Expectations and the Penguins are a funny combination for me. I was happy when the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 1991, but that same evening, I was more excited that the Pirates beat the Phillies in extra innings. It wasn't until the next spring, when the Pens won their second consecutive Stanley Cup, that I was really a passionate and loyal fan. Both cups followed solid but unspectacular regular seasons, filled with flashes of brilliance, but rarely the kind of prolonged stretches of intensity and consistency that mark an NHL champion.
The two cup teams were followed by some of the best regular seasons in club history. Division championship flags were routinely raised to the rafters at the arena, and the team collected the one and only President's Trophy in franchise history. It was this collection of players that should have steamrolled through the playoffs on the way to multiple championships, a dazzling collection of grit and skill. Instead, come playoff time, my assumptions collapsed under a wave of bad bounces, fluke goals, and most importantly, and ominously, the on-set of the neutral zone trap.
I thought about those mid-90s Penguins teams a lot last season, as the Penguins collection of breathtaking young talent came of age sooner than anyone expected. Going into last year, our expectations as fans were tempered at best. After getting burned so badly by the 05-06 squad that was ill-constructed for the post-lockout NHL, the general hopes for the season were to remain competitive, to not have our hopes for a playoff spot dashed by the time the calendar flipped to the New Year. Instead, the team found a winning groove in February, and didn't snap out of it until they'd rolled up 105 points and the franchise's first playoff birth in six years.
Of course the success of last year also meant there wasn't going to be another season like it, at least for a long time. With the young core of players locked in for a long time, we as fans now know what the team is capable of, have seen them play at a level that at times rivals the best teams in the leagues. We can no longer be pleasantly surprised when they find success, only disappointed when they don't match and eventually exceed their achievements from last season. Ask any Pirates fan, and they'll tell you it's a gift to root for a team that you think can win a championship; but there's a burden that comes with it too.
So for the first time in more than a decade, the Penguins entered their home opener last weekend as one of the favorites to win the Eastern Conference. Once again, Karasic, Meghann, Zavo and I were all in attendance, thanks to the continuing insane generosity of Karasic's parents (mixed with a little bit of fortune on EBay this year as well). Here's what I'll remember about this year's opener...
...The atmosphere at the arena was much more business like this year than in the previous two. While there's always a certain amount of celebration and pageantry that surrounds a home opener, the hit-and-miss gimmicks that made up the pre-game festivities in years past (old man reading a story video, Superman parody, live penguins on the ice) were largely done away with. We were left with introductions, and a simple highlight video, making it not all that different from a Tuesday night game in February. That's actually more than okay with me at this point though. The Penguins have become the hottest ticket in town, and with that often come hordes of fans who come to games to be seen, not to appreciate the product on the ice. While I doubt it was a conscious decision to stick it to these types of people, it was almost as if the Penguins said "we've come far enough as a team and an organization, that all the fans need to be happy is the product that's on the ice."
...It's a good thing I didn't have to steal to eat as a kid. I could barely rate level after we snuck an extra person into our section for the game. Due to the demand for tickets this year, we had to purchase our fourth seat on Ebay, and were planning to rotate one of us into the no-man's land seat every period. However, we thought we'd see if there was an empty seat in our section first before caving. With a stow away in our midst, I could barely keep my breathing normal every time someone walked up the aisle towards us. My eyes kept darting around like I was on night patrol in Fallujah. By the time the puck dropped, I'd worked up a bigger sweat than the guys in the face off circle.
...Sidney Crosby crumpling to the ice after taking a slapshot off his foot early in the first period. You'd think given our track record for injury prone hockey superstars in Pittsburgh, I'd be a little better about dealing with our franchise player potentially being hurt. Still, the team's record when Crosby doesn't score, is unbelievably bad, and while we have a boatload of talent on the team, the prospect of playing an extended stretch without the captain is too much to bear. In that moment, more than following any beautiful, no-look set-up, is when you realize the value of Crosby the most.
...A new in game video promotion "The Pizza Hut Hot Seat" where a random Penguins player is asked a variety of questions about his preferences in certain situations, like "Betty or Wilma?" or "Coke or Pepsi?" Since it was opening night, the player was naturally Crosby, who elicited perhaps the biggest cheer of the night when he selected "pop" over "soda." I think this would be an awesome way to get the crowd fired up every night, by rigging the answers to questions like "Primanti Bros. or Quizno's?" and "Donnie Iris or Celine Dion?"
