PITTSBURGHSidney Crosby thinks its garbage. And nonsense. He used those two words quite a bit when asked to explain why the Flyersnot to mention the Rangersrecently took umbrage with the way the Penguins play. He was clearly irritated by all of it.
Crosby took heat from Rangers head coach John Tortorellawho referred indirectly to Crosby as a member of Pittsburghs whining starsand Flyers assistant Craig Berube (who said Crosby is one of the two dirtiest players on the Penguins). But Crosby is above all that. He said he doesnt need to sit here and defend myselfwhich was ironic, because he made that statement while sitting down and defending himself.
Its garbage, said Crosby, who scored a goal in the Penguins 4-2 win over the Flyers on Saturday (see story). It was Pittsburghs first victory against the Flyers at the CONSOL Energy Center. The game is played on the ice. All this stuff going on, its nonsense. Im not going to waste my time. Im not even listening to that crap. Were not paying attention to it. Its getting old.
Crosbywho was, of course, not wasting his timesaid that the animosity and issues between the Flyers and the Penguins have been building for a while. That was a keen observation by Crosby, especially since hes counted among those who arent paying attention to any of it.
While Crosby was doing a poor job of pretending that he isnt involved in the drama and hasnt noticed it, Kris Letang was all too happy to openly acknowledge how much the two teams dont like each other, and how that disdain makes the pending playoff series between the Flyers and Penguins even more fascinating. (Perhaps Crosby forgot to CC Letang on the email with the garbage and nonsense talking points.)
Its always even better when you beat the Flyers, Letang said. Its going to be a great series. Were jacked up. Emotional control is going to be important. Its going to be loud in both buildings. Its two teams that hate each other. Its going to be fun to be part of.
Thats more like it. Letang and Penguins forward Craig Adamswho said that the series should be entertaining for the fanshave the right idea. So does Claude Giroux, who admitted that its pretty easy to hate the Penguins and that the Flyers arent big fans of the players on the other side. The animosity between the two teams shouldnt be downplayed. It should be embraced.
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Barely three minutes into Saturdays game, Joe Vitale and Harry Zolnierczyk (hijklmnopqrstuvwxyz) dropped the gloves and did some face bashing. In that way, the final regular season game served to keep the relationship between the two organizations simmering. By the time the Flyers return to Pittsburgh, the heat on both teams will be turned up and the chance that things might boil over will increase. Thats something to celebrate.
People all over anticipate a quality dustup. During the Blackhawks and Red Wings game on Saturday, one of the NHL on NBC (shameless company plug) play-by-play announcers said that a steel cage will be installed in Pittsburgh by mid-week. Its a good thing the series doesnt start immediately. It will give the fans and players a few days to rest up and recharge before the madness begins.
Whether youre a hardcore hockey head or merely take an interest whenever rivals of any sort clash in public competition, youre about to be treated to an explosive spectacle.
Flyers and Penguins? Thats like gunpowder and fire facing off in the first round. The fans in the respective cities cant stand each other. The coaches are desperate to run each other over with a Zamboni. The players for both teams, with the exception of Crosbys disingenuous statement, enjoy jabbing at each other through the media. And then theres Scott Hartnell, the gleeful antagonist who loves to tweak Pittsburgh, not to mention Hulk Hogan fans and wrestling geeks everywhere.
Oh yeah, brother, whatchagonnado when the Flyers and Penguins run wild on you?
People from Pittsburgh dont like us, and vice versaYou love coming into buildings where fans despise you, Hartnell said. You know youre going to get a tough game. Playoffs are even better. Its the best time of year right now.
Its great to have the hatred by the city against us. We thrive off that. Its going to be a bloodbath.
Ding, ding, ding. The NHL should bring in Michael Buffer. This promises to be an excellent rumble.
E-mail John Gonzalez at jgonzalez@comcastsportsnet.com