Author Archive for J. OzVath
Pittsburgh Penguins/NHL Hockey Blogger, Father, Husband, IT Geek, former player, and NHL 11 EASHL addict. Oz has been cited for his work on XM Radio's NHL Home Ice, Penguins HD Radio, and Y!'s Puck Daddy Blog. Email: slbd1@gmail.com Twitter.com/ozman51 Xbox: ozman51
Sid & Bylsma at Odds Plus Other Notes
By now most Penguins fans have heard that Captain Sidney Crosby waded into the goalie situation in Pittsburgh over the past couple of days. To not mince words, here is what was said by the Captain. “He’s [Fleury] going to have good games. It’s not like he can change overnight. He’s going to put strings [...]
Updated: Save Empty Netters
Update: In order to get in touch with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette regarding the situation with Empty Netters, please use the following avenues: David Shribman, Vice President and Executive Editor ( dshribman@post-gazette.com 412-263-1890.) Susan Smith, Managing Editor ( ssmith2@post-gazette.com 412-263-1858.) Mary Leonard, Deputy Managing Editor ( mleonard@post-gazette.com 412-263-0443) Jerry Micco, Assitant Managing Editor/Sports ( jmicco@post-gazette.com 412-263-1890) [...]
Pittsburgh Police Threaten Boycott of Winter Classic
Pittsburgh Police Officers who were expected to work on New Years Day were expecting to get paid Holiday Pay by the city. Apparently that is not the case and it is causing problems. Police Sergeant John Fisher provided an email to local television station Channel 4 in Pittsburgh that was sent to all of the [...]
An Embarrassing Night in Dallas
The Pittsburgh Penguins rolled into Dallas Wednesday night eying to continue riding the momentum they started in Carolina last Saturday. Those hopes, and maybe Brent Johnson’s hot streak ended quickly in the 1st period after the Penguins and their poor passing and defensive play gave up a quick 2-0 lead to the Stars on goals [...]
Michalek Returns, Dupuis Returns Home for Pens
The Pittsburgh Penguins are getting good news on two fronts today. First is the announcement via Twitter that Defenseman Zbynek Michalek will return to the lineup tonight in Dallas after missing almost the entire month of October with a shoulder injury. Joining him on the ice will be Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Alex Goligoski [...]
Penguins Notepad – 11.2.10
Lets get this out of the way. Go Vote today. Imagine if you got to vote for NHL Commissioner, you’d all be there. If you don’t vote you lose your right to complain in my book. Now moving on… Penguins fans are all still dealing with the aftermath of the tragic news regarding Jordan Staal’s [...]
Staal Injured At Practice – Surgery Required, Will Miss 6 More Weeks
On what was the eve of his all but confirmed return to the lineup Wednesday night in Dallas, Jordan Staal left the Penguins Monday practice at Southpointe at 12:25 EST with an apparent injury. This s a bitter pill to swallow for fans who have seen Staal out of the lineup all season due to [...]
Penguins Notepad – 10.31.10
With a few days before the next Penguins game I wanted to take the opportunity to get some baseline information out there before the upcoming 3 game west coast road trip. Jordan Staal and Zbynek Michalek are expected to play Wednesday in Dallas. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting that both players are targeting this Wednesday [...]
Pens Winter Classic Sweater: What Is There To Say?
The Pittsburgh Penguins unveiled their 2011 Bridgestone Winter Classic Jersey this afternoon following practice. The reception has been negative, about 80/20 on Twitter. For those who pay attention the unveiling is confirmation of images we’ve had for a few weeks. However it doesn’t make the sweater an less ugly in my opinion. The first thing [...]
Fleury Not the Only Penguin To Blame
If you listen to Penguins radio or read most of the mainstream Penguins media coverage the poor play spotlight is focused on one man, Marc-Andre Fleury, as the scape-goat for some crushing Pens losses this year. After a solid first 116 or so minutes to his 2010/11 campaign Flower let in a soft goal to [...]
He’s Ponikarovsky With a Famous Wife
That’s what Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Empty Netters Blog had to say about Mike Comrie this morning during a discussion we had while he was a guest on Pens HD Radio’s Penguins Live. The reason for the discussion is the rapidly improving health of the Penguins forwards corps. With Arron Asham expected back [...]
Leadership Drops a Glove
Mike “Leadership” Richards, following his Flyers 5-1 thrashing at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins, threw down a lacy gauntlet aimed at Captain Sidney Crosby when questioned about Richard’s interactions with Pens antagonizer Matt Cooke. “if Sidney Crosby fights [Dan] Carcillo then maybe I’ll fight [Cooke]“ The local press was dogging Richards about the Flyers [...]
The New NHL: Comeau Sells a Headshot
What happened in the second period of the Penguins & Islanders game Friday night is nothing short of NHL officials jumping the shark on the hits to the head. The Penguins came into the incident up 2-0 on goals earlier in the period from Mike Rupp and Eric Tangradi (his 1st NHL goal). As Blake [...]
Penguins Still Searching for First Home Win
The Pittsburgh Penguins host the New York Islanders tonight on the front end of back to back games. This will be the fourth attempt by the Pens to win a game in their new digs, The Consol Energy Center. Already fans are dropping the word curse due to the Penguins less than stellar losing ways [...]
Breakdowns Costing the Pens Points
Sometime in late March while the Penguins are in the midst of the hunt for the Atlantic Division title or likely at worst a playoff spot someone somewhere will wax philosophical about how the games in October are worth as much as the games in April and they’ll be right. The Penguins dropped their third [...]
Clipped Penguins Host Leafs
The Pittsburgh Penguins limp back into the Consol Energy Center tonight to host the undefeated Toronto Maple Leafs. After a week of high expectations most Penguins fans are just hoping to weather the injury storm that is reminiscent of November of last year when two-thirds of the Penguins starting defensemen were Wilkes-Barre Scranton call-ups. Tonight [...]
Jordan Staal is Skating, Finally
The glorious sound of pucks slapping off of a familiar stick blade this morning inside of the Consol Energy Center is a welcome one considering that the stick is in the hands of one Jordan Staal and his feet are firmly wrapped inside of a pair of hockey skates. Staal has missed the beginning of [...]
Updated: Its Michalek’s Shoulder / Hutchinson Recalled
Zbynek Michalek departed yesterday’s contest with the New Jersey Devils in the second period after taking a hit from Rod Pelley. He left the ice clutching his right arm. Michalek sat on the bench for a few minutes for departing for the locker room. He did not return. Members of the Devils’ broadcast staff saw [...]
Goalie Controversy in Pittsburgh?
If you take the first two Penguins games of the season at face value it would be easy to pin the problem between the pipes. This morning on Pens HD Radio host Steve Mears heavily suggested based off of fan reaction that there was or should be a question as to who should start the [...]
Losing Hockey for Dummies
The Penguins suffered their fifth consecutive loss Sunday and sixth in seven games in an embarrassing defeat at the hands of previously slumping Florida. The Penguins have gotten away from their brand of hockey and continue to try to force a style of play that is not going to result in anything positive. So where [...]