Return of The Russian Rocket...But To WHO???

[onlybygrace]

Interview With Pavel Bure On NHL Coolshots...

This season has been an exciting in Pittsburgh. The Pens are the talk of the town and the hottest ticket in the city. It is nearly impossible to get tickets to see the Pens and its not just because the Pens are leading the Eastern Conference or because of the recent 10-game win streak...its not even because of young phenoms Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin...but it has been a blast from the past...a rocket blast.

(shows some Bure highlights)

"Here comes Bure down the wing, cutting in...shooting...SCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORES. PAVEL BUUUUUUUREEEEEEEE. #19 on the season and the Pens tie the game at 2!!! (horn blaring!!!)

The Russian Rocket is officially back on the NHL scene and the fans of Pittsburgh and hockey in general are loving it.

Recently, we sat down with The Russian Rocket, to talk to him about his comeback this season.

Coolshots: Glad to have you with us, Pavel. What has been the biggest change since you've come back this season...as opposed to before you retired?

Bure: Well...to me it is the two-line pass rule not there. I not like dat rule much. It hurt...uh...da flow...of the game...my game, which is to score goals.

CS: It has been said, Pavel, that you are selfish with the puck. Currently you have 209 shots in 37 games...second in the league to Ilya Kovalchuk...

Bure: Let me stop you there...I not apologize for way I play hockey. My team wins...I play my game. I lead team in assists...I see shot...I shoot...sometimes I force it...but I have high expectations...some call it drive, some say I selfish...I say I love to score goals...most important that Pittsburgh Penguins win hockey games.

CS: Fair enough...how long did you train for this comeback? What sort of work outs?

Bure: I have been training slowly...patiently...for about 3 years. I wanted to take time...to...to get confident to come here and play a lot. So...I just started skating...eating right...hitting the gym...never pushing to hard...so...over time, I end up here talking to you about it...(says laughing)

CS: What do you want from this season in Pittsburgh?

Bure: I tink dat is obvious...we want Stanley Cup...nothing less. We are winning a lot of games...and the standard has been set...

CS: Thank you for your time and talking with us Pavel...

Keep an eye out for the Pens down the stretch and in the playoffs as they look to bring the Cup home to Pittsburgh.

(btw, my stanley cup playoff coverage will be a lot more involved. with the writeups being more article-like instead of just stats...the playoffs are what hockey is all about, so that will be more involved.)

[derrickthomas58]

Looking forward to it!

[onlybygrace]

Pens Extend Streak To 11 Games In 1st Game Of Home And Home With Sabres

Buffalo 3 (18-17-2)
Pittsburgh 5 (27-9-2)
Shots BUF 16 PIT 41

Crosby 2 Goals (24)
Bure/Orpik 2 assists
Staal ENG (11) Assist, 6 shots
Satan Goal (7)
Grier Goal (3)
Fleury 13 saves on 16 shots, 19-4-0 on the season

Afinogenov Goal (16)
Hecht Goal (6)
Peters Goal (3)
Conolly/Pominville/Vanek Assists
Thibault 36 saves on 40 shots, fantastic performance
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Sabres Snap Pens Winning Streak At 11 With Home Victory

Pittsburgh 1 (27-10-2)
Buffalo 2 (19-17-2)
Shots PIT 22 BUF 26

Grier Goal (4)
Sykora/Orpik Assists
Conklin 24 saves on 26 shots

Vanek Goal (8)
Afinogenov Goal (17)
Roy/Lydman/Spacek Assists
Miller 21 saves on 22 shots
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NHL News Wire

The Western Conference leading Edmonton Oilers (28-8-5) made a big splash today aquiring three of the top remaining free agents by signing Adam Hall (3 yr/5.5M), Jan Bulis (3 yr, 5.1M) and Alexander Mogilny (2 yr/4M). This is quite a day of aquisitions and it is yet to be seen how this will effect the teams chemistry through the second half of the season.
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Pens Drop 2nd Straight; Tucker Leads Toronto To 3-1 Win

Toronto 3 (18-21-2)
Pittsburgh 1 (27-11-2)
Shots TOR 29 PIT 20

Cheechoo Goal (19)
Malkin/Letang Assists
Fleury 26 saves on 29 shots

Tucker 2 Goals (7)
Blake 2 assists
Battaglia Goal (5)
Sundin Assist
Toskala 19 saves on 20 shots

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Bure's 4 Points Leads Pens Past Panthers

Florida 4 (22-17-3)
Pittsburgh 6 (28-11-2)
Shots FLA 24 PIT 36

Bure 2 Goals (23) 2 Assists
Whitney 3 Assists
Kunitz Goal (14)
Satan (8)
Crosby Goal (25) 5 shots
Malkin Goal (22) 6 shots
Fleury 20 saves on 24 shots

Jokinen 2 Goals (20)
Weiss Goal (9)
Allen 2 Assists
Peltonen Goal (2)
Anderson 30 saves on 36 shots

[GoldenJet]

I simply love Bure on the Pens, are you playing this on 08 or 09?

