PENS beat Habs 6-3. GOALS: GONCHAR(1) STAAL(2) LETANG(3) ADAMS(2) GOLIGOSKI(2) GUERIN(3). STARS: 3)GIONTA 2)LETANG 1)CROSBY. Next game Sun 2pm.

Sidney Crosby a finalist for HART TROPHY as NHL MVP along with Alex Ovechkin & Henrik Sedin. Pens vs MTL Friday 7pm, big screen open!

PENS beat Senators 4-3(OT), win series 4-2. GOALS: M.COOKE(2,3) GUERIN(2) P.DUPUIS(1-OT). STARS: 3)M.CULLEN 2)M.COOKE 1)P.DUPUIS. Next game TBD.

PENS fall to Sens 4-3(3OT). GOALS: K.LETANG(2) C.KUNITZ(2) S.CROSBY(5). STARS: 3)S.CROSBY 2)M.CULLEN 1)P.LECLAIR.

PENS top Sens 7-4. GOALS: E.MALKIN(4) S.CROSBY(3,4) M.COOKE(1) M.TALBOT(1) C.KUNITZ(1) J.STAAL(1). STARS: 3)D.ALFREDSSON 2)S.GONCHAR 1)S.CROSBY.

PENS ALERT: Jordan Staal named finalist for SELKE TROPHY as NHLs top defensive forward along with Pavel Datsyuk(DET) and Ryan Kesler(VAN).

PENS beat Sens 4-2. GOALS: A.PONIKAROVSKY(1) E.MALKIN(3) S.CROSBY(2) B.GUERIN(1). STARS: 3)E.MALKIN 2)P.REGIN 1)S.CROSBY. Next game TUE @Ottawa.

PENS top Sens 2-1. GOALS: S.CROSBY(1), K.LETANG(1). STARS: 3)B.ELLIOTT 2)K.LETANG 1)S.CROSBY. Next game SUNDAY 6:30pm. Visit www.pensmobile.com.

PENS fall to Sens 5-4. GOALS: E.MALKIN(1,2) C.ADAMS(1) A.GOLIGOSKI(1). Next game FRI 7pm. STARS: 3)E.MALKIN 2)C.NEIL 1)C.KELLY.

and here we go

Ah yes, one of my favorite lines from "The Dark Knight", and how appropriate :)

So it begins tonight, the quest of all sports quests, the 16 games you need to win to get the sacred chalice known as the Stanley Cup.

When the season began back in October, the Penguins no longer looked back at their epic win the previous June, and forgot about their "summer with Stanley", and instead, pushed forward to get to the point where they are now. Looking to reclaim that prize again.

Winning back to back Cups is very difficult, and not easily done. However, the Pens have done it before in the franchises history. The question is, can they do it again, this time?

Of course not even the best of prognosticators could tell you that, but any die hard fan, myself included, would just love for that to happen. Regardless of these playoffs outcome, and the last ones played on Mellon Arena ice, the Pittsburgh Penguins have made me happy be battling once again to this point.

So, enjoy the outside big screen, or even your own living rooms big screen, or whether you're at the game itself, just revel in the greatness of the best sport in the world, being played by some of the most talented players ever... because they are our Pittsburgh Penguins!

LET'S GO PENS!!!
LET'S GO PENS!!!
LET'S GO PENS!!!

PENS top NYI 6-5(OT). GOALS MALKIN(27,28) GODARD(1) CROSBY(50,51) LEOPOLD(11). STARS 3)MALKIN 2)TAVARES 1)CROSBY. Sid, Stamkos top NHL w/51 goals.

PENS fall to ATL 1-0. STARS: 3)V.KOZLOV 2)B.LITTLE 1)J.HEDBERG. Next game SUN 5pm vs NYI. Pens clinch #4 playoff seed. Will play Ottawa in Rd 1.

PENS top Isles 7-3. GOALS: B.ORPIK(2) A.GOLIGOSKI(8) E.MALKIN(26) S.CROSBY(49,50) T.KENNEDY(13) B.GUERIN(20). STARS: 3)MALKIN 2)GUERIN 1)CROSBY

Ode to joy

Ode to joy is typically known for its musical rendition by Beethoven.

The original poem that Beethoven got the inspiration from, by Friedrich Schiller, translates to mean celebrating the ideal of unity and brotherhood of all mankind.

Now that we have that music lesson out of the way, how does this translate to hockey? Well, specifically it makes me compare the ideals of brotherhood and unity to members of a team and how they work together, and just how for so many years all this has taken place in the Mellon Arena. Or maybe you knew it as the Civic Arena (I did).

Tonight, we celebrate the unity and brotherhood that has brought so much joy to so many. Some may argue a building couldn't do such a thing, yet it can.

Whether you gathered there for a Pens game, went to a concert, or maybe one of the ill fated professional basketball games that took place in the Igloo, everyone has a favorite memory of going there.

I only have ever gone there for hockey games, and quite a few at that. So many that I don't even know the exact number. My first memories of going to the then Civic Arena were with my older brother, at a time I didn't know too awful much about the sport of hockey. From that moment on I've not looked back. So, blame him for my obsession :) Thanks, Brian!

There were even times once I lived out on my own and my brother lived far from me, that I braved driving in Pittsburgh to go to some games on my own. After the fact when I told my mother about going to some games on my own she was a little nervous about me doing it, but I assured her I was careful. The fact that I saw some of the best moments in hockey are just something I can't help but look back on.

I'm not talking about NHL record setting moments, these are moments that mean more to me than anything else. Hands down my all time favorite moment was seeing Darius Kasparaitis lay out Eric Lindros. Keep your head up nimrod...



Also notable was the night I went, cane in hand, several weeks after having had surgery on my achilles tendon to a Pens game all on my own. Petr Nedved had recently gone to the Rangers for the second time and the Pittsburgh loyal were letting him know what they thought of him. Classic.

I have been honored being a Penguins fan to have seen several of the games greatest players not only grace the Mellon Arena, but play for my team. In my history of a Pens follower, seeing Ronnie Francis, Paul Coffey, Bryan Trottier, Rob Brown, Tom Barrasso, and so many other noteables.

Jaromir Jagr made such an impression on me, at the time my favorite player, that I named my cat Jagr in his honor. Just as now Sidney Crosby has taken his place, my rabbit is Sidney. Time will only tell what history holds for Sid, Evgeni Malkin, Jordon Staal, and Marc Andre Fleury, and what new memories they will create for us in Consol Energy Center.

Mario Lemieux will go down in history as being as Le Magnifique, but more importantly as the savior for our team, and the arena itself. As a whole the city of Pittsburgh could never repay the debt to Mario for what he has done for the city, and the sport of hockey. Thanks to him countless many have learned and come to love hockey. How great is it that he was ours then and always will be as he chooses to make the city of Pittsburgh his home.

All this unity and brotherhood all thanks to an igloo shaped building, countless Penuins having passed thru its doors, some more worthy of mention than others, but all having graced us with their talent and given us the thing that memories are made of... joy.

PENS fall to Caps 6-3. GOALS: S.CROSBY(48) J.LEOPOLD(9,10). STARS: 3)J.LEOPOLD 2)N.BACKSTROM 1)A.SEMIN.

PENS top ATL 4-3(OT). GOALS: E.MALKIN(25) T.KENNEDY(12) S.GONCHAR(11) J.LEOPOLD(8-OT). STARS 3)LEOPOLD 2)MALKIN 1)GONCHAR. Next game TUE vsCaps.