Pittsburgh Sports Fan Blog

His first 50-goal NHL season isn’t quite in the bag, but center Sidney Crosby skated several strides toward that elusive plateau on Monday night.

Crosby’s third hat trick, and the fifth of his five-year career, fueled a 5-4 victory against the Buffalo Sabres at Mellon Arena. Crosby’s 37 goals are tied with San Jose center Patrick Marleau for the league lead.

“It always helps when Sid has a game like he did (last night),” goalie Marc-Andre Fleury said after stopping 30 shots, including 20 of his final 22 faced. “That was huge.”

As was this victory for the Penguins, who improved to 2-6-0 against the Eastern Conference’s elite – Washington, New Jersey and Buffalo, the lone three clubs ahead of them in the standings.

The Penguins overcame a 3-1 deficit against a top defensive team and goalie Ryan Miller, a Vezina Trophy candidate and the likely starter for Team USA at the Vancouver Olympics later this month.

Center Jordan Staal’s 14th goal and two by Crosby within a minute and 25 seconds turned that deficit into a two-goal advantage late in the second period.

“We were concerned,” Staal said after snapping a 12-game goal drought. “We haven’t had one of those comeback wins in a while.”

The Penguins (35-21-1, 71 points) have won a bunch lately. They are on a 9-5-0 stretch – not an elite measure of excellence, as defenseman Brooks Orpik suggested, but good enough to climb within a point of New Jersey for the Atlantic Division lead.

Click here to read the full article – By Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

---

Pittsburgh Penguins Sports Memorabilia
and other Pittsburgh Penguins Gifts and Collectibles
Below are links to memorabilia available for Sidney Crosby.

Sidney Crosby Memorabilia

Penguins forward Pascal Dupuis sustained an undisclosed facial injury while being rammed face-first into the boards by the Islanders defenseman Andy Sutton with 2:55 remaining in Pittsburgh’s 6-4 victory on Tuesday night.


Dupuis was down on the ice for several minutes, blood dripping off his face, before he got up and walked with assistance to a tunnel leading to the Penguins’ dressing room. He used a towel to cover up an apparent nose injury. Blood stains remained visible on the ice after the game ended.

Sutton drew a boarding penalty and a game misconduct.


Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

---

There’s still a tomorrow for the Pittsburgh Steelers, all they could have asked for only days ago. There’s also a next week for the Baltimore Ravens, or exactly what they didn’t want.

Jeff Reed’s 38-yard field goal put Pittsburgh ahead with 5:25 remaining and the Steelers finally preserved a fourth-quarter lead, beating rival Baltimore 23-20 on Sunday to further jumble the complicated AFC postseason race.

The Steelers (8-7), their season seemingly ended by a late-season five-game losing streak, followed their last-second 37-36 victory over Green Bay with another tight victory helped by Reed’s three field goals and Rashard Mendenhall’s touchdown run. Now, their final regular season game at Miami will have some meaning, although the Steelers could win and still be eliminated.

According to the NFL, the Ravens (8-7) will clinch an AFC wild-card playoff spot if they win Sunday at Oakland. The Steelers must win and hope for some losses as the Jets, Ravens, Broncos, Texans and Pittsburgh all go into the final weekend with the same record.

“It’s been do or die for us for a while, fighting to the last minute. We’re like the cardiac kids,” said Ben Roethlisberger, who threw a touchdown pass while becoming the first Steelers quarterback to pass for 4,000 yards in a season.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

---

Pittsburgh Steelers T-Shirts
and other Steelers Apparel

Troy Polamalu Pittsburgh Steelers SB43 NFL Player T-Shirt

Pittsburgh Steelers NFL Reebok Her Fan Tank Top

Pittsburgh Steelers Cross My Heart Premium T-Shirt

---

Ruslan Fedotenko does not understand why New York Rangers forward Sean Avery attacked him from behind in the Penguins’ 8-3 victory Saturday at Mellon Arena.

He just wishes he had gotten an opportunity to defend himself against Avery, who picked up 17 minutes of penalties.

“I didn’t even have a chance to bump him, or anything like that, during the game, so whatever happened, I have no clue,” Fedotenko said.

“He kind of jumped me from behind. … I wish he’d given me a heads-up, but that’s his kind of game.”

He added that the league should take steps to prevent that from happening more often.

Click here to read the full article – By Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

---

Pittsburgh Penguins Helmets
and other Penguins Gifts

Franklin Pittsburgh Penguins Mini Goalie Mask

Bauer Pittsburgh Penguins Mini Hockey Helmet

Franklin Pittsburgh Penguins Goaltender Full Size Mask

---

General manager Ray Shero expressed a considerable degree of satisfaction Saturday night that the Penguins went 5-3 over a stretch when at least two AHL defensemen were in the lineup, and they split two games over that span when three had to play.

