Malkin? Okay... Ovechkin? Confused

First off, Geno is day-to-day with a bone bruise. His x-ray was negative.

That's good news for the Pens, who will need Malkin at full strength for the playoffs.

As for Ovechkin (who was suspended for two games, if you didn't hear), my favorite part of the whole thing was this quote from Alex himself after the game, via Yahoo Sports:

"There’s nothing I can do right now. He just fell and this happens"

HE JUST FELL??? Really? That's what The Great Ape is saying? Please don't tell me this is a language translation thing - I'm not buying it.

Ovechkin is, without a doubt, one of the most talented players in the league. He's exciting to watch and brings passion and energy to his game. He also, without a doubt, seems to have trouble discerning where that line is that should not be crossed. I'm not sure if it's because he's an egomaniac (think "There is no line") or because he gets out of control and has impulse control issues.

We've seen Sid do things that would border on unsportsmanlike, and we certainly see him giving the little shots to players when he gets angry. He also takes over a game like no one in the game today when he gets mad. I can't ever see him playing with the recklessness that we see from Ovechkin.

I guess that's another way we can differentiate the two, to go with the previous criteria of the Gold Medal and Stanley Cup.

Slacker!

I missed just about an entire weekend of hockey games (I saw about 10 minutes of the Bruins game). I have to say - it was a nice break.

You don't realize how much writing a blog can dominate your time. Even when you're not writing or watching games, you're thinking about the next thing you need to write, or figuring out how to work the weekend schedule so that you can watch hockey and still have a marriage (I am prone to exaggeration on occasion).

So, the break was nice, but as Roxette sang, it's over now. The Pens are off until Thursday when they open up a five game road trip at Carolina. I'll be writing about it.

The Upset of the Century

Okay, so maybe not quite that big...

Igloo Dreams advanced past the first round of the 2010 Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament, knocking off the #2 seed Pitt Blather.

Thanks to everyone who voted!

The Sweet 16 is running currently, and I'm up against One For The Other Thumb. I'll let you guess which team is the subject of that blog. Cotter has made a um... "special" promise to each and every one of you that vote. He made it for the first round, but I'm sure he'll offer an extension (or maybe it's the other way around...)

The voting for the Sweet 16 round will end on Wednesday at 7:00 PM EST.

You can vote here. Go vote!

Pens acquire D Steve Wagner

The Pens shipped Nate Guenin to the St Louis Blues today in exchange for defenseman Steve Wagner.

According to the Peoria Journal Star, Wagner is an offensive defenseman. He is 25 and has played 46 games in the NHL over four seasons. He was an undrafted free agent who surprisingly made the Blues roster in 2007. According to stltoday.com, Wagner has struggled to regain his form after being sent down to Peoria and breaking his leg in 2008. Hopefully a change of scenery can help him, because he seems to have the offensive skills to play in the NHL.

Wagner is a UFA after this season.

Guenin is 26 and definitely a stay-at-home kind of guy on the blue line. He's also a UFA after this season.

At least it's not a deranged mini pony...

Last year, Sean's Ramblings had the first "Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament". Sean was nice enough to select this blog for inclusion in the list. He also seeded me 8th against the really popular Pittsburgh Sports and Mini-Ponies.

This year I'm seeded 7th, and up against Pitt Blather in the first round.

If you like my blog, go and vote!

http://seanramblings.blogspot.com/2010/02/best-pittsburgh-sports-blog-tournament.html