Penguins Nation

Aggressive. Punishing. Tenacious. Determined. All these things describe the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Pittsburgh Penguins, though, are explosive. Not as many adjectives as their Stanley Cup playoff adversaries—who deserve every bit of the attention and accolades they are receiving for giving the Penguins as much as they can handle in this first-round Eastern Conference series—but the only one they seem to need. The leads the Blue Jackets worked so hard to build in Games 1 and 3 of the best-of-seven series collapsed in mere minutes when the Penguins poured on the pressure. It might be a matter of experience on a team laced with ...

Aggressive. Punishing. Tenacious. Determined. All these things describe the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Pittsburgh Penguins, though, are explosive. Not as many adjectives as their Stanley Cup playoff adversaries—who deserve every bit of the attention and accolades they are receiving for giving the Penguins as much as they can handle in this first-round Eastern Conference series—but the only one they seem to need. The leads the Blue Jackets worked so hard to build in Games 1 and 3 of the best-of-seven series collapsed in mere minutes when the Penguins poured on the pressure. It might be a matter of experience on a team laced with ...

Goaltender for the Pittsburgh Penguins is not traditionally one of the toughest jobs in sports. The gig certainly isn't up to par with quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys and may even provide less stress than backstopping the neighboring Philadelphia Flyers. Goaltender for this Penguins team, though? The post has come under heavy fire over the last three seasons, mostly because of how perfect other aspects of the squad appear to be. Through gold and black glasses, Sidney Crosby can do no wrong. Ditto for Evgeni Malkin and even James Neal. General manager Ray Shero has done a terrific job of collecting a prolific group of ...

Goaltender for the Pittsburgh Penguins is not traditionally one of the toughest jobs in sports. The gig certainly isn't up to par with quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys and may even provide less stress than backstopping the neighboring Philadelphia Flyers. Goaltender for this Penguins team, though? The post has come under heavy fire over the last three seasons, mostly because of how perfect other aspects of the squad appear to be. Through gold and black glasses, Sidney Crosby can do no wrong. Ditto for Evgeni Malkin and even James Neal. General manager Ray Shero has done a terrific job of collecting a prolific group of ...

The Pittsburgh Penguins didn't run over the Columbus Blue Jackets in Game 1, but they managed to battle back from a two-goal deficit to secure the win. The magic number to win the Stanley Cup is 16. They don't give out extra points based on how sexy a win is. By winning the opening contest of the series, Pittsburgh's number is down to 15. A slash mark is a slash mark at this time of year. While the Penguins weren't perfect on Wednesday evening, they didn't need to be, and there are several positives worth building on moving forward. Simply winning Game ...

The Pittsburgh Penguins didn't run over the Columbus Blue Jackets in Game 1, but they managed to battle back from a two-goal deficit to secure the win. The magic number to win the Stanley Cup is 16. They don't give out extra points based on how sexy a win is. By winning the opening contest of the series, Pittsburgh's number is down to 15. A slash mark is a slash mark at this time of year. While the Penguins weren't perfect on Wednesday evening, they didn't need to be, and there are several positives worth building on moving forward. Simply winning Game ...

In the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs, it remains to be seen whether Marc-Andre Fleury, “the Flower,” will blossom again like he did in 2009 or wilt like fans have seen in the past few postseasons. Unfortunately for Fleury, the latter seems to be what the critics are buzzing about. Fleury has had a successful career so far in the NHL, winning the Stanley Cup and being an Olympic gold medalist. He has nearly 300 career wins as well. He also had a successful 2013-14 regular season, finishing second in the league in wins this year with 39 and also securing five shutouts. However, as in ...

In the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs, it remains to be seen whether Marc-Andre Fleury, “the Flower,” will blossom again like he did in 2009 or wilt like fans have seen in the past few postseasons. Unfortunately for Fleury, the latter seems to be what the critics are buzzing about. Fleury has had a successful career so far in the NHL, winning the Stanley Cup and being an Olympic gold medalist. He has nearly 300 career wins as well. He also had a successful 2013-14 regular season, finishing second in the league in wins this year with 39 and also securing five shutouts. However, as in ...

If you believe that talent reigns supreme in the NHL playoffs, then you didn't have a tough time filling out your bracket when you had to choose between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets. The former is riding into the postseason on the back of three consecutive 100-point seasons. The latter? Well, the Blue Jackets have never had a 100-point campaign. Nor have they ever rostered a player who broke the 100-point barrier as an individual—or challenged for the Hart Trophy, Norris Trophy, Jack Adams Trophy or any other awards. On paper this is Sidney Crosby against Ryan Johansen. It's Evgeni ...

If you believe that talent reigns supreme in the NHL playoffs, then you didn't have a tough time filling out your bracket when you had to choose between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets. The former is riding into the postseason on the back of three consecutive 100-point seasons. The latter? Well, the Blue Jackets have never had a 100-point campaign. Nor have they ever rostered a player who broke the 100-point barrier as an individual—or challenged for the Hart Trophy, Norris Trophy, Jack Adams Trophy or any other awards. On paper this is Sidney Crosby against Ryan Johansen. It's Evgeni ...