2009 Eastern Conference Champs!

‘20090506-IMG_2634’ courtesy of ‘avanluven’

And well-deserved. Back in February, who would’ve thought this Penguin team would be repeat contenders for the Stanley Cup? I’ll admit I had my doubts, but I was pretty confident the Penguins would go far.

And far they did.

Not bad for a team whose mascot is a flightless bird.

Now, a dilemma. I don’t want to root for Detroit tonight – I’d love to see Chicago come from behind with three straight wins. If Detroit finishes their series tonight, then we’ve got Stanley Cup Finals action beginning on Saturday with Game 1 – and Sunday with Game 2. (Seriously? Screw you, NBC and Versus!) Otherwise, thanks to the morons at NBC and Bettman’s kowtowing, we’ll have to wait until NEXT FRIDAY for Game 1. That’s an eight-day layoff for the Pens, which can only bode ill.

They’re on a roll; we should stick with it. (I mean seriously, winning their last eight of nine? Tremendous.)

Still, I’m itching for the ‘rematch.’ And my ultimate dream from this season – has been, since before the first face-off – has been to see Pittsburgh hoist the Cup…and Sid waggle his fingers at Marian Hossa with a “nyah-nyah-nyah” (or, preferably, a Nelson Muntz ‘haw-HAW!’). Hossa the traitor, who left a lucrative deal to “go with the team with the better chance to win the Cup.”

Best moment last night? I told my wife before the game that it would be awesome if Sid grabbed onto that Prince of Wales trophy and paraded it around. Well, he didn’t skate around with it, but he DID grab it and pose for photos, along with Malkin and Gonchar.

AWESOME.

All that remains is a nice six-game set against Detroit that watches the Wings falter and crash before the mighty Penguins.

And I’m gonna love every single minute.