Thank you wise sage

Ask anyone on the street if they believe in god(s) and you may enter into a lengthy discussion of which deity's scripture they follow.

Ask a hockey fan the same question and the answer will be a simple "yes... don't fuck with the Hockey Gods."

These preternatural protectors of the pond can strike down those who deny their power, or teach humility to the young leaders of this sport. For those who do not remember, the latter happened at the beginning of the Penguins' 2007-2008 season when Alice Kilgore, a season ticket holder for many moons, was visited by Sidney Crosby in her home. His duty was to deliver her tickets. Her duty was to deliver a message of utmost importance: " I don't think you'll win the cup this year. Not yet. Maybe next year."

This of course came true as the Penguins fell to Detroit in the Finals. In 2008-2009, after a year in which many thought they might not even make it to the playoffs, the Pens followed the message of dear Alice and won sport's ultimate trophy.

Sidney and the Pens are once again preparing for a new season, and once again Mr. Crosby found himself inside the house of Ms. Kilgore. Crosby delivered her season tickets and Lord Stanley's chalice.

Now some of you may think that Alice's message to the young Penguins was simply coincidental, but we see it as something else. Could she possibly be Pittsburgh's very own hockey goddess? Could she have been set upon this spinning pile of rock simply to spread the word of those like her? It is the opinion of this author that I am not alone in this thought... I believe Crosby, a very superstitious man himself agrees. Bringing the Cup to her house was not merely a thank you to a kind-hearted season ticket holder, but also a gift to appease the Hockey Gods in hopes of another push towards keeping the trophy in Pittsburgh.

Think what you will friends of tRbT... the evidence has been laid before you. We will be sacrificing a pee wee hockey player in honor of Alice Kilgore and the rest of the Hockey Gods spread throughout the world.

Thank you Alice... We await your command...

*Author's note: No we aren't really going to sacrifice a small child you simple-minded twits...*

So Long Philippe

Penguins defensemen Philippe Boucher announced his retirement today after winning sport's greatest trophy this past spring.

"For the past 17 years I have been living my dream of playing hockey in the National Hockey League," Boucher, 36, said in a statement. "After finishing this season with the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins, I realized that is time for me to walk away from the game I love. I have always admired athletes that have retired as champions and I am humbled to have the chance to count myself among them."

A surprise indeed for Pens fans, and this author for one will miss him. He was certainly no spring chicken but at the same time he was solid in the playoffs and would have been a nice veteran presence on defense. So long and thanks good sir.

May 25th 1991

Remember this date? No? Most likely not, but it marks the date that the Pittsburgh Penguins marked their names on Lord Stanley's chalice for the very first time. If you missed the game, or like the author of this post, just can't seem to remember a hockey game from when you were 4 years old then fret not. You can watch all 8 goals again right here.

Yes that's right someone took the time to re-create Game 6 of the 1991 Stanley Cup Finals between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Minnesota North Stars. Genius... take some time and watch it.

It's a Great Day for Hockey 3.0

It seems the Pens have gone and updated their It's a Great Day for Hockey montage for the playoffs/ownage of the cup... yes The Clarks are still playing in the background.

Enjoy.

Max Talbot: Über badass

Max Talbot and his fierce beard shown above holding Lord Stanley

Apparently Max "Superstar" Talbot not only scored two goals in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, but did so with an injured shoulder. Max is scheduled to undergo surgery to repair his shoulder here soon and is expected to miss the first month of the coming season. Many thanks to PensBurgh for breaking the story and finding someone competent enough to translate from French into English.

Only 89 days til the first regular season hockey game... but we're not counting or anything.

The Rustbelt Tramp on location: Stanwix Street

Some of you may be wondering where the hell this "Stanwix Street" is located. If you must ask then you probably don't live in Pittsburgh and may god have mercy on your soul.

Anyway... Today we were able to watch Lord Stanley's gleaming chalice return to its rightful home in the City of Champions. A Super Bowl in February and a Stanley Cup in June... does it really get any better? From our position within the mob of Penguins fans that invaded the downtown zombie fortress area, we were able to get some shots of the crowd, the team and the big shiny bowl.

