Well I didn't hear back from two of the Rangers bloggers contacted. Ironically, combined with The PensBlog (who elected to contact the Blueshirt Bulletin) that makes for three Rangers blogs disinterested in talking to any Penguins writers about this series. The age old saying holds true for Pens fans: calmer minds prevail. They're too nervous to talk about the series for sake of risking whatever reputation held on the Internet, choosing to remain holed up in their blue bubble with forsaken prophecies of victory etched in their dreary and delusional red, white and blue brains.
Whatever.
Another nod to the Pensblog for finding this piece of stoic film on youtube.
Their favorite part was the 1:34 mark where - and I quote: "At the 1:34 mark is the guy who roars defiantly into the air in angst. Easily one of our top 10 favorite Penguin fans of all time."
Personally, as good as that one is, I love the use of canned collision sounds around the 1:41, 1:44 and 1:53-2:00 marks. Seriously, if you don't want the whole thing, just watch from 1:30 - 2:00. It's enough to make you chuckle. I'm pretty convinced I've heard those same collision sounds in NFL highlight reels.
I also suppose Graves' hit to Lemieux around the :12 mark was accidental too. While I won't come right out and say Graves' act was anything near the level of "goonery", it definitely would've warranted more than a two-minute penalty in today's NHL. That right there is only about 5 inches away from becoming a 1992 version of Chris Simon.
Don't get me wrong - Adam Graves was a good player. Undoubtedly in fact. But that play was downright dirty.
I've already complimented the Rangers ten times more than Penguins fans can expect to hear coming from New York fans. While Graves isn't exactly the Rangers' all-time best player (but it'd be funny if he were), let's break down his accomplishments with Mario's in what I can only deem a Retro entry.
Adam Graves
GP 1152
G 329
A 287
Pts 616
PIM 1224
Mario Lemieux
GP 915
G 690
A 1033
Pts 1723
PIM 834
With goals alone Lemieux beats out Graves' entire career worth of points.
With total points, Lemieux has nearly three times more than Graves.
361 more goals than Graves.
746 more assists than Graves.
1107 more points than Graves.
390 less penalty minutes than Graves.
And he did it all in 237 less games than...Graves.
We've all heard the tell-tale "how great Mario could've been if he were healthy" stories. But even an unhealthy Mario was three times better than a healthy Adam Graves.
Indeed, all of this is irrelevant heading into Friday's game in Pittsburgh, but still fun to break down either way. While some experts (self-proclaimed or otherwise) feel the Rangers are on their way to victory, remember the 1992 season and how the Penguins persevered with the odds stacked against them.
Pretty soon every New York fan will be saying, "Whatever. It's baseball season. Go Yankees/Mets."
LINKAGE
Rangers are contenders?
Not worried about Avery.