Pots and Kettles / Godard's Injury

We all remember the shenanigans that happened between Kris Letang and everyone's favorite asshat Scott Hartnell earlier this season. This rivalry, already amazing from my stand point, has somehow become even more bitter this season because of Hartnell's actions.

Letang got into this game too, and I was absolutely proud of him for it. Alex Goligoski has had a bit of a rough season after a hot start. He hasn't been putting the puck in the net as much as he was at the beginning of the season but he is by no means dogging it. I think that this was totally shown in the Flyers game. Goligoski goes into the corners hard and paid for it big time against Philadelphia with a devastating check on him by Darroll Powe. Kris Letang, however, immediately steps up for his defense partner, gaining a +10 to respect from this humble blogger:



Goligoski was injured on this play and missed the following night's game against New York. Letang stepping up, even in taking the extra two, is all right in my book. Sanderson, do you have a thought on this?


Well worth it.

At some points, you have to let the people know that enough is enough and Letang did a great job fighting Powe there. Obviously, as a Penguin fan, I revel in beating the Flyers, especially in Philadelphia. However, with a crowd that thirsts for blood like the Roman Colosseum, I also take GREAT pleasure in watching a Flyer lose a fight on his home ice. As tPB points out so well, Flyer fans would rather see a fight then a win. In this case, they saw their fight, but it was a loss. Not much was heard from him the rest of the game, save for the usual scrumming which we always see in a Pens/Flyers throw down.


[Reuters]

Fuck yeah, Craig Adams! I know this is weird, but this image and what happened after are basically why I love me some Craig Adams. Old Craigley gets flat out walloped by Mike Richards here but he keeps on ticking and gets him back later in the shift. Adams' face is always all sorts of messed up, a perfect fit for the Pens' Shiner Line with Rupp and Godard, but he never backs down from anything or anyone. I've said it many times, but I'll say it again, huge steal on the waiver wire by King Shero.


[Getty Images]

It was great to see Evgeni Malkin playing like this. Malkin is getting hot and when he's hot he doesn't shy away from the physical activity. It was his action after an offsides call that started the latest big moment in the Penguins/Flyers rivalry:


[AP]

As the offsides whistle is blown Hartnell sets up to bump Malkin but Malkin knows it is coming. Great to see Malkin deliver the blow rather then just shrug it off or try to get out of the way. Malkin is becoming a very angry man. In this though, we have a wonderful case of pots and kettles. Arron Asham goes off after the game about not respecting Matt Cooke because he allegedly bit him and that he is a dirty player. Now, if all these allegations are equal and true, it certainly makes the Philadelphia locker room an interesting place to be, doesn't it? Must be hard not respecting one of the most widely known players on your team, huh Asham?

Honestly, I don't really care about either of these situations too much. Biting isn't going to be that painful, especially in the case of Asham: A) Does Matt Cooke even have teeth? And B) As you can see from this video, Asham doesn't even seem to lose his gloves to get bitten:



GhostWalker40 is a legend. Seriously though, have you ever worn hockey gloves? They're think. Could you imagine biting a hockey glove? Are you vomiting? I am. So, really, on both ends it's just a fun thing for the fans to fight about, but on the ice? Just please, stop your crying.

Finally, a quick update on Eric Godard. As I'm sure everyone saw, Godard's knee appeared to go funny on him early in the game against the Rangers the day after the Flyers game. I certainly hope it's nothing major, however according to Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Penguins weren't saying anything about Godard's condition yesterday. Hopefully, Godard doesn't miss too much time and can continue to be available when he needs to be. I don't think we lose too much in having Rupp being our enforcer, but over an 82 game regular season, it's nice to have someone around to make things like this be answered for:


[Getty Images]

Godard's presence on the ice maybe stops that from happening. Sidney Crosby talked about how big time cheap shots such as Derian Hatcher's high stick and Jason Blake's spear came to an almost complete stop once Georges Laraque was acquired by Shero. Today, Eric Godard fulfills that role. Get well soon, #28, you let Crosby and Malkin to things without fear.

Eric Godard: Player's Player

Last season, Eric Godard was awarded the Player's Player award by his teammates. You know how that goes, the guy who is in the locker room or out on the ice that is just a great guy over all: everyone likes him, he doesn't cause trouble, all that stuff. You can see why he gets this award when he starts shenanigans like dressing up like a care bear during practice or all the visits he does to hospitals in the area. It also shines through on the ice when he is skating around doing his job. He doesn't complain, ever, when he sits. Usually, when he's in the press box, or even when he's not, he's too busy busting out unreal suits to be worrying about scoring goals:



When you're dressed like that, everything else falls into place.

Godard on the ice is still something to be counted on. I still believe that people don't fully understand what it's like to have an enforcer in the lineup. Just the simple FACT that Godard and Mike Rupp are sitting on the bench chewing out anyone that looks at Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin funny makes the team better. That presence gives players more confidence to go out and do stuff that they might not normally do, battle in a corner with a goon or go to the net hard against a bigger defenseman, because they know that if the goon tries anything, he is going to have to answer to Godard or Rupp the next time 28 or 17 is on the ice with them.

This happened last night. Alexander Pechursky, as anyone who is a real fan and kept watching the game saw, was awesome in relief of John Curry. The baby Russian was fantastic in his play, challenging the guy with the puck, eating up pucks so there weren't no rebounds, all that good stuff. Pechursky also got his true NHL welcome from Darcy Hordichuk.

