(picture blatantly stolen from, then credited to, The Pensblog)
I’m not that pissed about yesterday’s loss to Philly. How can I be, when we wrapped up a season that saw the Penguins secure the 2 seed in the East? Getting the 1 seed would have been a paper championship, and the team needn’t focus on those with the grueling playoffs starting in a handful of days.
The real reason I didn’t mind the loss is because our first-round opponent is set. And they’re a familiar foe. The Ottawa Senators.
You may remember the Senators destroying Pittsburgh in the opening round of last-season’s playoffs. Pittsburgh was on the wrong side of the 4-5 series, playing more games in Canada than in the States. The Pens won only one game, then hit the links early. If you hadn’t prayed for this matchup in the first round of this year’s playoffs, then you are not a Penguins fan. We need to serve up some revenge. Senators beware.
I don’t mean to sound over-confident, just excited. The Sens will likely be without Daniel Alfredsson, which coincides nicely with the return of Senator-killer Gary Roberts. Also, I enjoy knowing that Ottawa played sub-.500 hockey since Christmas. Happy holidays, Penguins fans!
My head is nearly exploding with the possibility of destroying Ottawa in the first round. Now, they still have Spezza and Heatley, so I’m not writing them off before we even play a game. However, not having Captain Alfredsson makes MAF’s job that much easier.
The puck drops in two days. All the accomplishments of this past season are gone. Evgeni Malkin is 100-some points lighter, and MAFer is looking for his first win of the season. Sid the Kid has two healthy ankles. There’s blood in the water, and the Penguins have the scent.
Go Pens.
