Pre-Game Talk: NYI come to town tomorrow night

[Terrapin]

Any news on Nisky?

Day to day with a lower body injury. So we should see him again in December.

 

[Captain Hook]

Nisky will be back. The only times I can remember the Pens being way off on their injury timetable IIRC were the concussion issues which in their defense are very hard to predict.

 

[Terrapin]

I'm not sure what poster said it but the Pens haven't been the same since THAT Islanders game and he's right. The Pens aren't grinding *****es down like they used to.

I'm hoping the Pens sack up and remember that nice teams usually don't win championships.

Yes, twas I that posted that. To those that asked for further explanation, allow me. I'm not saying that game caused the downfall of the Pens, I'm saying that there was a significant shift in the roster after that game. At that time, our lineup routinely had Godard, Rupp, Engelland, and Asham. If I'm not mistaken, before that game, we were leading the league in fighting majors, and not coincidentally, total points. So what happened? Here's a quick recap:

Well the debacle took place, which was all cheapshot ******** by the Isles. Remember, Asham didn't play that game due to injury. Engo and Rupp got tossed early, along w/ Martin for the Isles. That basically left Godard to 'patrol' against Gillies, Konopka, and Haley. Hence, why he left the bench, and IMO, making himself the best 'enforcer' we've had in decades.

Anyway, the game was an embarrassment. Mario publicly voiced his displeasure in it (which is rare for Mario). Fines and suspensions flew. And Mario, who also has a vested interest in the whole concussion stuff going on at the time (with Sid), came across to a lot of people as a hypocrit. Meaning, Mario speaks out about headshots and concussions, yet his team leads the league in fighting (plus employing Matt Cooke).

For the rest of that season, there were only a handful of fights. Godard rarely dressed. The next season Godard, Rupp, and Talbot (the main cause of the debacle, along w/ BJ) were gone. Cooke was neutered due to his antics. Instead of replacing those 'tough' players that Shero always seemed fond of, we brought in guys like Sullivan, Richard Park, etc.

I'm not saying it's better or worse, but I'm saying that that Isle's game was a 'before and after' for the makeup and philosophy of this team. Personally I think losing those physical presence's (is that a word?) hurt us last year, and will continue to hurt us, but that's just my opinion. But it's hard to deny the fact that things changed after that night.

 

[Zero Pucks]

Brian Strait blocks all of our shots and makes sure our ****** offense gets shutdown.

 

[Shrimper]

Hopefully Sid and or Geno light the Isles up tomorrow night.

Here's hoping so. They're due to dial it in for a game.

Sorry to hear that as well. Condolences JWells.

 

[Sutter16]

I'm not sure if you guys have heard about the accident that happened on McKnight Rd. yesterday, but it was one of my best friends. He was pronounced dead at the scene. He was a huge Pens fan. The last Pens game that he was able to go to was last season. It was Geno's 50th goal. He was in the background of one of the pics from the Pens website. He posted here a few times but mostly just read.

The next game that he was supposed to go to was tomorrow night.

Sorry to hear that.