Well t......perhaps
just like when I was carrying on about Hughson..... I have to admit that Maguire
doesn't bother me as much as he does you.
But he's not at all well-liked by a fairly large contingent of US hockey fans, many of whom always considered him (among other things) to be as a Pens homer.....something I think
was a fair accusation. But on balance, I think he generally levels out the cheering for either team fairly well; which has nothing to do when (as in this case) he gets something wrong and doesn't own up to it. BTW, I wasn't aware he actually had a
slack-jaw
I myself expected PM to dramatically (if not completely) back-off his gushing over the Pens after his good buddy, Ray Shero, got canned. But, it's clear he still worships Mario....and why not, since Mario is
the reason he's got two rings on his dresser......and for that reason, still treats his old team fairly well. BTW, for all intents and purposes, Maguire was publicly unknown at the time he was on the Pens staff when Mario won his two Cups.
As for last night, it
was a good win......but I think there have been just a few
too many accolades from the Press last night and this morning. Granted, they showed up better last night than versus Columbus or (especially) Jersey; but in a League where your team's (and HC's) worth is largely calculated by team effort, I'm not sure that offsets last weekend to the extent the locals would like.
They
did catch a very nice break on the high sticking call, and Hornqvist
may have gotten away with goalie interference......though Dubnyk's extended pissing and moaning was silly, and I think the no-call ultimately was reasonable. But I'm just
so PO'd at Maatta's injury I can't see straight (which as of 1145am today, is being called a UBI.....and he remains hospitalized).
And
not because of the cross-check; which I happen to grudgingly agree with Neiderreiter is something that happens several times a game anymore (and isn't always as dirty a play as it might initially appear). What
really made me angry is what's that stupid-ass
Darcy Kuemper doing opening the door with the friggin' scrum
right in front of him. I know that's what the reserve goalie does; but how does he do that with
the play so clearly coming right at him ??. ****er oughta' be suspended without pay for doing something
that stoopid.
Also, with all the moaning the Wild did in the post-game about the officiating, they're conveniently forgetting the
monstrous favors the stripes (as you already know) did for them on the
two long 2-man advantages. Anyway, game over.......move on.
PS: Even though he had 2 assists (and got 2nd Star), I don't think Kris Letang looked all
that good last night. To me, he still looks largely lost on the PP, and isn't making any more good passes than Sid (who I missed making all the great plays for which he was apparently credited last night). But worse, he doesn't even look all that fast anymore; not good, since skating has always been his
top attribute. OTOH, he
did play almost 30 minutes (29:27) which even exceeded the normal marathon Suter plays (28:59) every game for Minnesota.
Fortunately, the Pens have some depth on defense; though your guess is as good as mine as to how good it is. I thought Clendening skated
very well in limited time, and I think he could help this team offensively
if he gets broken-in with some more extended PT (which may well happen with Maatta out presumably for awhile).
What will be
most interesting to watch, however, is if the team uses this injury as a reason to elevate Pouliot (who may, or may not, deserve it).