Please refrain from getting too pissed about the quality as we were a good 30 yards from the stage.

Why the FUCK did all these people think they could stand in front of us?!?!

How pissed is NBC that the Pens showed the end of Game 7 on Mario's TV... OH THE BAD MEN!!!
Far right of the picture: Buries It with Dupes... All bow before our lord and hockey savior...
All the boys with the greatest trophy in all of sports... Glorious.

Go Pens.

City of Champions

The Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup. Three of this blog's authors watched while Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Marc-Andre Fleury, Max Talbot and every other member of this championship team skated around the ice raising Lord Stanley above their heads.

Words cannot express the happiness we here at the Rustbelt Tramp feel right now.

More to come tomorrow when this all finally sinks in.

Go Pens.

2008-2009 NHL Stanley Cup Champions.

Some sweet heavy lifting...

Yes we know that is from last year, but how can you watch that and not feel chills run down your spine. Also the thought of Douggie Weight (like him or hate him) lifting the cup with a separated shoulder is just fucking hard...

2009 STANLEY CUP FINAL
SERIES O		#2 vs. #4	Network
Saturday, May 30		at Detroit, 8:00 pm	NBC, CBC, RDS
Sunday, May 31		at Detroit, TBD-Night	NBC, CBC, RDS
Tuesday, June 2		at Pittsburgh, 8:00 pm	VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Thursday, June 4		at Pittsburgh, 8:00 pm	VERSUS, CBC, RDS
* Saturday, June 6		at Detroit, 8:00 pm	NBC, CBC, RDS
* Tuesday, June 9		at Pittsburgh, 8:00 pm	NBC, CBC, RDS
* Friday, June 12		at Detroit, 8:00 pm	NBC, CBC, RDS

Go Pens.

Suck it, Cowher: PENS IN FOUR.

"Spit shine your shoes, Mabel - you're going to dance with Lord Stanley again!" - Mike Lange

War...

No gameday post... Puck Huffers has said it all.

Go Pens.

In American you have Joe the Plumber... In Russia we have Ovechkin the douche

Only difference is Joe isn't licensed plumber but Ovechkin is licensed douche.
- Evgeni Malkin -

Puck drops at 1. The series that Gary Bettman and the NHL are creaming themselves over... NBC doesn't give two shits though and is more than willing to cut away from overtime in favor of the grand 'ol spectacle that is horse racing.

This will be another hard fought series for the Pens, and as much as we all may hate him Ovie is the type of player who can change the series in a heartbeat. That's what happens when you take two or three dozen shots per game... just don't ask him to back check.

Just like the Flyers series (any guesses to Mike Richards handycap?) this will come down to goaltending. Who would you rather have between the pipes MAF or Varlamov? One has been in the Cup Finals... two wins away from Lord Stanley. The other stopped a bunch of shots from a lackluster Rangers team that had no business taking that series as far as it went.

Pens in six.

1975

After what can be seen as a highly disappointing loss, the hopes and dreams of some Pens fans may be waning. The idea of Crosby, Malkin and Fleury doing lines of blow off the rim of Lord Stanley seem to be fading faster than FSN's feed of this evenings game (fuck you by the way... BLACKOUT FOR THE ENTIRE SECOND PERIOD!?!).

For those of you who fall into this fair-weathering category... piss off. For everyone else, fret not. While our flightless birds looked... well flightless, the dream is still there. We still have a 3-2 lead on this series and some of the best talent ever assembled on one team.

We were simply outplayed by the better team. In the course of the NHL playoffs, this will happen, but unlike football where we would be done by now and off beating our loved ones, or bustin' a cap in some bitches ass, we still have time left. Dan Balls-in-my-face will re-group this team, and Geno will lay more of his hard earned money on the line to spur this team on to another win.

This is still a race to 4 wins, and we are still ahead.

Go Pens.