Ya gotta beat the best. So goes the saying…and tonight, one of the best rivalries in all of sport continues as the Penguins come to town to take on the Flyers. The gross taste in my mouth, aside from this shit-tacular coffee I’m forcing down, is the taste of defeat, held over from earlier in ’09 when Pittsburgh took us behind a shed and did with us how they pleased. That first round exit, was heartbreaking. No matter that the Pens were the eventual Cup winners, that didn’t make it feel any better. The loss in last years playoffs was the moment where Homer decided that he needed more puzzle pieces, and got us some of the best free agents on the market. So maybe it’s a blessing in disguise, the fact that we got beat by the Pens last year, to force our hand to get better penalty killers, grinders, and shut down behemoths. Either way, the palette gets wiped clean tonight as the Battle for Pennslyvania wages on. We all know what Pittsburgh brings to the table. Arguably the top 2 players in the entire league, along with a top 5 goalie. Much like the Washington game, we’ll be seeing Pronger and Kimmo alot tonight, shadowing both Crosby and Malkin wherever they go. The Pens lost last night to the Coyotes, 3-0. You did read that right…and got sloppy, giving the Yotes 9 powerplays. Maybe they were looking past that game, or maybe they are just a a big bowl of turds, but either way, they’ll be ready for tonight. There is no such thing as fatigue this early in the season so don’t expect the Pens to be flat. They like playing at the Wach and have alot of success here. The biggest matchup I’ll be watching for is Malkin’s cheekbones against Pronger’s elbow. Playing a rival is such great hockey…we know the opposing team very well. We know their style, their player-types, their strategy, and strengths and weaknesses. We know that stopping Crosby from getting points is nearly impossible, as is making Geno Malkin not look like his mom fucked a horse. We know that Max Talbot, Tyler Kennedy, Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis, are not nearly talented as they get credit for. and are so effin’ lucky they play with who they do, that they make the collective Flyers fanbase dry-heave. But, playing a rival is about hating the other team, and Pittsburgh does it as well as any other team
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