising and merchandise money can add up to millions, do you really think the executives are content to just sit back and let the games play out at random? Is it possible that they may have preferences as to who they'd like to see in the playoffs from a financial standpoint?

What would be better for the NHL? A team like the Sabres winning the Cup, in a small market city completely saturated with hockey fans already. Or another Southern team, representing two states, in which a championship might draw the attention (and money) of some basketball fans. From a purely objective standpoint, the Canes winning was the best case scenario of the final 4. You get a canadian team in the finals - great for Canadian TV stations, and a championship in an area that the NHL has been trying to expand it's fanbase.

It's easy to do in the NFL. How many times have you seen a team get called for a holding penalty on 3rd and 1 late in the game? Suddenly it's 3rd and 11. And the drive stalls. Followed by the announcers mumbling "Well, that was a little nit-picky." Watch a Patriots game. See how many calls go their way. Sure they get 5 yard penalties called on them once they build up a big lead to make the penalty ratio look better. Holding penalties can be called on almost any play, and often are to great effect. And how many great spots do they get? That's not the only reason they win, but with parity in the NFL and teams being able to win on any given Sunday, a call here or there can make a big difference. Even a momentum killing penalty in the 1st half, that doesn't even register with most fans, can effect the outcome of the game.

Go ahead and call me crazy. In a billion dollar industry you have to at least acknowledge the possibility of "insider trading". But because so many fans won't, the league execs have plausible deniability.

[Mitchy moo]

If you have a real talented team like the Sabres that skate up and down as a team, I would say it's pretty hard to fix. The Sabres just try to work the puck hard and run away from danger, when they are in Danger they skate or pass well.

Plan on the Sabres doing just fine this year.

[BuffaloRanger]

Oh I plan on them doing just fine. It's winning the cup that has me worried.

[Mitchy moo]

Oh I plan on them doing just fine. It's winning the cup that has me worried.

barring us losing 66% of our starting D and / or 5 starters on the front 4 lines, we'll be there.

[BillsSabresB.C.T. Fan]

Yeah when they leave Pittsburgh

[JD]

:snicker:

[im4bflo]

may the peeguins die a slow painful death.

[LtFinFan66]

i think the Penguins will make the play offs late in the season, squeaking in...

Crosby and Malkin Cannot be Stopped.....

As Of Last Nite, Jordan Staal is on the Demotion List, and will goto Wilkes-barre/Scranton Soon...

I DON'T KNOW WHY!, AND THAT WOULD BE A EFFING STUPID MOVE ON THEIR FRONT OFFICE'S PART, Another Sign they don't give a poo about the team and they just wanna move it.Guess they changed their mind:up: http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2643474