BOTH TEAMS should have been penalized AN ENTIRE GAME. Serious! This “game” didn’t count because it was shite. Plain and simple. Nobody played anything. When teams “play” like this, they should be penalized in a language they understand: Games. Make them play as many games as it takes before they get that they have to play by the rules or not at all. When they’re exhausted on Game 12 and they haven’t yet made it out of the first round – while their semi-final opponent has been waiting around for a week+ for them finish up – maybe they’ll understand how fricking stupid they are. Fines and suspensions are a farce, and making it even worse is the League’s inconsistent/baffling criteria for discipline. Shanny did an overall good job during the regular season, but the whole system has fallen apart terribly during these playoffs. Could it be any more obvious that the GMs have made it clear to the League that 1) these series need to go 7 games, to maximize arena and advertising revenue; and 2) that their stars need to be protected from suspension even if they are deserving of same? Do they really think we’re this stupid? It’s shameful.

Before I boycotted the web this weekend, I commented elsewhere that perhaps if players and fans didn’t twist the SCF into some sort of “war” or “battle”, maybe they wouldn’t take things so far and somehow think that the rules/parameters are different for playoffs. This isn’t life or death. Losing the Cup will suck, but it’s ultimately not a life-or-death battle. A serious perspective-check is called for, here. When coaches like Laviolette comment “Guys will do anything to win,” they should be reminded that IT’S NOT OKAY TO DO ANYTHING TO WIN. I never thought hockey players would need to be reminded of this, but I guess that’s where we’re at right now. Maybe it’s too many rounds of Call of Duty on road trips. Who knows? But yes – it’s turning my stomach, too. I don’t get how anybody enjoys watching their favorite teams collectively behave like 12-year old psychopaths, or future Hall of Famers individually snap and morph into serial killers after the whistle/game horn blows. Not. Fun. Sure hope it stops soon…

Standing in line in the hell that is Wal-Mart on a Sunday was better than watching this game.

I will say this though, my 9 year old plays hockey 3 days a week, sometimes 4, year round. On the 4th game he can be a bit cranky and really wants to just play xbox. But he goes out on the ice and gives it all he’s got and he’s not getting paid millions of dollars and his biggest fans changed his diapers. Maybe Malkin needs a talkin’ to by my kid.

I love the Pens with all my heart, and by default I don’t like the Flyers. I knew the series was going to be ugly before it even started, just like everyone else did. I had no idea it would get THAT ugly. Listen guys, I get it. You were getting spanked in the series so you’re pissed off and frustrated. I feel you. However, after that first brawl, which I’m sure was meant to be a momentum changer, the game became less about playing a good game against a rival and more about pounding the face of your most hated enemy into the ground. Again, I GET IT! WE ALL GET IT! You hate each other, yeah yeah, okay. But wouldn’t the best way to wipe those smug grins off of their faces be to play an amazing, CLEAN game, and beat them into the ground on the scoreboard?

Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good hockey fight as much as the next girl. And when Kris Letang shhh’d the crowd, at first I was fist pumping in the air and thinking about the good ol’ days. But then, when the smoke cleared, I as a fan could not have been more embarrassed. When Max Talbot Shhh’d the Flyers it went down in history as the pivotal moment that changed EVERYTHING. Letang, god love him, just looked like he was making a petty jab and trying to relive the glory days. Those days have long since come and gone. We’ve made our bed and now we have to lay in it.

So now we’re faced with the question of how do we fix it? How do we come back from a 3-0 deficit? 1) Stop fighting and for the love of god STOP TAKING PENALTIES! Excuse me James Neal/Sidney Crosby, how in the hell do you plan to score when you’re in the box?! 2) Somebody find Malkin and shake him! Give him a fist full of five-hour energies and a bag of pixie stix and send him out onto the ice with enough energy to mow down the army of 5 year olds that make up the Flyers. The “
I AM SCORE” attitude just needs a little jolt, that’s all. (fingers crossed). 3) Bylsma, honey… WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?! Giroux, Briere, Schenn,… if anything they need to be double-teamed not left alone out there with completely open lanes to just score on us when they please. And waiting to pull Fleury until the third period… I had a big ol’ face palm with your name on it. Granted, it wasn’t Flower’s fault entirely. He was making saves he shouldn’t have had to make if the d-men were all on the same page. But unfortunately Fluery’s head has been compromised, they got to him, they shook his confidence and Johnson just wasn’t (and probably never will be) ready.

I will light a candle, do a dance, poke pins in my Laviolette voodoo doll, whatever it takes to keep this team alive.

Ok, I can’t help myself. The first period scrums, I’ll admit got me fired up. Especially seeing Sid fight Gingeroux! Then the Tanger fight! OMG he can fight and the hair was a-flyin’, but as much as I love him, I was sooooo mad at him for getting the match penalty when the Pens need him soooo badly! (Stating the obvious) They’re frustration is palpable, but they’ve got to CONTROL it or you’re right, they’re going to get swept. and they’ll have no one to blame, but themselves! I just can’t figure out what the problem is besides the D. My biggest concern is Geno. He seems to have mentally checked out of the whole series and Sid seems to have undergone a personality change since his absence:(

It’s going to be a long summer.

(some other things)
1. I am a DIE-HARD Pens fan
2. I live in Philly (so life sucks)
3. Not to be annoying, but when Kris got in that fight and “shh”ed the flyers crowd…I cried, it was so great. (did someone get that on film?)
4. I have absolutely lost ALL respect for Max Talbot…every single bit.

I agree with you on everything except that I don’t love the Pens. I just love hockey and this game was quite the embarrasment.