Upper Body, Lower Body?

by Jan Snyder


Is it just me or is anyone else tired of hearing about upper and lower body injuries in hockey? Seems to me that before this season, the designation of upper and lower body happened only during the playoffs when the teams searched for any possible edge on their opponents.

  Forrmer Red Wing, Jiri Hudler, reeling from a hit

during the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs

But this year we hear it constantly, now, during the season. Why? If we see one of our favorite players hardly able to walk, we can assume it’s a leg injury. If they go over the ice dragging their arm, the problem could be a shoulder injury. Why can’t we, as fans, know what’s wrong so we have some idea when the player will be coming back?

After all an upper body injury could be anything from a hangnail to a paper cut to a dislocated shoulder or cracked rib. A lower body injury? An ingrown toenail? Blisters? Torn ACL? How can we know? What if you are like me and travel to see teams. Maybe there is a particular player you really want to see in action. Right before you are to leave you get the news of the dreaded “upper body” injury. Should you cancel the trip? Hope he’ll recover from whatever the malady is in time for the game you are attending?

Or am I being too harsh? Does non-reporting of injuries keep the players who have shoulder injuries from being slammed into the boards with a little extra gusto when they return to the lineup?

The Pittsburgh Penguins stated earlier this year that they would be willing to say what the player injuries are, but if they did, they put their players at a disadvantage because the other teams aren’t fessing up. I just don’t like surprises, good or bad. If a player is hurt, I’d like to know what the problem is so I can have some kind of feel for when he might play again. I just wonder why this is happening this year when it hasn’t before.

Injuries and More Injuries

Maybe I’m just noticing this lack of reporting because there have been so many major injuries to so many big name players. According to USA Today, more than 230 players have missed at least one game with injury. Some teams have been fielding, in essence, minor league teams because so many of the regular players are out. Cam Ward, Carolina goalie, suffered a horrible cut from a skate while broken arms and legs, torn up knees and assorted other major problems have kept a plethora of players out of lineups. Poor Ottawa goalie, Pascal Leclaire, was just sitting on the bench when a puck came out of nowhere, struck him in the face and fractured his cheekbone. And how about Florida goalie, Tomas Vokoun, who suffered the ultimate – a smack in the head from his own defenseman! Angry, that he’d let in a goal, Keith Ballard, swung his stick with a lot of force, meaning to hit the goal post. Unfortunately, Vokoun’s ear got in the way and he crumpled to the ice, bloodied and dazed. He was taken off the ice on a stretcher. Talk about a tough day at the office!

Hopefully, this won’t be reported as an “upper body” injury, since everyone in the hockey world saw what happened – but I won’t be surprised if it is.

Eastern Conference Final: Game Four Pens/ Canes

by Jan Snyder

Shout – Isley Brothers

You know you make me wanna (Shout!)

Kick my heels up and (Shout!)

Throw my hands up and (Shout!)

Throw my head back and (Shout!)

Come on now (Shout!)

This could be my favorite song ever to dance to and certainly expresses how we Pens fans feel about this great victory in Game Four! Eastern Conference Champions for the second year in a row!

Having survived a couple of real hurricanes myself, I thought this series was going to be tougher than it ultimately proved to be and that the Pens would have a harder road to hoe. Turns out the Pens blew into Carolina like a hurricane and left quite a swath of destruction in their wake.

Again the Canes started out well, with Eric Staal scoring just two minutes into the game as the fans went berserk. Fedotenko tied the game at 1-1 and a little later, Max scored a loopy goal that got away from Cam Ward and made it 2-1.

The Canes seemed to get to Geno tonight as he took two penalties in the first period. Hard to score from the penalty box, but no matter. If both parts of the two-headed monster aren’t scoring, the rest of the team will!

In the second, Guerin took a fantastic pass from Sid and scored and in the third, Sid graciously gave the empty-netter to Adams. A big shout out to Crosby who ended his evening with two assists and to Malkin, who had to cool down a little. He had no points, but laid out some big hits and made some fine defensive plays.

All in all, everyone did their thing, including Fleury who stopped all kinds of shots and had us up and shouting hooray! Ward did his part too, making plenty of nice saves.

So, Coach Cowher traded in his black and gold for red to support the Hurricanes, eh? That’s okay, we’ll take Super Bowl winning Coach Mike Tomlin who goes to Pens’ games dressed in his Crosby jersey! Only three years away from the ‘burg and Pittsburgh native Cowher switches teams? I’ve lived in Texas for 12 years and still follow all the Pittsburgh teams as closely as I did the day I moved away.

Christine Simpson expressed surprise that Superstitious Sidney touched the trophy. I confess to being absolutely flabbergasted! But it’s all good if they want to try to change their fortunes from last year. The team has certainly earned the right to do whatever they please!

