Penguins Waddle Out of the Playoffs
The Ottawa Senators took the best-of-seven series from the Penguins four games to one. It was a dreadful showing from the black and gold but there’s still plenty of reason to be proud of this team, and rejoice at the season the Penguins had. Let’s recap shall we?
In the 2005-2006 season, the Penguins finished the season with about as bad of a record as you can have. The season was a wasted effort from about the second period of the first game on. The only reason to watch was to see how much playing time Marc Andre Fleury was going to see, and to get a glimpse #87: Sidney Crosby (A.K.A. The Wizard of Cros’).
In 2006 - 2007, we got to watch Sid the Kid come into his own as a hockey player. Not only did he win the scoring title, he became the youngest player in PROFESSIONAL LEAGUE TEAM SPORTS HISTORY- NOT JUST HOCKEY HISTORY - to win a scoring title. He’s one of the most entertaining and exciting players we’ve seen since #66, Mario Lemieux. He led his team to extraordinary heights and gave the fans something to cheer for all season long. In addition to his points greatness, he’s also a contender for the Hart Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s most valuabe player.
Evgeni Malkin finally made it stateside. If you don’t know, it was a major hassle to get Malkin out of Russia. He had a difficult contract to play in Russia, and breaking a contract in Russia doesn’t mean the same thing as it does in the U.S. (which is nothing) He skated to more than 30 goals and can be considered a candidate for rookie of the year.
On to Kansas City… No, they’ll stay…No wait, they’re leaving…No seriously, we’ll stay right here in Pittsburgh…or, we’re heading out… Then, in the 11th hour the City of Pittsburgh and the state of Pennsylvania submitted an offer to the team’s liking, and a deal was arranged to build a new arena and keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh for as long as it matters.
The team is young, and there’s no doubt in my mind that the guys were simply overwhelmed by the NHL playoffs. This short post-season was a lesson for the kids, and I think they’ll be back there with success next season.
It was a fun season, and I want to personally thank this 2006 - 2007 squad for renewing my interest in the game of hockey. I fell out of touch with it following the lockout in 2004/2005. I wasn’t turned off by the game; I had just lost interest in it. Then the team came out of the gates flat and lost me for the rest of the season. But the ‘06 - ‘07 Pens sucked me in again. Thanks team. Good luck next year.
as a canadian living in the US, i welcome you back to hockey and wish more of your countrymen would pick up with the game again. its killing me to see the game completely ignored by the networks. had to install canadian sattelite just to see my beloved leafs stink up the rink….
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