Blogs

Morning practice tidbits hours before Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final:
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BABCOCK: CROSBY A HEAD HUNTER
Red Wings coach Mike Babcock took a well-disguised dig at Penguins C Sidney Crosby on Sunday morning.
"To me the battle they had going last night between (Red Wings C Henrik) Zetterberg and Crosby was a great battle, I thought," Babcock [...]

Some post-Game 1 observations and pre-Game 2 thoughts from Detroit at the Stanley Cup Final:
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STAR GAZING
My three stars from Game 1 (a 3-1 Red Wings' victory over the Penguins at Joe Louis Arena):
1 - C Henrik Zetterberg, Red Wings. He owned the faceoff circle, winning 15 of 20 draws, including one against Penguins C Sidney [...]

Nuggets from Friday's Media Day in Detroit:
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START ME UP
The Penguins have become a popular pick to win this Stanley Cup Final against the defending champion Detroit Red Wings:
ESPN.com
Fanhouse.com
As for my pick, well you'll have to check out the Vlog ...
Rossi Says
So, what say yinz? Drop your predictions on the series, playoff MVP and who will [...]

Some thoughts and observations after the Eastern Conference final, which the Penguins swept Tuesday with a 4-1 victory in Game 4 over the Carolina Hurricanes at RBC Center:
STAR GAZING
1. G Marc-Andre Fleury, Penguins: At some point he'll start getting credit (especially if he wins four more games in these playoffs).
2. C Sidney Crosby, Penguins: He's [...]

A quick update prior to Game 4 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final, which the Penguins can wrap with a win over the Carolina Hurricanes tonight at RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C.:
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VIEWS FROM THE ROOMS
I've learned two things from covering the past three Stanley Cup playoffs: 1) Momentum rarely carries over from game to game [...]

Some thoughts and observations Monday following off-day practices for the Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes from Raleigh, N.C.:
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LOOKING AHEAD
The Stanley Cup final seems a sure bet to open this weekend in Detroit if the Red Wings and Penguins wrap their respective conference final series by Thursday.
The Cup final is set to start June 5. In fact, [...]

A few post-game observations following the Penguins' 6-2 victory Saturday over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final, which the Penguins lead, 3-0:
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STAR GAZING
1 - C Evgeni Malkin, Penguins. The two goals were sweet, but how about that drop pass to set up LW Ruslan Fedotenko's goal?
2 - C Sidney [...]

A few post-game observations following the Penguins' 7-4 victory Thursday over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 2 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final, which the Penguins lead, 2-0:
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STAR GAZING
1 - C Evgeni Malkin, Penguins. A hat trick and an assist for, yep, the NHL's leading playoff scorer. (Take that, haters!)
2 - LW Chris Kunitz, Penguins. [...]

A few post-game notes following the Penguins' 3-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final:
THE TRIB TRIFECTA
1. G Marc-Andre Fleury, Penguins: So far, he's been the best goalie in either conference final.
2. D Philippe Boucher, Penguins: Putting his best foot forward (pun SOOO intended) in the playoffs.
3. RW Miroslav [...]

A few notes following respective morning practices for the Penguins and Hurricanes prior to Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final:
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*GONCHAR TO GO: Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said injured D Sergei Gonchar (right knee) "looked comfortable" in practice and likened the decision to play Gonchar tonight to the "Game 7" situation at Washington last week. [...]