It's not unlikely that Pechursky hadn't gotten a taste of this style of play. Pechursky comes from the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League. ANY time the WHL is mentioned it seems to includes the words "tough," or "rough," or "hard hitting." Pechursky has most likely dodged his fair share of shenanigans playing for the Americans already, such as this:


[Photo courtesy of John Allen, WHL's website]

Mad hops, yo. But, Pechursky got a different kind of physicality when Darcy Hordichuk decided there wasn't enough bullshit going on in a game that was already decided. Nothing was happening in this game. Godard had gave Hordichuk a little tap earlier in the game but that was a while ago at this point. There was absolutely no reason for Hordichuk to run Pechursky, who was simply playing his game and playing it well. Really, it is amazing Hordichuk did this like he did. Usually we see a guy coast a bit to bump the goalie or takes the momentum of a guy pushing him and "accidentally" bumps the goalie. Hordichuk however, attempts to skate around the guy holding him off who is pushing him towards the cross bar, and strides into Pechursky. Insanity.

Hordichuk, however, made the mistake of running the goalie when Eric Godard was on the ice. Godard immediately jumps to the aid of the baby Russian and loses his gloves faster than a prom date loses her dress:


[Getty Images]

Whoops. Guess you forgot about that little caveat, eh Darcy? Though, I'm such a fan of Hordichuk's reaction. He gets up swearing and acting all offended. I mean, I understand you don't stand up for your goalie Hordichuk (See: Byfuglien in the playoffs against Vancouver), but in Pittsburgh even our baby Russians get our full defense. You're not going to get away with it. And, at the end of the day?


[Reuters]

It still feels like a win because of the baby Russian doing so well. Hope to see you again Pechursky.

An Oasis of Fists

You know, my dear readership, (which is most likely down considerably from the zero readers I had after almost a month without fights), it is good to be back. With a few losing streaks, a few bad games, a shitty power play, and a bunch of cry baby bandwagon fans over the past month, the lack of fights for the Penguins has made hockey almost unbearable. Thankfully, last night, we finally got back into the saddle, (oh yeah, I did it.)

Eric Godard stepped in and finally did what I've been waiting for: played a complete game on the fourth line. I've mentioned it before but I'll say it again; Godard, while a great fighter, isn't exactly that great at anything else whether it be shooting, or passing, or hitting, or even skating. Last night, Godard was at least doing the hitting part. Both fourth lines, in fact, were getting their noses dirty and getting some good chances. After Godard went to the box for slashing at Dion Phaneuf, I knew he was in the game. Perhaps it was playing in front of his old crowd that got him going, but something kept Godard's legs churning and he was delivering actual checks instead of just minor bumps.

Once a year this seems to happen, last year it was when Godard thumped Dustin Byfuglien (a name I refuse to pronounce anyway except phonetically), when the Penguins played Chicago. Everyone knows about Byfuglien, a poor man's Milan Lucic. You know, a guy that plays with an edge but rarely fights for himself and when he does he's usually fighting someone smaller than him? Though, really, that's not really true with Lucic, he's had some big time fights. Hmmm, let's go poor man's Chris Neil then, eh? Sounds good.

Byfuglien is known for his shenanigans, the most recent big time example being him getting in Roberto Luongo's head, along with the rest of the Canucks', during the playoffs last season. Byfuglien never answered for it. Quite honestly I'm surprised a Canuck didn't just take an extra two to beat some sense into him. But, this is about Godard.

In that game as previously mentioned, Godard took a run at Byfuglien. Byfuglien was obviously not going to fight Godard but Godard took him off his game with a rough, despite four goals being scored by Chicago, Byfuglien didn't figure in on one, and was a minus for the game. Too busy worrying about this happening again I imagine:


[Getty Images]

Personally, I think my favorite thing about this is Godard's smug look. He knows at this point he's going to the box, but he's done good. Byfuglien was a non factor the rest of the game. Seriously, I don't even remember him playing.

So, in this game, Godard was doing much of the same, laying the body when he could. Really, this is all just a set up for me to be able to post a picture of Godard checking someone, cause it's about as rare as a photograph of Alex Ovechkin delivering a clean check:


[AP]

Love me some Eric Godard checks, especially with his hair flowing through the air like some mighty medieval champion. Sidenote: Godard would slay some dudes if he was in Gaul back in the day.

Anyhoo, Godard actually did do more than hit people in this game, he actually got in a fight! Yes, there is a Santa Claus! After almost a month without a fight, someone on the Pittsburgh Penguins finally dropped the gloves, and it was a dozy:



What a tilt. Honestly, I'm not sure if I like seeing Godard clearly win more or see a great fight between him and another heavyweight. He and Brian McGrattan have a history, fighting in the NHL and the AHL, so they know each other well. As Errey talks about after the fight, this was a discussed fight just how it should be. McGrattan wanted to get the crowd involved in a 1-0 game, as the Saddle Dome had gone quiet, so he went to Godard. Godard follows The Code, so he obliged the fight. Most any other heavyweight would do the same, and I imagine McGrattan would do the same if the roles were reversed. Part of the respect and honor in these fights.

The fight itself is a draw. Despite Godard opening McGrattan up with a little cut, both were getting in some heavy shots on each other. My favorite part about this fight is the end where they know they are done and just say a little something to each other. Judging by no extra stuff after the linesmen step in, I'll bet it was something about respect, each telling the other that they did a good job. That's what I like the most about fights in hockey, the heavyweights respect other heavyweights, they know what kind of job they do and they think highly of each other, despite trying to end each other with monstrous blows to the face.

It's good to see the Penguins fighting again, and winning too. The Penguins were 2-7-0 from the last time there was a fight to last night, wherein they got a victory. The math seems pretty simple to me: Fight more, win more.