NHL players not touching the conference trophy is a stupid superstition

The Florida Panthers advanced to the Stanley Cup Final after defeating the New York Rangers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals last Saturday night at Amerant Bank Arena. One night later, Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers also clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup Final with a 2-1 victory over the Dallas… read more

The Panthers advance to the Stanley Cup Final yet again, as the state of Florida continues to dominate the Eastern Conference

Chants of “We want the Cup!” reverberated throughout the arena, as players, coaches, staff and even family members gathered around to have their picture taken with the NHL’s Eastern Conference Trophy on Saturday night. Where was this arena located? Toronto? Montreal? How about New York, Detroit or Boston? Try Sunrise, Florida, a principal city located… read more

The Toronto Maple Leafs may never win another Stanley Cup

The Bruins told the Maple Leafs to make like a tree and get out of there after a 2-1 overtime victory in Game 7 of the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs at TD Garden in Boston on Saturday night. Speaking of the 1985 movie, Back to the Future, the citizens of Toronto… read more

The Penguins will miss the playoffs for a second-straight season

T.J. Oshie scored an empty-net goal to break a 1-1 tie with three minutes to go in the third period, and the Capitals went on to defeat the Flyers, 2-1, at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Tuesday night. The win clinched the second wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference for Washington, who will face… read more

Penguins fans have to become Flyers fans for just one night

The Penguins once again got zero help around the NHL as it pertained to their postseason fate on Monday night. Pittsburgh knocked off the Predators, 4-2, to wrap up its regular-season home schedule at PPG Paints Arena, which was the kind of self-help necessary to stay alive for at least one more day. However, both… read more

Penguins don’t control their own playoff fate with two games left

Not long ago, the Penguins were hopelessly out of playoff contention with precious little time remaining in the 2023/2024 NHL campaign.  Pittsburgh was either seven or eight points out of the second wildcard or the third seed in the Metro Division, depending on which slot seemed more realistic for the most optimistic fan at that… read more

The Penguins were never going to get a haul in the Jake Guentzel trade

The Pittsburgh Penguins, an extremely successful and popular NHL franchise that has seemingly had hockey’s top stars every year since 1984, aren’t used to selling anything at the trade deadline other than Stanley Cup playoff tickets. Unfortunately, the 2023/2024 season has been one of reckoning for the Penguins. After narrowly missing the playoffs for the… read more

Welcome to Pittsburgh: A city where every sports team lives on the playoff bubble

In the spring of 2009, I sat down to watch an NCAA regional final matchup between Pitt and Villanova. The Panthers entered the 2008/2009 NCAA Tournament as a number-one seed and made it to the Elite Eight for the first time since it was actually called that. I was stoked. There was no doubt in… read more

Jaromir Jagr is an all-time NHL great and still only the Penguins third-best player

The Penguins retired jersey No. 68 in honor of their legendary former forward, Jaromir Jagr, on Sunday, February 18, at PPG Paints Arena. It was an excellent evening in Pittsburgh, as several of Jagr’s old teammates were in attendance to pay tribute to him for what he accomplished during his 11-year career as a Penguin–including… read more

Unwritten rules in sports give athletes an excuse to commit assault during games

It was July 25, 1989. The Pirates were leading the Dodgers, 6-2, in the bottom of the seventh inning at old Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Pirates outfielder R.J. Reynolds reached first, before immediately stealing second and third base. Los Angeles pitcher Tim Crews then threw up and in to batter Gary Redus, striking him… read more

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