You're looking at about 150 minutes for your typical hockey broadcast.  Times that by two games and you obviously get 300.  So I think it's safe to say that roughly 290 minutes of the 300 weekend were spent listening to announcers talk about Sergei Gonchar and his absence from the lineup. 

We know.  We get it.  Next.

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Wow - that one hurt.

I said in the notes section of the Open Thread that I didn't assume the Penguins would win.  I didn't expect a near shutout, but I should really learn to keep my mouth shut.

Alex Auld just dominated the Pens; there's no doubt about it.  Compared to Gerber's display in net yesterday Auld looks like Patrick Roy. 

But hey - no shutout.  And that's all due in part to Alex Goligoski netting his first ever NHL goal with 1.3 seconds remaining in the game.  Wonder how Auld is feeling about that one...

Let's talk power play.  And by that I mean, let's talk about how bad the Penguins look.  Next time you watch a game, just mute it when the Penguins are on the power play because frankly all you're going to hear about the absence of Sergei Gonchar and his apparent God-like status on the blue line.  And you know what?  They're right.  But it's something the Penguins will deal with.  There's just no other way around it.

But 1-for-9?  Burn.  Heed these words: Goligoski will shoot more.  He has no choice at this point.  And frankly, JDMaker1 will agree, he had a few good looks on net where he opted to pass the puck instead of unleash a shot.  Kennedy did it a lot last year, Malkin did it his rookie year - it's just part of adapting to the league.  But Goligoski has to understand his position with the team right now; he HAS to shoot.

The top line is another story all together.  Maybe we'll get into that later this week.  We now have a solid week before the Pens play again, and they have a long flight ahead of them.

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 OTTAWA SENATORS (0-0-1) vs PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (1-0-0)

THE GLOBE IN STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN @ 2:30 P.M.

RADIO FEED ON WXDX.COM, for video try channelsurfing.net, CBC for our friends up north and Versus

Sens Blogs: Sens Army, Five for Smiting, Scarlett Ice

NOTES

Is it wrong to think the Pens will take a loss tonight and split the series before heading back to the U.S.?  Trust me, I'm not ruling out the Pens.  I just feel it would bring a fitting end to an overseas opener.  The Kings and Ducks split it last year in England, so I guess you can't rule it out.  I guess the best finish, besides an obvious win of course, is the Pens salvaging a point in OT.

I believe we'll see Sabourin net for the Pens today.  EDIT: Fleury in.  Kennedy will most definitely get the start over Sykora.  I'd like to see Goligoski in place of Sydor on the blue line, as I feel his shot would bring a little more to the PP.  Other than that, we'll wait till game time and I'll keep my eyes on the roster updates.

Shots fired form the grassy knoll

Tyler Kennedy opened and closed the door for the Pittsburgh Penguins' season opener in Stockholm, Sweden, scoring less than a minute into the game and again in overtime with less than a minute remaining.

And the best part?

He wasn't even supposed to start.

In fact, it wasn't announced until a short time before the game that Petr Sykora would be a scratch and Kennedy would replace him.

Talk about a move that benefited the Pens.

Overall, how do you think the team looked?  I was happy with the power play unit  despite their inability to convert with over eight minutes of time in the first period.  I was also happy to see a game with a ton of shots - 30 for Pitt, 35 for Ottawa.

What I wasn't happy with, but I'll dismiss in light of the win, is Eric Godard's apparent issues with agitators.  I have no doubt that Godard could've, would've and some would even argue should've knocked Chris Neil out.  But at the time when he took his penalty the score was 2-1 Pens.  The penalty turned in favor of the Senators, tied the score, and before the period ended it was 3-2 Ottawa.  That one penalty and his desire to drop mitts shifted the momentum of the game and nearly cost the Pens a win.

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 OTTAWA SENATORS vs PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

THE GLOBE IN STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN @ 2:30 P.M.

RADIO FEED ON WXDX.COM, for video try channelsurfing.net, the NHL Network and CBC for our northern friends

Sens Blogs: Sens Army, Five for Smiting, Scarlett Ice

NOTES

Pittsburgh Penguins Lineup after the jump.  EDIT - GoGo a scratch, Sydor in.  Thanks SteelCityKid

At last - Game One of the new season.  A nice afternoon game when you can just chill out on the couch and watch some quality hockey.

And best of all?  Another one tomorrow; same time, same place.

Jarkko Ruutu in the lineup for Ottawa.  Good times.

Make your fight and goal prediction in the comments.  I'm going with Bissonnette vs Neil for the fight and Fedotenko for the first goal.

Here's to hoping we see this guy again:

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Sarge and Whit

This isn't exactly the kind of list you want to brag about.  The Hockey News listed their top 10 biggest preseason injuries and the Penguins unfortunately take home both the number one and number two spots.

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First let's take care of business. Pensburgh and fellow SBN blogs Mile High Hockey and Winging it in Motown were featured on ESPN the Magazine's site : check it out.

Now where were we?  Ah yes, I remember. 

Wudda ya know?  The first team the Penguins eliminated in the playoffs is the first team they face to open the season. 

Granted the correlation doesn't carry over in any way whatsoever, but I just felt like taking a jab.

And so it is my pleasure to welcome back Sens Army to the Pensburgh platform.  As you may remember, our good buddies over at The Army are loyal and devout members who work for nothing more than three square meals a day. 

You may recall Sens Army's appearance in the Eastern Conference preview.  A gracious contribution no doubt.

Yesterday, Peter and I exchanged additional catch-up e-mails.  You can read mine over there.  In the mean time, the floor here on Pensburgh is all yours Sens Army.

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For those who have ever said hockey is boring, lacks action or is just downright dull, then the entire nation must be hockey fans because last night's vice presidential debate was about as boring as life can get.  You'd be better off watching ice freeze than watch those two duke it out.

But speaking of politics - of hockey at least, the Penguins announced two new alternate captains.  To replace the 'A' left behind by the still-bitter Ryan Malone, decrepit Gary Roberts and banged up Sergei Gonchar, the Pens assigned Evgeni Malkin and Brooks Orpik as the team's choice for the leadership roles.

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No broadcast. 

No pictures (as of right now). 

It's almost like this game didn't exist.

Best recap of events courtesy of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.  Other than that you'll be hard pressed to find a substantial contribution.  It's like following Olympics coverage all over again.  Only this time I actually care.

Crosby had three assists.  Pascal Dupuis, Evgeni Malkin, Tyler Kennedy and Ruslan Fedotenko netted a goal each.  Sabourin gave up the only goal to Jokerit.

That's basically all you need to know. 

I apologize - this is the worst recap in the history of Pensburgh.  But with no game to watch/listen to and with a general disconnect from Finland it definitely isn't easy.  I'll scope out some more information later, but I'd imagine there won't be much more since it'll be way past Finland's bed time by then.

One word sums it up - whatever.  The regular season starts up on Saturday and the coverage will surely be more saturated then this early-morning European marketing event.

Dismiss this 11:30 game and let's move on to the regular season Saturday at 2:30.