I guess the Penguins couldn't go on winning forever, but they
could have at least waited until Issue 114 was ready for
publication. Why? That way I could make up more incredible song
parodies for you the reader. I know how popular they were based
on the amount of e-mail I received. My favorite was a simple
one-word message that just read, "DIE!" I think the readers are
really starting to take a liking to me.
Anyway, the Penguins were able to put together a 10-game winning
streak only to have it snapped on Long Island by the pathetic
Islanders. If anyone should be whining to the press this week it
should be the Penguins not Ziggy Palffy, who decided to cry about
his team earlier this week after the Isles tied the Tampa Bay
Lightning. Ziggy questioned his teammates after the Isles were
only able to manage a tie against the Bolts.
"They are the worst team in the NHL and we tie. I don't know
what's going on, but we have to be a little more hungry for the
puck and score the goals because if we want to make the playoffs
we can't play like that."
I got news for you, Zig... YOU'RE NOT MUCH BETTER, SO GROW UP!
The Pens are a lot of fun to watch recently, seemingly scoring
goals at will and playing the type of defense that wins you
games. And the problem that the Pens have been facing all
season, namely goaltending, worked itself out. However, the
Penguins are now going to realize that with injury-prone Tom
Barrasso going down every other game with some sort of boo-boo,
Peter Skudra is going to have to step-up and do the job.
Skudra has definitely put together some impressive stats (11-5-3,
2.94 GAA), unfortunately it hasn't been against the NHL's elite.
Skudra has without doubt played well, but he's played like a
goalie on a team in the middle of a winning streak. This means
that he didn't have to make as many of the "tough saves." He
hasn't had to play like a starting goalie. The Pens have scored
goal after goal insuring Skudra that if he made a mistake the
rest of the team could cover it. I got news for y'all... against
teams like Dallas, Colorado, Philly, Skudra will be eaten alive.
While Skudra is, as a friend of mine described, "athletic," he is
not a very good goalie. His angles are weak and he's very small,
not that size matters, but it does in this case. The Penguins
should have never let Ken Wregget get out of their hands. He,
too, has had problems this season, but he had the perfect role
here in Pittsburgh, not to mention he was a fan favorite. But I
don't own the team. Speaking of which...
Mario Lemieux is reportedly in negotiations to purchase the team,
which is in financial turmoil right now. Lemieux, who is still
owed over $26 million by the Pens, is trying to put together a
group of investors to purchase the team, but more importantly
keep it in Pittsburgh. Mario is meeting with city and NHL
officials trying to figure out what it will take to get his plan
off the ground.
One more thing...
Hi, Sam.
