Leave the Penguins to prove us wrong again. I thought the Pens were cooked after getting blown out in Game Three and facing a possible 3-1 deficit going into Game Four against the Senators. Instead, the Pens evened the series with a gutsy performance in Canada’s capital city. And if that wasn’t enough, the Pens were flying and scoring too in their Game Five win back in Pittsburgh. This series is now clearly tilted toward the Penguins. I’d be shocked if Ottawa can win the last two games of the series. It would be great if the Penguins can end the series in Game Six on Wednesday night. If they do that they’ll have a few days off to get rested. That will also give the team more time to hopefully get some of their injured players back.
• I guess Mike Sullivan knows his team better than all of us. The Pens’ coach made a controversial decision to start Matt Murray in goal after Game Three. Frankly, I would have gone back to Marc-Andre Fleury for several reasons. Murray got the start, looked great, and the rest is history. Now the Pens have two viable options in goal in they need them. And the way these playoffs have gone, who knows, they might need both goaltenders to win a fourth Stanley Cup.
• I really thought that Sidney Crosby was not the same after the violent hit he took from former teammate Matt Niskanen in the Capitals’ series. Crosby wasn’t scoring and just didn’t look right as the Pens fell behind two games to one, and looked like they were on life support heading into Game Four. But leave it to Crosby to bounce back. He’s been terrific in the last few games and has regained his scoring touch. I guess it’s not fair to ever count out Sidney Crosby. There’s a reason he’s regarded as the best player in the world.
• If the NHL is serious about eliminating head shots, the league needs to make the punishment fit the crime. I’m not sure if the Penguins lead the league in concussions, but they have to be close. The Pens have had their share in the playoffs. These shots, which a lot of the television guys says are “clean hits” aren’t clean. They’re vicious, they’re dangerous and they need to be done away with!
• The Pirates are starting to play some good baseball. They’ve now won six out of their last eight. The Buccos have also captured their last two series against the powerful Washington Nationals and Philadelphia Phillies. I really thought the Pirates would be more than ten games out of first place by now and would start to look to the future. That could still happen by the All Star break. In the meantime, they’re hanging in there, which is a lot more than I expected from this team.
• I love watching Adam Frazier at the plate. Mike Easler was once called “Hitman”. All Frazier does is hit. He had three hits on Saturday, and added two more on Sunday. He’s now hitting nearly .370. His teammate David Freese said over the weekend that he thinks Frazier could win a batting title some day. That’s high praise for the Pirates’ youngster.
• Don’t be surprised if Jung Ho Kang never suits up for the Pirates again. Kang is stuck in his native South Korea and can’t even get a visa to play here in the US. I wrote previously that I thought it was possible we wouldn’t see Kang at all in Pittsburgh this summer. If Kang’s legal issues extend into next season I believe the Pirates will simply cut ties with him. And after all the theatrics surrounding Kang, I wouldn’t blame them in the least for doing so.
• I wrote recently that I found it disappointing that the Clemente family will soon auction off many priceless pieces of memorabilia that once belonged to The Great One. Now comes word that Willie Stargell’s family is doing the same thing. Among Pops’ items to hit the auction block are his 1979 World Series ring and MVP award. I find it incredibly sad that these items won’t be kept in his family for generations, but that’s up to them.
• Ladarius Green will go down as one of the worst free agent signings in the history of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He ended up playing just six games for the Black and Gold and was paid six million dollars for doing so. The Steelers thought that Green was a guy that could stretch the field when he was signed to replace Heath Miller. What the Steelers didn’t know was that Green’s past concussion issues were not behind him. In hindsight, it was a terrible signing by the Steelers, and one has to ask if the Steelers dropped the ball when doing their medical evaluation on Green. The position now belongs to third year man Jesse James, who made tremendous strides during his second year as a Steeler. James can catch the ball, and has improved as a blocker, a skill that is essential for a Steelers’ tight end. The tight end position is definitely one to keep an eye on during the 2017 season.
