Eastern Conference Final: Game Two Pens/ Canes

Who Let The Dogs Out – Baha Men

By Jan Snyder

This is a great song to dance to and get rid of all that excess energy we built up watching fantastic Game Two! Who let the dogs out – woof, woof, woof!

While the crowd proudly wore their White-Out shirts that read, “The Real Eye of the Storm”, the teams both came out strong.
As usual, like it’s just what he’s been trained to do, Sid scored the first goal. This is becoming a tradition and I like it! Sidney Crosby is comparable to a Pit Bull when he’s on the ice. No one is going to stop him from his appointed mission, whether it’s scoring, checking – no matter. Just take one look at those eyes and you’ll find a determined Pit Bull staring back at you.

Quickly, though, LaRose tied it up. Not to be deterred, Geno put the Pens up again, but within minutes, Jokinen evened it up at 2-2. Then Seidenberg put the Canes ahead by one and the first period ended. Whew!

But as if to say enough is enough, the big dogs came out in the second and third periods for the Pens. Max Talbot, the gritty little yappy dog who is always nipping at your ankles, brought our team back into a tie, with a little help from his friends in the pack, Sid and Geno.

As the second ended with only seven seconds left, Chris Kunitz, that tenacious Springer Spaniel, finally scored again and put the Pens ahead 4-3.

While a fan dressed as a Hanson brother (wearing the foil, of course) cheered from the seats, so did a real life Hanson brother (Dave) and his son, a player for the Toronto Maple Leafs. They were sure enjoying the game.

In the third, Eaves captured the lead for the Canes again. But then someone made Geno, the big Russian Wolfhound, angry. You don’t want to do that if you are on the other team. The big dog decided to do it all himself after that and quickly scored two

more goals to earn himself a hat trick.

These weren’t just ordinary goals – they were spin around backhand shots. As the fans chanted, “Geno, Geno”, he scored as if by command. The next goal was so incredible that no matter how many times I’ve watched it, I still can hardly believe it! As the hats rained down, Mama and Papa Malkin took it all in and shared a kiss for the big screen, much to the delight of the fans.

Feisty little Tyler Kennedy, like a loyal, I-aim-to-please Beagle, scored the empty net goal, just for good measure.

There was still a little time left when all of sudden as if in tribute to Dave Hanson, a couple of fights broke out. No foil that I could see. Letang was tangling with a Cane and hanging on like a ferocious Pug. Meantime, Satan was all Boxer, going up against his opponent like a junkyard dog.

Cam Ward, who gave up seven goals, faced 35 additional shots and made some brilliant saves. Fleury, that big lovable Lab of a goalie, made a couple of tremendous saves, including one on Cole with just four minutes left. The complexion of the game could have changed drastically had that one gone in.

When all was said and done, Geno had a four point night and Sid had two. Four other Pens had multiple goal games – another real team effort – as they worked like a pack of Alaskan Huskies competing in the Iditarod! Good dogs!

So the big dogs are loose – let’s see what happens when they run in Raleigh. I hope we’ll be the ones to get a treat!

Let’s Go, Pens!!