...The sound of Petr Sykora's shot. We haven't had as pure a goal-scorer since Alexei Kovalev (or 25 games of Zigmund Palffy). Sykora's got quicker wrists than Jesse James, as evidenced by the shot he took in the third period. The pass arrived on his tape, he flicked his stick, and before I realized he shot the puck, I heard it clank off the glass behind the net. Just unreal.
...Sykora will score a lot of goals with his shot this season, but I came away even m ore impressed that his two goals on opening night were scored by crashing hard at the net. Sykora played like a man possessed, skating freely all over the ice, cruising for open space, and relishing the chance to be physical. In Sykora, who languished in defense-oriented Edmonton last year, the Penguins may have found a nice template for procuring talent. Pluck skilled guys from teams with a boring offense, and then put them on a line with one of the most gifted playmakers in the game, and watch him go nuts. I know I'd be so pumped up I'd crash the net during the opening of Saving Private Ryan in that scenario.
...Karasic's reaction when Cotton Eye Joe beat Ah! Leah! on the fans text to pick the next song played contest. I'm as childishly amused by hyper-obese people dancing in the aisles to country re-mixes as the next guy, but not at the expense of insulting a Pittsburgh icon.
...Evgeni Malkin, who after fading down the stretch last season, looks absolutely explosive again. My favorite play from the night was when he physically created space in front of the Ducks net, the buried a beautiful cross ice feed from Sykora into a the wide open mesh. It was basically how I scored every goal in NHL 2002.
...The guy next to me, who combined numbers two and five on my list of most annoying traits of hockey fans. Every time the Penguins were on the power play, this is all he had to say "shootitshootitshootitshootitshootitshootitshootitawwwwwwwwfuuuuuuuck!" His place in the hall of annoying became complete when positioned next to me at the trough urinal in between periods, he hawked a massive loogie into the toilet before beginning to relieve himself. What a class act.
...Sergei Gonchar, who was on the ice for all four Ducks goals. Holy hell, here we go again with this guy. I know he has a widely-know and well-earned reputation as a slow starter, but this was ridiculous. One in two of his passes at this point has a chance of being intercepted and turned the other way for a an odd man rush. My favorite is Sarge's body language during all this. He looks just like Jerome Bettis after his fumble against the Colts in the 2006 playoffs, aware of the shit storm he caused developing behind him, but powerless to do anything to stop it.
...The bling. Walking to our seats, we passed a display the featured the Art Ross, Cadler and Hart Trophies. Yeah, last season was pretty fucking sweet.
...Crosby's assist on the game-winning goal. Just when you think it's not his night, that maybe that groin strain from the preseason, or the injured foot from earlier in the night is bothering him, out of nowhere, he flashes it. On this night, it was spotting a streaking Ryan Malone flying down the left boards, outracing a defenseman to the puck, and batting it over to hit his teammate in perfect stride. Malone had so much time to pick his corner and shoot, I could have walked over to Zavo sitting in the seat halfway across the arena, and been there to high five him just as the goalie's water bottle was flopping to the ice.
...The Ducks fourth goal, which cut the Pens lead to one with just over 30 seconds to play. However, with visions of the 2005 opener and its blown leads, and the quagmire of a season that followed, the Pens got a key clear. By the time the Ducks regrouped and regained their momentum on offense, it was too late to mount a serious threat. Game over. Pens 5, Ducks 4.
Walking out of the arena was a completely unique feeling. There wasn't the shell-shocked numbness of 2005, where it took me a week to process the dream like highs and lows I just witnessed. Nor was there the party of last year, where we as a crowd chanted, and cheered and pounded walls in excitement over having just shut out and stunned our biggest rival on opening night. Certainly, we in the crowd were happy, after all, we just began our home schedule by defeating the defending champions. But two years ago, with all the miracles and good fortune that smiled upon us leading up to the season, I'm not sure we would have known enough to truly appreciate the moment. Last year this win would have had the crowd setting bonfires, and turning over cars in South Oakland. This year though, there was definite pulse rampways, but it was subdued. The team was 1-1. There was another game Wednesday night. And after all, they don't award the Stanley Cup based on winning the first home game.
