News Article Pittsburgh Tribune Rips Pens - Must Read

[idahophilly]

This is great! Heres the link and I copied the text for those that don't want to go read the other articles.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/columnists/s_791501.html

Here is the article:

Kovacevic: Don't bother showing for Game 4

By Dejan Kovacevic, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Monday, April 16, 2012

Last updated: 12:58 pm

PHILADELPHIA — Within a couple hours of maybe the most pathetic playoff performance in Penguins history, the sloppy, senseless and stupid-beyond-words 8-4 loss to the Flyers in Game 3 on Sunday, the tattered remains of this team boarded an aircraft for Pittsburgh. That`s where they`re set to practice the next two days, then return here for Game 4.

Do us a favor, gentlemen: Don`t come back.

No, I mean it.

Just fold the sweaters like you`ve folded mentally in these Stanley Cup playoffs. Pack up like you`ve packed it in, and head off to Moose Jaw or Magnitogorsk for the summer.

But don`t come back here.

Not until you`re ready to use — and keep — your heads. Not until you`re prepared to take the ice with some semblance of dignity, discipline and, yeah, maybe even a shift or two of defense.

Want to send a busload of call-ups from Wilkes-Barre?

Go nuts. It`s right up the road.

Those kids, even the full-time knuckle-draggers, wouldn`t soil the franchise`s reputation like Arron Asham did with his disgraceful stick assault on Brayden Schenn, that before jabbing Schenn while face-down on the ice. The NHL`s suspension should be fierce.

Those Wilkes-Barre kids wouldn`t waste half the afternoon petulantly chasing personal grudges, either. Kris Letang killed the Penguins` early momentum with his stupid, selfish cross-check, then saw fit to get tossed for fighting while another fight was going on. Chris Kunitz was no sharper when slashing a Flyer in the attacking zone when the Penguins again had something going in the third. James Neal`s later hit that wiped out Sean Couturier wasn`t nearly as bad as folks here fussed about, but it was well away from the puck.

Even Sidney Crosby lost his cool, inexplicably risking his health by fighting Claude Giroux — though Crosby assured me nothing landed — and whacking his way all over the rink.

Afterward, too, despite assurances that "we`re not frustrated," he uncharacteristically raised eyebrows by saying of the Flyers` mega-pest Jakub Voracek, "I don`t like him. Why? Because I don`t like him. I don`t like any guy on their team."

That`s Crosby?

These are the Penguins?

You shouldn`t wonder what Mario Lemieux was thinking. I saw No. 66 shaking his head outside the locker room like a disgusted parent, and he had every right. He speaks out for the NHL to clean up its act, and his team pulls this garbage?

And yet, amazingly, the defense was still ugliest of all.

In all seriousness, do you suppose those Wilkes-Barre kids could hold the Flyers to fewer than 20 goals in three games?

Jordan Staal — who, along with Neal, Craig Adams, a gutsy Matt Niskanen and only a couple others, performed at an actual playoff level on this day — looked me in the eye and said the effort was there. I believe him. There are 11 ring-bearing champions on this roster.

But there`s a colossal difference between working hard and working smart, and the Penguins fell laughably shy of the latter — yet again — when it came to preventing goals.

The breakdowns spanned the length of the Turnpike, but nothing stood out like Pascal Dupuis failing to dump the puck on a penalty-kill late in the second, leading to Wayne Simmonds` breakaway goal that put the Flyers up, 6-4. This after relentless reinforcement about moving forward all week.

Dupuis is smarter than that.

The Penguins as a whole are far, far better than this. Or at least they should be.

They still sound determined, minus any bold declarations.

"We`ll be fine," Staal said.

They still sound together, too, with Crosby and Brooks Orpik offering — wholly unsolicited — that there`s "no finger-pointing" in the locker room.

But none of that matters with Evgeni Malkin being outclassed by 19-year-old Couturier, with Marc-Andre Fleury fishing rubber out of his net every five minutes, with the citizenry still waiting on Dan Bylsma`s first strategic adjustment and, above all, with dumb turning dumber.

Figure it out, fellas, or save the airfare.

Read more: Kovacevic: Don't bother showing for Game 4 - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/columnists/s_791501.html#ixzz1sF2sfr9p

[flyercanuck]

"Flyers` mega-pest Jakub Voracek"

Huh? Voracek is a "mega-pest"?

All this bad press is going to produce an "Us against the world" thinking in their lockerroom. They came in reading they were a shoo-in to compete for the cup, and shot themselves in the foot. We'll see what they're made of...either their best effort or a total fold, in game 4.

[radoran]

Huh? Voracek is a "mega-pest"?

Yeah. He had 44 PIMs in his first year in the league. Then a whopping 26 in each of the next two. That's 13 minors, you know.

Once he came to Philadelphia, he erupted with the mega-pest behavior, putting up an incredible 32 PIMs.

There's one "mega-pest" on the ice. He's wearing the C for Pittsburgh.

[flyercanuck]

I mean when I think of the Flyers and pests, Voracek is right up there with Timonen and JVR.

[JackStraw]

Huh? Voracek is a "mega-pest"?

It's an understandable mistake, "Jakub Voracek" is spelled almost exactly the same as "Zac Rinaldo". Almost exactly.

[Bakanekimiwa]

by and large, the response from most pens broadcasters and fans has been pleasantly surprising. most seem to be disappointed and outraged with their baby pens behaviour. so.. there's that.

[AndyS]

Wow!

[canoli]

"Even Sidney Crosby lost his cool,"

That was the funniest line in the article, the "even." That's perfect. The #1 Juvenile Head Case on the ice and this author says "even Sidney Crosby..."

I wonder what it's like living near Da Nile.

[TedZep]

"Flyers` mega-pest Jakub Voracek"

Huh? Voracek is a "mega-pest"?

Well he did leave his glove on the ice just taunting Crosby.

[DAXflyer]

Well he did leave his glove on the ice just taunting Crosby.

Almost like Jake put it there to trip Cindy.

[Samifan]

Bettman fines the Pittsburgh Tribune $100,000 for slamming his Penguins. Colin Campbell also buys airtime on all of the local TV stations to apolgize to the City of Pittsburgh for "outrageous article" written about the Pens.

[pilldoc]

Time to put these wounded birds out of their misery. A 5-0 shutout should do just nicely.

Glad to know there are at least some classy Pens fans.......

But Jake a pest...what the hell are they smokin'

[doom88]

With a lack of research like Voracek the mega pest, all I can say is, I guess Pit has their own fraud writers. Somehow, that article still seemed more accurate than Carchidi and Pinocchio on average.

[flyercanuck]

I'll admit Voracek has got himself involved in some scrums. I think he's really found himself a "team". But to call him a "mega-pest" is just hilarious.

[Podein25]

...head off to Moose Jaw

Lol.

That is one very well-written article.

Re: Crosby's "hate" for Jake, it's even more laughable when you consider that Crosby cannot have played against him more than a handful of games in his entire career.