I haven’t followed hockey for years now but I started watching the Penguins play again since the NHL playoffs started. I don’t know the players all that well but I have to say I am VERY impressed by the forechecking game of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
As good as the skilled players of the Stanley Cup Champion Penguins were (Lemuix, Rechi, Stevens, Jagr, Barraso, etc.) I still think what won those cups for us was forechecking. Without Phil Bourque, Troy Loney, and Bob Errey we would never have been able to put those back to back Cup runs together.
And once those guys were let go after those Cups the Pens could win no more.
Now, I look at a new team with players I’ve primarily never heard of before and I’m excited. I see no reason why this version of the Pittsburgh Penguins can’t win the Stanley Cup this year because they are forechecking very well. And forechecking wins championships as far as I’m concerned.
Let’s go Pens!!
-David
4 comments:
I'm in the same boat, Dave. I've watched a couple games including last night's. The battles along the boards have been really fun to watch. The Pens scored 0 pretty goals, but they showed amazing talent for keeping the puck in the Flyers zone and generating chances.
The only things that sucks is that I don't have the VS. channel so I had to drive an hour to my dad's to watch the game.
I felt guilty last night watching game 4 of the championship last night. At first, Denise was really getting excited everytime they got close to the net, but meanwhile I was remorsefully wallowing in the guilt of having neglected to watch this club for about 8 years now. Granted, I don't get the exposure I used to when I still lived in WV, but come on. Hockey was the only thing that even made me a semblance of a sports fan. I actually took a job for their marketing dept. in the summer of 1994 working at Beaver Valley mall in a kiosk peddling Penguins shwag. That was cool, because my paychecks came from the Civic Arena (Mellon Arena, I guess) office, so I felt like I was actually part of the organization for a while. I followed Mario almost religiously, and to this day I still carry a tatterd Upperdeck trading card of him in my wallet. It'd probably be worth something if it weren't in ready to recycle condition. Anyway, I'm excited to become another fair-weather fan, but I'm not very proud of myself for it. The Penguins deserve to win, and I say
GO PENS!
I like a little forechecking before I get some poonaanay.
Kinky...
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