Stability was all the Penguins realistically could hope for during a stretch from Oct. 20-Nov. 16 when five regular defensemen were lost because of injuries. Four have returned to the lineup, and Jay McKee could play tonight at the New York Rangers after missing six straight games.

An infected finger on his right hand that required at overnight stay at the hospital Nov. 17 for treatment with antibiotics and draining of fluid has healed sufficiently for McKee to play, he said Saturday.

Click here to read the full article – By Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

---

Pittsburgh Penguins Sports Memorabilia
and other Pittsburgh Penguins Gifts and Collectibles
Below are links to memorabilia available for popular Pittsburgh Penguins players.

Paul Coffey Autographs and Memorabilia

Mario Lemieux Autographs and Memorabilia

Evgeni Malkin Autographs and Memorabilia

Alex Goligoski will be sidelined for at least two weeks with an unspecified lower body injury, leaving the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins with two healthy defensemen among their top six.

The Penguins already are playing without Sergei Gonchar (wrist), Kris Letang (shoulder) and Brooks Orpik (undisclosed injury). Also out are forwards Max Talbot (shoulder), Tyler Kennedy (groin) and Chris Kunitz (undisclosed injury).

Goligoski plays the point on the power play. He left Saturday’s 6-5 overtime victory against Boston with an apparent left leg injury.


Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

---

Pittsburgh Penguins Sports Memorabilia
and other Pittsburgh Penguins Gifts and Collectibles

Pittsburgh Steelers Holiday Gifts
and other Steelers Gifts

Pittsburgh Steelers NFL Gnome Christmas Ornament

Pittsburgh Steelers NFL Christmas Stocking

Pittsburgh Steelers NFL Colorblock Plush Santa Hat

---

One of the biggest reasons for Pitt’s recent surge has been its improved pass defense. This week’s game against Notre Dame will show just how much better the Panthers have gotten at protecting their air space.


“This will be a major test,” Pittsburgh defensive coordinator Phil Bennett said. “If there’s a better throwing team in the country, I don’t know who it is.”

A few weeks ago, a visit from Jimmy Clausen, Golden Tate and Michael Floyd might have spelled disaster for Bennett’s defense. Buffalo shredded the Panthers for 433 passing yards and four touchdowns, and NC State dealt Pitt its only loss thanks to 322 yards in the air and Russell Wilson’s four passing touchdowns.

Click here to read the full article – By Brian Bennett of ESPN.com

---

Pittsburgh Panthers Helmets
and other Panthers Gifts

Riddell Pittsburgh Panthers Collegiate Authentic Full Size Helmet

Schutt Pittsburgh Panthers Authentic Full Size Helmet

Riddell Pittsburgh Panthers Deluxe Replica Throwback Full Size Helmet

---

Ex-Penguin Mark Recchi knows Sidney Crosby too well to think that his current slump might be a long-term condition.

“It’s just one of those things where he’s in a rut right now,” Recchi said after tallying his 900th career assist in the Boston Bruins’ 3-0 victory over Pittsburgh. “It won’t be very long he’ll be in it, I know that. He’s a great player and when they break out, they can go the opposite way, and everything they touch turns to goals.”

Crosby recorded only two shots and was held without a point for the fifth straight game — four was already a career worst — and the Penguins were shut out for the second game in a row. Pittsburgh has not scored in 149 minutes, 9 seconds and has lost three straight games — all away from home — after opening the season 7-0 on the road.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

---

Pittsburgh Penguins Jerseys
and other Penguins Apparel

Pittsburgh Penguins RBK Edge Premier NHL Third Jersey

Pittsburgh Penguins RBK Edge Premier NHL Team Color Jersey

Pittsburgh Penguins Replica RBK NHL Kids Preschool NHL Jersey

---

Pittsburgh’s offense was playing so well, the Panthers almost didn’t want a week off.

The timing was there, so was the consistency. Bill Stull was effectively spreading the ball among receivers Jonathan Baldwin, Dorin Dickerson, Mike Shanahan, Oderick Turner and Cedric McGee. Dion Lewis was averaging nearly 150 yards rushing over a three-game stretch.

The 14th-ranked Panthers had everything going during a 41-14 victory over South Florida on Oct. 24 in which they didn’t punt once, only to be forced to shut it down during an off week.

The Panthers (7-1, 4-0 in Big East) probably would have preferred to keep playing after averaging 34.25 points in their first eight games, or nearly a touchdown per game more than at this point last season.


Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of sportingnews.com

---

Pittsburgh Panthers Hats
and other Panthers Apparel

Pittsburgh Panthers Crew Adjustable Cap

Pittsburgh Panthers Youth Team Color One-Fit Adjustable Cap

Pittsburgh Panthers Triple Conference Adjustable Cap

---