The plan was to do a mailbag today and technically I still am. This mailbag is only going to be one question long because it was a great suggestion and deserves its own blog.
You often (correctly) point out how spoiled we are as Pens fans to have watched so many superstars over the years. Give us your favorite goals/moments from 66, 68, 71, 87 and anytime else you’d like to include.
This is a great question. I love all four of them. I was very lucky to grow up outside of Pittsburgh and still have access to the number of games I did via ESPN and Sportschannel. Sportscenter also played a huge role as I would sit through three or four showings to see the Penguins highlights again, especially if it was a game against those Sharks teams. Franchises are lucky to get one out of those four players in their prime. Pittsburgh had all four.
I’ll start with Mario because he was the star of all stars for me growing up. Being right-handed it gave perhaps a false hope that I too could mimic some of the things he was doing out there. One of the things I was able to successfully do was his forehand backhand forehand five-hole move. Pretty simplistic but also damning to that era of goaltenders. The best example of this was also bittersweet. Mario’s Last home goal before his first retirement against the Philadelphia Flyers. At the time I couldn’t understand why somebody that good could just walk away from it all. I was so bummed out. This goal checked a lot of boxes. It was against the Flyers, it had Gary Thorne on the goal call, it had John Barbaro on the PA, it had the air raid goal horn, and it had an Igloo going nuts, including people waving their babies in the air to say they “saw” Mario, probably .
Mario is going to get two on here because why not. Mario coming back was HUGE for me. I never got a chance to see him play before his first retirement. I was able to change that by seeing both regular season and postseason games the year he came back at the Igloo. I remember the lead up and the buzz surrounding his return. It was unreal. With the excitement came expectations. How good was he going to be? He hasn’t played in three years and he is in his mid-thirties. Can this possibly live up to expectations? Uh, yeah, it can and did. The first home goal since the 1997 game against the Flyers. What a night.
And shoutout to Ian Moran finding his way on the ice for both of those moment.
Jaromir Jagr was so much fun to watch during his Pittsburgh years. Every game you were given something amazing regardless of if it ended up on the scoresheet or not. His puck protection skills were second to none. He was able to combine those with explosive skating and deking abilities. I think his 1999 performance against the Devils was the most important, but I didn’t fully grasp how bleak things were for the Penguins at that time and how important them winning Game 6 and the series was.
My favorite is the goal you commonly find at the #1 slot on his top ten lists. The goal against the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 1 during the 1992 Stanley Cup Final. I was nine years old going on ten at the time and I had started staying up to watch full games. Game 1 was an epic comeback for the Penguins and Jagr’s goal in the third period came out of what is normally a mundane sequence. I remember how excited I was watching the game and specifically that goal. We take for granted what the current players are able to do. Guys like Jagr and goals like this were necessary to get where we are now.
I remember exactly where I was for the Crosby draft. I was at home and it was during summer break. I tuned in to the entire broadcast. I didn’t really have expectations until the top ten started and the Penguins were still alive. I remember how tense things got towards the end. When the card Bill Daly opened had the Penguins logo I let a Ric Flair woo rip and without breaking stride walked right out of my house, into the car, and bought a 30 rack of Blue Light at the Wegmans down the street. I ran into one of my high school hockey coaches who smirked while asking "isn't it a little early?" I told him Pittsburgh won the Crosby draft and the the Penguins were staying in Pittsburgh. He dryly joked "what if they pick someone else". Whether my friends (Sabres fans) wanted to or not we were going to party for the occasion and did. It was a celebration from the very beginning with Sid. I was old enough to understand how important it was to win that lottery. Much like the 1999 Jagr performance, without Sid the Penguins are gone.
My favorite goal is tied into Sid being gone. It was a long year and a half during Sid’s prime when he was unable to play because of his concussion/neck injury. Twitter was gaining steam at the time and everyday you’d hope your timeline had a positive update about him. A lot of days being let down. Eventually, Sid did return to the lineup. How was he going to be? Well, it was the same as when Mario came back after extended time off. Should have never been in question. Sid’s goal against the Islanders was cathartic and visceral for both player and fans. His “Fuck yeah” said it all.
It was so important to physically see Sid play again. It was the longest year and a half. While he did have another setback this performance proved he wasn't far away.
Evgeni Malkin was fascinating from the start. There was a mystery to him being in Russia before highlights were easily obtained. It was the early days of Youtube. There was the heavy metal Malkin highlight video. You know the one. I was a huge fan immediately. What a perfect introduction to a player you knew your team drafted, but didn’t know a lot about. I remember sharing this video to all my friends bragging you think we were lucky with Sid, wait until you see the next one they’ve got. I’ve probably seen this thing 100 times.
It was a perfect introduction and then the whole spy craft story in sneaking Malkin out of Russia doesn’t get talked about enough. Hopefully a 30 for 30 is coming on that story because it needs it.
As for Malkin as a player I love the emotion he plays with. It is a double-edged sword, but when he balances the emotion with his physical skill it is perfection. No better example than his goal on Marty Biron in the 2008 playoffs. This goal is Evgeni Malkin
My favorite thing that involves all four players? You can't help but love the recreation of the back to back photos
There are so many more moments for these players. Those are the ones that stick out to me because of what they meant to me on a personal level. It is always great to take a look back and share memories from these four players. A Mount Rushmore of hockey like no other.
I’ll have the rest of the mailbag in the near future.
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»