We Were Soliders Once… And Young

Jesse Marshall | Pittsburgh Penguins

Feb 20, 12:12 PM | Hype this story!

There is only one word that comes to mind when I think of what the Penguins need in order to virtually run the table and make the playoffs this year.

Guts.

The Penguins are going to need to gut out some tough wins through this stretch in order to get the job done and qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

This is war, Pens fans. Remember the board game Risk? There was always that one moment when you traded all your cards in, massed your armies, and stormed Asia. This is that moment. The Penguins can ill afford to drop winnable games if they have any hope of reaching the next level.

What better way to get this war rolling than a Saturday afternoon bloodbath against the Philadelphia Flyers, followed up by a march south onto the nation’s capital Sunday afternoon.

If there was ever a moment in the season where we could see the mettle of this squad tested, it’s this weekend. I dare you to close your eyes and imagine a Monday morning having dropped both of these upcoming games. You think we’re reaching for the playoffs now?

The U.S. has many war heroes. William B. Travis at the Alamo, George Washington crossing the Delaware, Hal Moore at the Ia Drang in Vietnam – the list goes on.

Luckily for Pittsburgh fans, our hockey team has two pretty good generals as well.

Over the course of the last three years, we’ve watched Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin do some pretty amazing things: highlight reel goals, willing their team to victory, and a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals.

But what they have the potential to do now goes beyond all that; when times are tight and losing isn’t an option, its players like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin can that take an entire team onto their shoulders and carry them home.

Watch the rest of this month with a careful eye; you might just see something amazing.

We already know that this weekend is staring the Penguins in the face, but what about the rest of the Eastern Conference? Keep your eyes peeled for these battlefields across the NHL this weekend.

Carolina Hurricanes

Friday, February 20 vs. Tampa Bay

Sunday, February 22 vs. Colorado

Unfortunately, these are two winnable games for Carolina, especially coming off of the heels of a 6-2 drubbing of the Islanders. I haven’t cheered for Ryan Malone much this year, but I will tonight.

Florida Panthers

Saturday, February 21 vs. Boston

This is the first of a home and home against the Bruins for the Panthers. If anything can slow Florida down, it’s this series. Should the Penguins run the gauntlet this weekend and see Florida drop these two games, it changes the entire landscape of the playoff picture.

Buffalo Sabres

Saturday, February 21 vs. NYR

Best case scenario is that both of these teams lose this game somehow, but since that can’t happen, we can only hope it’s not a three point game.

Montreal Canadiens

Saturday, February 21 vs. Ottawa

A winnable game for the Habs, but with their recent slide, nothing is guaranteed.

Comments

  1. Justin

    Feb 20, 03:22 PM

    Excellent read guys! It is the truth too. We get at least three this weekend, Pittsburgh would be the talk of the town and skyrocket in the power polls. I seriously believe this. NHL fans are bandwagon jumpers. As much as I hate them, they give a team more confidence. After reading some quotes from Tlbot after yesterday’s game, I believe we are on the outskirts of being a very dangerous team. I love it!
    http://everythingpittsburgh.blogspot.com/2009/02/loving-it.html

  2. TheOneAndOnlySurge

    Feb 20, 03:55 PM

    Justin, times like this are when you see true fans. True fans will follow the team and watch every game, regardless of the standings. You might not like whats going on but you still turn on that TV every game night and watch. You go crazy when a goal is scored and yell at the refs when a call is missed. It might be 9-0 but you watched the game until the end.

  3. Jesse Marshall

    Feb 20, 04:04 PM

    I agree with you guys. It’s about enjoying the games in addition to worrying about trades and standings.

    Justin – very reassuring to see Talbot say such things. This team seems like they are really hungry to start winning.

  4. Zack Dawson

    Feb 20, 05:07 PM

    Agreed guys. If last night is any indication of the effort to come from this team, they have a legitimate shot at making the post-season. But last night can’t be a fluke. It has to be the first stepping stone towards a turn around.
    But the attitude seems to have changed among the players, and hopefully the team climate follows suit.
    Last night was a fun game. Hopefully the Pens feel the same way and there is more where that came from.

  5. bag o' pucks

    Feb 20, 06:39 PM

    Hmmm, the Sens deal McAmmond & a first rounder (San Jose’s) to the Island for Comrie and Campoli. That pick is a nice acquisition for the Isles.

  6. Moq

    Feb 21, 10:17 AM

    Depsite being trapped in the European timezone I intend to watch every single Penguins game until the end of the season. Hopefully, the season doesn’t end in April. Regardless there’ll be a lot of hockey to watch and temporary favourites to choose with a Pittsburgh absence, but I hope that isn’t the case.

    There was a lot of encouragement to be gained from the game against Montreal. The same could be said after the victory against San Jose. It would be nice with a minor winning streak away from home to accelerate the excitement level a bit. None of the playoff hopeful appear consistant, which would reward consecutive wins even more.

  7. Matt Bodenschatz

    Feb 21, 11:42 AM

    Moq, they have to win at least one of their back-to-backers this weekend. Following that, they need to win 3 of their next 4. In total, they’ll need 4 wins in their next 6 games in order to prove to Shero that he should help them out at the deadline.

    Philly – W
    Washington – ??
    NY Islanders – W
    Chicago – ??
    Dallas – ??
    Tampa Bay – W

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