[onlybygrace]

Quote: Originally Posted by GoldenJet

I simply love Bure on the Pens, are you playing this on 08 or 09?

2k8...I traded NHL 09 in...

I've played every game since NHLPA and so far 2k8 does so many things right it isn't even funny. If it were possible to score more from the point, this would be the perfect game to me.

The goalies are AMAZING and the scoring variety (except for point shots) is also second to none. That said, point shots are still extremely useful as tip-ins and garbage goals are an EXCELLENT way to score. The franchise is awesome, especially the FA period.

I'm loving this too, man.

[onlybygrace]

Penguins Mid-Season Report

Kunitz (14G, 25A, 39pts) Crosby (25G, 18A, 43pts) Bure (23G, 28A, 51pts)
Satan (8G, 19A, 27pts) Malkin (22G, 8A, 30pts) Cheechoo (19G, 8A, 27pts)
Sykora (10G, 9A, 19pts) Stall (11G, 10A, 21pts) Grier (4G, 12A, 16pts)
Talbot (2G, 5A, 7pts) Christensen (6G, 4A, 10pts) Laraque (1G, 3A, 4pts)

Gonchar 8, 8pts Sydor 17A, 17pts
Orpik 13A, 13pts Whitney 14A, 14pts
Eaton 4A, 4pts Letang 2G, 9A, 11pts

Goalies
Fleury 20-5-0 2.74 GAA 2 SO's 1490 MIN .893 SV%
Conklin 8-6-2 2.14 GAA 2 SO's 982 MIN .901 SV%


Mid-Season NHL Report

Eastern Conference Standings
Pittsburgh 28-11-2 58pts
Washington 25-14-3 53pts
Boston 21-14-6 48pts
NY Rangers 25-13-4 54pts
Atlanta 24-16-2 50pts
Florida 22-17-3 47pts
New Jersey 22-17-2 46pts
Ottawa 22-17-2 46pts
Tampa Bay 19-18-5 43pts
Buffalo 19-18-2 40pts
Toronto 18-22-2 38pts
NY Islanders 17-20-3 37pts
Carolina 15-24-5 35pts
Montreal 15-25-1 31pts
Philadelphia 13-22-4 30pts

Western Conference Standings
Edmonton 29-8-6 64pts
Anaheim 31-13-0 62pts
Detroit 26-13-3 55pts
Los Angeles 26-16-1 53pts
St. Louis 23-12-4 50pts
Chicago 22-16-2 46pts
Nashville 19-14-7 45pts
Colorado 20-18-3 43pts
Phoenix 18-17-5 41pts
Vancouver 18-18-5 41pts
Minnesota 19-20-2 40pts
Columbus 19-21-2 40pts
Dallas 16-19-8 40pts
Calgary 16-25-2 34pts
San Jose 14-24-3 31pts

League Leaders
Goals
1. Kovalchuk 42 goals in 42 games
2. Gaborik 36
3. Richards 30
4. Zetterberg 28
Ovechkin 28
Fedorov 28

Assists
1. M. Koivu 48
2. Hemsky 39
3. Gomez 38
4. Spezza 37
5. Dvorak 36
Brind'Amour 36
Perry 36

Points
1. Gaborik (36G, 28A) 64
2. Ovechkin (28G, 29A) 57
3. Hemsky (19G, 39A) 56
Kovalchuk (42G, 14A) 56
5. Jagr (26G, 28A) 54
6. Zetterberg (28G, 25A) 53
7. Fedorov (28G, 24A) 52
8. Koivu (3G, 48A) 51
Bure (23G, 28A) 51
Yashin (21G, 30A) 51

Wins
1. Fleury 20
2. Giguere 18
Brodeur 18
4. Roloson 17
5. Theodore 16

Shutouts
1. Garon 4
Giguere 4
Hasek 4

GAA
1. Giguere 1.91
2. Cloutier 1.99
3. Bryzgalov 2.04
Khabibulin 2.04
5. Garon 2.07

[onlybygrace]

Vokoun Shuts Pens Down In Florida

Pittsburgh 0 (28-12-2)
Florida 3 (23-17-3)
Shots PITT 24 FLA 26

Bure 2 shots, -1
Cheechoo/Grier 4 shots
Conklin 23 saves on 26 shots

Vokoun 24 saves, Shutout
Dvorak Goal (6)
Peltonen Goal (3)
Stumpel Goal (7)
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Pens Get Back On Winning Track In Tampa Bay

Pittsburgh 3 (29-12-2)
Tampa Bay 1 (19-19-5)

Grier Goal (5) Assist
Sykora ENG (11) Assist
Christensen Goal (7)
Gonchar/Laraque Assists
Bure 8 shots, -1
Fleury 18 saves on 19 shots

Prospal Goal (5)
Boyle/St. Louis Assists
Denis 34 saves on 36 shots, amazing performance.

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[GoldenJet]

Looks like Kovie is having a good year.