The good, the bad and the ugly.

It wasn't that bad of a weekend for the Pens. They beat the Dallas Stars 3-1 Friday night with a 2-goal effort from James Neal who continues to keep scoring the goals that we had hoped he would bring when we signed him. Saturday night, the Pens fell a bit short in a 5-3 loss against the Carolina Hurricanes. Jordan Staal had a 2-goal game against his brother Eric, but it wasn't enough to bring a win. That loss is behind us now though and we can now look forward to hosting the Colorado Avalanche tomorrow night. That's the good and the bad, now here comes the ugly...

In case you were wondering, Coach Bylsma stated today that the status of Crosby has not changed and he reiterated that they are not keeping a secret from the media and they will notify them when they know Sid is playing. When asked what the doctors are looking for in order for Crosby to return, Bylsma stated that he is not educated in that area and does not know what the doctors are looking for. Well, join the club. It seems as if all the pieces are together for a return but apparently, the jigsaw puzzle still has some key pieces missing. It seems like we need another press conference with the doctors to understand what is taking so long after Crosby has been cleared for contact. I really hope it does not come to that though, that press conference was too long and there were too many similes for my taste.
I understand that concussions are extremely delicate injuries to recover from and we have too many examples in the NHL of how they can end a career, but it just seemed like things were looking optimistic for a while. I knew better than to get my hopes up though and I am thankful I did not. I am prepared for Crosby's return to take quite a bit more time. Just in case of course. I am sure my mind could quickly adjust to the idea of Crosby returning in the very near future though.

Pens begin Eastern Conference Finals tonight against Canes.

The Pens take on the Carolina Hurricanes tonight at Mellon Arena, beginning the Eastern Conference Finals. Most say there is no hatred at this point between these two teams, that it may take a little while before animosity between the two teams comes alive. Well, no, the Canes are not our rival the Philadelphia Flyers that we already got rid of, and no they do not offer a rivalry between two players who are battling out for the title to be the best like the Washington Capitals offered us, and we of course got rid of them as well. However, this series does have sibling rivalry, with the likes of both Eric and Jordan Staal. While they play differently, who knows, maybe Jordan will raise his game to another level in this competition. Though, this may be the only evident rivalry at this point in time, besides the Brooks Orpik and Erik Cole one, I have no worries that the Pens and Canes will develop a hatred for one another, that could only come from versing an opponent in the playoffs. That's just how the playoffs work. So, let the series begin!