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Games like tonight cause psychological disorders. After a bipolar game of hits and misses, from trailing by 2, to leading by 2, to finding ourselves clinging to a 1 goal lead on the PK with 2 minutes left of the game, the Pens came out on top with a final score of 5-4.

Letestu scored his first NHL goal early in the 1^st to give the Pens the 1-0 lead. Buffalo answered back with 2 quick goals and returned in the 2^nd to score yet again and take the 3-1 lead.

Pittsburgh wasn’t ready to throw in the towel. Crosby responded minutes later on the PP, followed by a long anticipated goal by Jordan Staal which tied the score at 3. After an extended period of 4 on 4 hockey Bing decided to show off by racking up two more goals within the period for his 5^th career hatty. Crosby is now tied with Marleau for the NHL lead in goals.

God that guy sucks.

 

The sabres scored again in the 3^rd to come within 1 goal of the tie, but Fleury stood tall and held onto the win.

A shoutout to Staal, who didn’t earn a star tonight but played a very solid game.

…

If you didn’t have the trade deadline in the back of your mind before this weekend, then chances are you do now. The shake-up in Toronto has reminded everyone that this day is fast approaching, and as the Pensblog points out there are only 5 Pens games left before the Olympic break. With the deadline occurring immediately afterwards we are projecting that any trades will most likely occur within the next couple weeks. During the game tonight, Ray Shero was asked to assign a letter grade to the team as it currently is. His verdict was a B. The evaluation shows that improvements are obviously desired and, therefore, some changes are almost inevitable.

Speaking of the Olympic break the countdown is now at 11 days til the opening ceremonies. And speaking of #11, Don Cherry had some opinions (surprise surprise) in regards to Jstaal not cracking the Canadian Olympic roster:

“I thought Jordan Staal should have been on because of his (penalty-killing) ability. He’s magic and he’s the guy you put out there on 5-on-3 situations.”

Eric Staal, who secured a Team Canada roster spot, had this to say about Cherry’s comments:

“He’s definitely a player in the mix. He played a very key role in Pittsburgh going to the Finals and winning a Stanley Cup. He’s one of those guys who comes ready to play in big games. If the opportunity arises because of an injury, I’m sure he’ll be in the talk and in the mix. He’s still a young guy; I’m sure he’ll still get his time and his opportunity. But his name could definitely be tossed around with a lot of the guys that are around and in the mix.”

…

Injuries continue to be a worry for many Countries competing in men’s hockey.

The following NHL players have been named to an Olympic roster and are currently injured:

Canada:
D Dan Boyle (SJS): Day-to-day -Upper Body

Sweden:
F Tomas Holmstrom (DET): Out 3-4 Weeks -Non-displaced Fracture (foot)

Finland:
F Tuomo Ruutu (CAR): Out 1-2 Weeks -Upper Body

Russia:
G Semyon Varlamov (WAS): Injured Reserve -Groin

Czech Republic:
F Patrik Elias (NJD): Injured Reserve -Concussion

Belarus:
D Ruslan Salei (COL): Injured Reserve -Back
F Andrei Kostitsyn (MTL): Out 6 weeks -Knee Surgery
F Mikhail Grabovski (TOR) Out 6 weeks -Broken Wrist

And finally,

United States:
D Paul Martin (NJD): IR, out indefinitely -Broken Left Arm
D Mike Komisarek (TOR): out 1-2 games -Upper Body

NHL.com reports that Martin officially withdrew from Olympic participation this morning:

“After careful consideration, I have decided to withdraw my name from participation with Team USA at the upcoming Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. While the decision was an extremely difficult one, I feel it is in my long-term best interest to not rush any return to the ice”

While Komisarek is listed as LIKELY to miss the Olympics as well.

Replacements are scheduled to be announced this weekend.
Possible stand-ins for the US Olympic Team include Tim Gleason (Carolina), Ron Hainsey (Atlanta), Ryan Whitney (Anaheim), and our own Alex Goligoski.

More Olympic updates can be found on the NHL.com Olympic blog

Until then, here are some Olympic Hockey stats and records to consider

TEAM WINS

Most Wins, All-Time
93 – Canada
78 – Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic
77 – USSR/Russia
71 – USA

TEAM LOSSES

Most Losses, All-Time
64 – West Germany/Germany
51 – Poland
45 – Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic
44 – USA
41 – Sweden

TEAM GOALS

Most Goals, All-Time
775 – Canada, in 125 games
652 – USA, in 128 games
587 – Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic, in 126 games
553 – USSR/Russia, in 96 games
530 – Sweden, in 125 games

Most Goals, One Tournament (Pre-War Era)
110 – Canada, in 5 games, 1924
73 – USA, in 5 games, 1924
54 – Canada, in 8 games, 1936

Most Goals, One Tournament (Modern Era)
86 – USA, in 8 games, 1948
80 – Czechoslovakia, in 8 games, 1948
71 – Canada, in 8 games, 1952

Most Goals, One Team, One Game (Pre-War Era)
33 – Canada, vs. Switzerland, 33-0, 1924
30 – Canada, vs. Czechoslovakia, 30-0, 1924
29 – USA, vs. Switzerland, 29-0, 1920

Most Goals, One Team, One Game (Modern Era)
31 – USA, vs. Italy, 31-1, 1948
23 – USA, vs. Poland, 23-4, 1948
23 – Sweden, vs. Italy, 23-0, 1948
23 – Canada, vs. Austria, 23-0, 1956

Oh.. And no one see’s Belarus as a threat… sorry usbzoso.

Penguins Bipolar Disorder, 5.0 out of 5 based on 3 ratings number of view: 606

Tags: Alex Goligoski, Andrei Kostitsyn, Crosby Sucks, Dan Boyle, Don Cherry, Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, Marc Andre Fleury, Mark Letestu, Mike Komisarek, Mikhail Grabovski, Patrick Marleau, Patrik Elias, Paul Martin, Ray Shero, Ron Hainsey, Ruslan Salei, Ryan Whitney, Semyon Varlamov, ShutYour5Hole, Sidney Crosby, Tim Gleason, Tomas Holmstrom, Tuomo Ruutu, usbzoso

This entry was posted by ShutYour5Hole on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 12:18 am and is filed under Pittsburgh Penguins. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.