Friday, October 03, 2008

Game #1 - at Ottawa Senators (Stockholm)

Pittsburgh Penguins at Ottawa Senators

It's finally here.  You've been waiting all summer.  The Pens start their quest to prove that last year was only a stepping stone to bigger things.

You know the Sens want a piece of the Pens.  You know they have a bad taste in their collective mouth.  If that wasn't bad enough, Jarkko Ruutu is now one of the Sens.  We'll get to see just how aggravating he can be on the opposition.  My guess is it'll be pretty annoying.

The Pens are a marked team in the East now.  They have the biggest names in the conference, and they've proven that they're for real by making the Cup Finals.

The Sens are trying to prove that they're not a team on the decline.  They've made some big changes since the last time we saw them in March.  Redden and Meszaros are gone.  Jason Smith was signed, along with three other new defensemen.  Brian Murray is gone from behind the bench (he's still the GM) and Craig Hartburg takes his place.

The Pens will be trying to avoid an early season slump.  History is not on their side.  The Ducks struggled mightily after opening in London last year, and the Pens have started slowly in each of the last two years.

The game is at 2:30 Saturday afternoon.

Let's Go Pens!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Great job. I can't remember the last time the pens won an opening day game... feels like forever. Both teams made mistakes but not bad for the first game of the season. Malkin, Staal, Crosby, and of course Kennedy looked great.

The Big K said...

Will-

It was two years ago. :)