Fear the Playoff BTM

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Yes, you heard correctly. Beware the Playoff BTM.

I hope you know what a BTM is. Cos its been guiding the Penguins through these playoffs.

Know why chronic playoff underachiever Marian Hossa scored twice in the close-out game against the Rangers? He was successfully guided by the power of the Playoff BTM on each tally.

With all the love given to the Playoff Beard, its about time the Beard's bastard son is recognized for its own significance. Sure, it may look gayer than Erasure (awesome song, though), but if the face of your team can't submit to his own Playoff Beard, one needs to take what one can get.

Baby-faced teens everywhere were given hope the moment the Pens cashed their ticket to the Eastern Conference finals. Adam Morrison now believes an NBA title is in the foreseeable future. The tall-ass kid who went to high school with my younger brother is probably a millionaire at the mere mention of the Playoff BTM.

You can keep your epic Playoff Beards, Scott Niedermayer and Mike Commodore. Oh wait, you can't, because they mean nothing right now.

But the Playoff BTM is still in commission.

Go Pens!

Fear The Playoff BTM: Part 3

How do I even begin to describe my current emotions following last night's win?

Praise Sid? Thank God that the presence of Sydor might have changed our luck? Worship Brooks Orpik? Point out to Chris Osgood that goalies with the lead don't flop?

Nah. I'll chalk it up to the Playoff BTM. Home ice might have had something to do with the win, or maybe the whiteout. I think the BTM stepped it up huge, scoring early so Detroit was unable to keep up their puck-control nonsense. It seems the BTM does well when challenged, or when the team's back is against the proverbial wall.

Sid could have easily had a hat trick (or more), if not for the pipes playing about as well as Chris Osgood last night. No matter the case, a win means the BTM has a longer shelf life, and more importantly, means that the Pens are still alive.

Sure, I'd like to see a few other players step it up, like Geno (who played better last night), Hossa (he scores on Saturday. Write that down) or Jordan Staal (sure, he's been playing possessed, but he's missed on several finishes). The BTM can only do so much by itself.

Which is why its nice to have a flower in your corner.



What a win. I've been waiting for that feeling since 1992.

Go Pens!

Fear The Playoff BTM: Part 2

The BTM is growing.

That's Bad Teenage Moustache, for you Philly fans.

Game 2 starts soon. Can the Flyers withstand another BTM-lead assault? I'd like to think not.

Go Pens!

Playoff BTM/Beard Update

The Penguins season is over. What does that mean for all the facial hair that blew up during the playoffs?

Well, according to the above picture, Sid is still in love with his Playoff BTM. The rest of that junk around his ears and all is gone, but the 'stache is still in place. He should keep it, a la Jason Giambi.

As for playoff beards, I'm sad to see my good buddy Ed Spags shave his beard. It was truly epic. Video evidence is below.



What a video. What a movie reference.

UPDATE: Thanks to reader The White Boom Boom for the below image. Just look at what a massive playoff beard and a few stitches could do to a guy.

The Penguins Are In The Stanley Cup Finals. How Does One Let That Sink In?

I need a moment, away from the parodies of Flyers fans, the BTM sightings, or any other cheap laugh.

The Penguins are going to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Our Pittsburgh Penguins, one year removed from a gut-check of a loss in the opening round of the playoffs, now stand 4 wins from hoisting Lord Stanley. I've yet to let that fully sink in,

I'll turn 24 years old in under 3 months. I can't be foolish enough to make you believe that I saw the Steel Curtain firsthand. Hell, I come from a generation after the "We Are Family" Buccos, and my best memories of our out-of-luck baseball team include a slide by a guy who used to wear black and gold before breaking the heart of every Pirates fan on a Barry Bonds throw home.

But with the Pens, something special happens. I find myself thinking back to the Cup days of the early 90s. How excited and fortunate I was to watch Lemieux and Jagr...on the same team. Two superstars united with one goal in mind, the Stanley Cup. I remember the games against the North Stars and Blackhawks. I can nearly name, from memory and almost in order, the players on the Stanley Cup Championship plaques that hang in my aunt's den.

Through the recent losing seasons, Lemieux's retirement, Jagr's trade, I would take myself back to the good times, desperately clinging to the pride of winning back-to-back Cups. With the Steelers and Buccos, I could only liken to moderate successes. Playoff appearances, short winning streaks...but no championship. The Steelers finally got their one for the thumb, but I couldn't relate that to any personal memory.

As we wait for our opponent, be it Dallas or Detroit, I have, as anyone in my age group or older, a connection made between this group of young Penguins and the champions of the past. The bridge had been built, but never finished. '92 seems like yesterday, and forever ago. It was the beginning of innumerable Cups. Jagr and Lemieux would hoist the trophy 10 more times, it would seem. But the sport is fickle.

16 years later, and we're back. Should it have taken this long? Does the wait make it this much sweeter?

Do any of those questions matter at this point?

Teams hope and pray and bargain with the devil to have everything line up at the perfect time. Free agent puzzle pieces. A white-hot goaltender. Young leaders capable of dishing AND scoring. Defense. More defense.

As I write this, the feeling starts to sink in more than when I began. I'm writing about the Stanley Cup. Its a highly plausible goal. We fought the best the Eastern Conference had to give for the right to TRY for the Cup.

Now all we need is 4 games of our hockey.

Those champions from my memories played their hockey, and were rewarded with their names forever etched on the Cup. Let's hope the connection remains true, and that this version of the team finds similar results.

GO PENS!