Now the Hurricane warning is over, the Red was rocked, and the Orange was crushed. Only one more team stands in the way of the ultimate victory.

Remember the movie Rock Star? In it, Mark Wahlberg plays the part of a Pittsburgh guy who plays in a tribute band. He ultimately lives out his dream when the real band, Steel Dragon, invites him to be their lead singer. One of the songs he sings is Stand Up. They have been playing the song at Mellon Arena – just the first part: “Stand up and shooouuuutttt!” Let’s keep winning, let’s keep shouting, and let’s see who we play in the Stanley Cup Finals!

Reprise:

You know you make me wanna (Shout!)

Kick my heels up and (Shout!)

Throw my hands up and (Shout!)

Throw my head back and (Shout!)

Come on now (Shout!)

Let’s Go, Pens!!

Eastern Conference Final: Game Three Pens/ Canes

Drive My Car – The Beatles

by Jan Snyder

Another Saturday night and time to do another happy dance! The Pens are up 3-0 in the series and they are certainly in the driver’s seat. “Beep beep and beep beep – yeah!”

As the team traveled to a city that is a NASCAR stronghold, they were met by a raucous crowd in Raleigh who certainly were intent on having a good time. I liked the way Max Talbot described the Hurricane fans. He said they create a great atmosphere, and unlike some other teams’ fans, they don’t say much to the opposition – they cheer for their own team and encourage them in every way. Good for them! They brought their cowbells and did their part.

That encouragement helped as the Canes’ Cullen tallied the first goal and ramped up the noise level in the building even more than it was before the game started. Having the Canes score the first goal was a change from the past games, so we had to wonder if this entire game would take a different turn.

But when the Pens went on the power play shortly after that goal, Geno and Sid, our beloved two-headed monster, steered things back on course. Geno scored, assisted by Sid and Gonchar. As the rapid first period moved along and with a mere 42 seconds left in it, Sid decided to make extra sure that they were traveling along the right road, and made it 2-1with a pretty goal. Geno’s half of the monster wanted to get in on the act too, so 31 seconds later, with only 11 seconds left in the period, he potted another and the first period ended with the Pens up 3-1.

*Time out for a U-Turn: How cool is it to see the terrific Ron Francis behind Carolina’s bench? Seeing him sure brings back great memories from the Cup years when he was such a huge part of the team, especially on the power play.

Although there was no scoring in the second period, there sure could have been, except that Cam Ward and Marc-Andre Fleury were both excellent. The lack of goals was not from any lack of trying on the part of either team. Each had the pedal to the metal!

The score was close going into the third and anything could still happen. As if to prove that true, Samsonov scored a nice, desperate goal while he was prone on the ice. Here they came, right on our bumper! We could see them closing in from our rearview mirror.

Not much later, Max sprung himself free and Geno hit him with a long, long pass. Max drove to the net with speed, but Ward veered the puck off in another direction. Nice try, anyway. Of course, Geno wasn’t finished yet. He made a nice pass over to Fedotenko who made sure it crossed the line and put the Pens up 4-2 making Geno’s point total three for the evening.

*Another U-Turn: Help me understand why the announcers on Versus and NHL Network are saying that Carolina had a lot taken out of them by playing two seven game series. Hello? The Pens played six tough games against the Flyers, followed by seven rugged ones against the Caps. My math skills aren’t great, but that seems to be only a one-game difference between the two teams.

Doing again what they do often, the Pens scored two more goals, just 40 seconds apart, and were now on cruise control. Adams won a faceoff and scored on an empty net from his own end. Then Guerin made a nice shot close in and made the final score 6-2. “Beep beep and beep beep, yeah!”

And now the Pens will spend two days in Carolina, resting and practicing, before the next game on Tuesday. The two Ferraris, Sid and Geno, can stay put in the garage for a couple of days and get tuned up and ready for Tuesday.

*U-Turns: Eric Cole’s beard is so full, so dark and so even that it almost looks like his face is covered in bees! Do you think Cam Ward will see Sid and Geno driving towards him in his dreams (or nightmares) tonight?

How absolutely fitting that Geno is playing in Pittsburgh. Maybe the Hockey Gods realized what an injustice was predicated on Mario Lemieux when his career was so often interrupted by injuries and serious illness. Maybe they thought to make up for that, they would send this great guy from Russia to be this generation’s Mario – at least in part because there will never be another Mario. But Geno’s flashes of brilliance, his loping style of skating, and his eye-popping goals, sure bring Mario to mind.

Let’s keep that motor tuned up and running like a champion for the next race on Tuesday.

Let’s Go, Pens!!

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!!