Eye on the Cup

I watched the Penguins/Thrashers game from beginning to end last night. Thank heaven for NHL Center Ice. A few thoughts....

* Jordan Staal is a force to be reckoned with. Long legs and a titanic wing span make him dangerous.

* Evgeni Malkin is arguably the finest talent in the NHL right now and the beauty of it is that he has such a great time playing the game. This guy has more passion for the sport in his little finger than some other teams do collectively.

* Sidney Crosby is on a mission. I swear that every time there was a loose puck and Crosby was on the ice, he was chasing after it.

* Having Sergei Gonchar back in the lineup has breathed new life into the Pen's power play and strengthened their blueline play.

* Ray Shero is looking like a genius for cutting Therrien, bringing Bylsma up, and acquiring Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz.

* Dan Bylsma is looking like a genius for pairing Kunitz and Guerin with Crosby on the 1st line. Those three together are proving to be a juggernaut on the ice.

* The entire team has bought into the new way of doing things. This is a completely different team from 8 weeks ago. The Thrashers tried to keep up the pace last night and the Pen's simply beat them at their own game.

Someone or something has lit a fire under this group of guys. They are in it to win it now.