Lightning force game 7

 

How big of a villain has Ryan Malone become in Pittsburgh. The hometown boy from Upper St.Clair is now one of the most hated athletes in Pittsburgh Penguins history. He left the team for more money, and is now playing like the ultimate hockey douche. Can't say I blame him. If he were still on the Pens, you and I would love how he is playing. He's playing good hard playoff hockey. Crashing the net, frustrating his opponents, and is still finding a way to produce.

At the same time Malone was a little out of control last night as he took a bad penalty when he came out of nowhere in the Pens zone and shoved Marc Letestu into Fleury. Luckily for Malone and the Lightning the Pens power play sucks.

As if Malone weren't enough of a douche for Pens fans, we have to deal with Steve Downie, one of the leagues biggest douches for one more game. Downie unfortunately scored the game-winning goal last night. Not only that but Downie had three points on the night. Downie has registered 1 goal and 4 assists over the last two games for the Lightning and is now tied for third on the team in playoff scoring with 6 pointsJust enough to make you want to vomit.




If that didn't make you vomit then maybe Chris Connor's penalty shot attempt did. Wow. Terrible.

Now comes game 7 back at the Consol Energy Center. No Sidney Crosby. No Evgeni Malkin. But Jeff Jimerson will be back singing the National Anthem. (sigh).

As a Pens fan I obviously believe the Pens can and will win. I want them to win. However, there's not a lot to be too overly optimistic about.

This is the second consecutive postseason in which the Pens face a Game 7 on its home ice in a series that didn't need to get this far. The Penguins had two opportunities to put the Lightning away after going up 3-1 with a pair of wins in Tampa Bay, but couldn't close them out.The Penguins have never won a series where they lost game 6 on the road and played game 7 at home. The Pens are 2-5 all-time in Game 7's at home. Florida, Montrael, Islanders. Are these ringing a bell?

Another alarming thing to consider is the defense of the Pens. For most of the season they were a strength, however, now they have been playing just as bad as they did last year. Ben Lovejoy sucks. I don't care what you say. He's soft and gets beaten too often. Matt Niskanen is a fringe player. Some talent but he's soft like Lovejoy and gets out of position too often. The big free-agents Paul Martin and Zybenek Michalek have played horrible the last two games. Brooks Orpik needs to dish out more free candy. Kris Letang needs to take control of the game.

The Powerplay is 1-30? Horrible, disastrous, unacceptable.

All of this is spelling doom at the Consol tomorrow night. I hate to say it but I think the Lightning win this one. Unless the defense plays lights out and Fleury plays like he did in game 7 in Detroit.

Game 7 could be a bad night. History is on the Lightning's side. The momentum is on the Lightning's side. The talent level is on the Lightning's side. Starting to get scared yet? I am.