The NHL Girl

The Avs/Wings rivalry is obsolete. After the Avalanche failed to play anything that resembled hockey as the Wing’s swept the Western Conference semi-final, the celebrated blood feud is over. The real blood feud is in the Eastern Conference between the Penguins and the Rangers, who will play game five of their series in Pittsburgh Sunday at 2:00.

Thursday night was the Penguins first loss of the post season (as they swept Ottowa) and the they responded to it in frustration. By the third period, with the Penguins trailing the Rangers 2-0, the cheap shots from Pittsburgh’s bench were abundant. Malkin even resorted to kicking the skates out from under two Ranger players. The New York Times called the game the first glimpse at Penguin frustration in the series. Should Pittsburgh worry that the Rangers might stage a historic come back? “No, the only worrisome aspect of the loss was that Sidney Crosby and Malkin acted like immature kids at the end,” Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said in reference to Crosby and Malkin’s simultaneous roughing penalties in the third period of Thursday’s game. Cook goes on to explain that, “It’s almost certain that these were one-time acts by Crosby, 20, and Malkin, 21, from the frustration caused by the impenetrable Lundqvist.”

The frustration that was Lundqvist’s shutout performance. He stopped 29 shots and was named the first star of the game by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. We all know by now that only two teams in hockey history have come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series, yet, Ranger captain, Jaromir Jagr, has high hopes for his team as he said to the New York Times, “I wasn’t just talking when I said I believe.”

It’s David vs. Goliath in this series for the Rangers while Pittsburgh has the home ice advantage in the game. The Post-Gazette insists that Lundqvist will not keep Malkin out of the net for another game. Perhaps the Penguins have peeked and the Rangers will make history. OR perhaps Thursday was a fluke game and the Rangers will be playing their last game of the season. One this is certain: this Blood Feud is boiling.