Nah, this feels great and all. But tomorrow it's time to focus on the next round. If we avoid the Bruins and the Rangers this is an opportunity that might not come around that often.
Hopefully we'll get Grossmann, Meszaros and Bourdon back for/during the next round, and not suffer any more injuries. Then this team can really go places, as long as the d looks like it did today.
I hear what your saying! I graduated from Pitt so I have many friends that are Pen's fans! Plus I married a girl from out that way! I converted her to the Orange and Black but the in-laws are another story! I'd never live it down if they lost this series!
OP is right for the most part. I kinda agree. Going into this season, getting into the playoffs was a question with all the changes and rookies on the team. Having those rookies come up huge in a playoff series means a lot for their experience and composure (as if they didn't have it already).
The problem is, if this was to happen, I assumed Boston/New York would be past their opponents easily. That hasn't happened. With the character we showed in this series, along with those teams being slowed down and possibly kicked out, I think the idea of us making a Cup run shot up tremendously.
Look obviously every team goes into the playoffs wanting to win the cup. As a fan, I guess I mentally prepare myself for the most realistic outcome so that I am not completely broken if they get knocked out. Getting back to the OP, this team has already exceeded my expectations, in fact that went well beyond them and now I have changed my outlook altogether.
Hopefully the weight will return soon ! Because in case some have not noticed,This club plays their best with the weight and pressure on them ! I know it sounds crazy,but its just the way this club rolls !Although as a fan it feels good to have the weight lifted for a spell ! LOL
I've got to agree with the OP, too. What a way for this team's rookies to be introduced to the Stanley Cup playoffs, too. Just playing with house money in subsequent round(s) of these playoffs.
It isn't the end goal, but holy crap beating the Pens feels great. They are a super team, and given what I thought would happen this year, it is more than I could've hoped for with such a young team.
Yup. I fully expected them to blow this series given Bryz play and the battered defense.
For us to have ANY chance in next series, both Grossman and Mesz have to come back 100 percent, and Bryz... well.... I donno, that's a bigger worry event than the defense.
Really. I think the chances of Gross/Mesz coming back roaring is higher than the odds of Bryz turning it around 180 degrees.
Definitely very satisfying. They've already passed everyone's expectations going into this season. Looking like the playoff bracket may shake up in our favor too.
I agree, this is a HUGE weight lifted for this team and organization. They've owned us in the playoffs of late, and we still have key guys on this team that couldn't get over that hump (Coby, G, Kimmo). These kids came in and didn't treat the Pens as superstars or cup favorites, and I love that about this team.
It isn't the end goal, but holy crap beating the Pens feels great. They are a super team, and given what I thought would happen this year, it is more than I could've hoped for with such a young team.
Well said. The future looks bright here with the team that Homer has put together.
I'm happy they vanquished that gutless team and I couldn't care less that Bylsma didnt wish us luck.....I will not stoop as low as him and thus I wish him luck on his golf game.....
I agree with the OP. I hate the Penguins. Beating them - the team that The Hockey News declared to be THE BEST PENGUINS TEAM EVER - is a great feeling.
Anyone who knows even one Penguins fan has cause to rejoice.
i have to quote this for truth. I managed to maintain 2 penguin fans as friends at least on facebook. I checked and they are no longer amused of my facebook statuses and unfriended me. i clicked away satisfied. haha
Of course it's not the same as winning the Cup, but when you consider how good the Pens are and how much better they match up against teams other than the Flyers, I do feel as if we took the Cup away from Pittsburgh, which is * almost* as good. But not as good.
i have to quote this for truth. I managed to maintain 2 penguin fans as friends at least on facebook. I checked and they are no longer amused of my facebook statuses and unfriended me. i clicked away satisfied. haha
haha indeed!
I got all manner of texts and emails during Game 4. And then again after Game 5.
Yesterday - silence.
been a long time since I have seen such thin-skinned frontrunners
I've been following the NHL since '86 and this very well may have been the most bizarre series I've seen. Considering your team just knocked out one of the "cup-favorites", how can some of you guys be calling this your cup? Washington and Ottawa are definitely showing that the NYR and Bruins are beatable. Your Flyers are definitely better than those teams. If your powerplay continues at anything even close to what it has been, those other teams should be trembling to play you. As a Pens fan, the only match-up I didn't want was the Flyers. We played well against the Rangers and the Bruins. The only team in the East that made me nervous was Philly. There's always a different feel to a playoff series with you guys than any other team.
Now, as I am a Pens fan, I will not be hopping on a Flyer's bandwagon, and wish you all some agonizing disappointment. However, some of you are clearly selling your team a bit short. The Flyers definitely have what it takes to win this thing. (Banged up defense, Bryzgalov, and all.)
I've been following the NHL since '86 and this very well may have been the most bizarre series I've seen. Considering your team just knocked out one of the "cup-favorites", how can some of you guys be calling this your cup? Washington and Ottawa are definitely showing that the NYR and Bruins are beatable. Your Flyers are definitely better than those teams. If your powerplay continues at anything even close to what it has been, those other teams should be trembling to play you. As a Pens fan, the only match-up I didn't want was the Flyers. We played well against the Rangers and the Bruins. The only team in the East that made me nervous was Philly. There's always a different feel to a playoff series with you guys than any other team.
Now, as I am a Pens fan, I will not be hopping on a Flyer's bandwagon, and wish you all some agonizing disappointment. However, some of you are clearly selling your team a bit short. The Flyers definitely have what it takes to win this thing. (Banged up defense, Bryzgalov, and all.)
Thanks for your perspective. As a follower of this team since '75, I'm hard-wired to expect disappointment. I was convinced the Penguins were coming back and was nauseated with the prospect of how widely and eternally publicized "The Comeback" would enjoy in NHL annals (probably one 'n' too many there). Beyond the banged-up defense and Bryzgalov playing Vezina and Hyde, this is a squad that is leaning heavily on a cluster of rookies. I was hoping for a bit of playoff success merely to give them a good taste of what it takes to win games in the playoffs, looking forward to when this team had a legitimate chance to go for the brass ring.
It may be petty, but the degree of satisfaction to oust arguably this team's #1 rival over the past decade (give or take a few years), after the pre-playoffs hype the Penguins received, would keep a smile on my face even if they were swept in round 2. Wins from here on in are gravy.
