Sabres Rivalries: Pittsburgh Penguins

by D.O. on Jul 15, 2008 8:00 AM EDT

This is a feature I started to help the summertime pass by so we can get back to hockey season. There will be a new post with a new team posted whenever there is nothing else to talk about.

The rivalry I picked to kick things off is the Pittsburgh Penguins. Truth be told there is no rivalry with the Pittsburgh Penguins despite the two teams being only four hours and basically two highways apart. It seems that there is a natural geographic rivalry that is waiting to begin but hasn't been able to do it because of a lack of playoff history. That being said these two teams have met in the playoffs and those are memories I wish I could forget.

You aren't really a Sabres fan if you don't remember Mario Lemieux scoring that back breaking goal in the waning moments of game six at The Igloo (I'm really not sure if it was Mellon Arena by then but it will always be the igloo to me). The memories are even worse from there because Darius Kasparitis, yep Darius "friggin" Kasparitis scored on Dominic Hasek at the HSBC Arena in overtime of game seven and the Sabres went home for the season. I'll never forget how mad I was when that goal was scored...the Sabres had the series wrapped up in Pittsburgh and they let it slip away, only to have Kasparitis put the nail in the coffin.

Frank from Pensburgh was kind enough to share his thoughts on this non-rivalry as well...

Penguins and Sabres. Well, it's not the world's most blood-seething rivalry but they've certainly shared some history together. The first thing that comes to mind when I think of these two teams matching up is not the Ice Bowl; as many would think. In fact, I'm going to take it back to May 10, 2001. In their third consecutive overtime game, winner heading to the Conference Championship, Buffalo and Pitt found themselves in the wrenches of a Game 7. Notorious hard-hitting, but hardly a scoring, D-man Darius Kasparaitis launched a wrister from the right face-off circle in Buffalo's end to beat Hasek blocker-side for the game winner. It isn't so much the goal that I remember, as much as it is the celebration afterwards when Darius belly-flopped onto the ice and slid towards the Penguins' goal. In either case, Pitt went on to lose against NJ in the Conference Finals - so hey, no hard feelings guys.

Another great memory of mine that exists between these two teams is one of my fondest memories as a Penguins fan. In the 92/93 season, Mario Lemieux missed two months after his diagnosis with Hodgkin's disease. This was not only devastating on the level of mortality, but statistically speaking, Mario was on pace to annihilate Gretzky's record of 215 points. Following treatment, Lemieux returned for a game against the Flyers only 12 points behind Lafontaine. Pittsburgh won 17 straight, Lemieux averaged 2.67 points per game and wound up edging Lafontaine out by 12 points in the scoring race with a total of 160.

And last but not least, our most recent venture together - The Ice Bowl. I believe the fans of both teams developed a weird sense of camaraderie as both teams battled through the snow, ice and wind on New Year's Day. Some would argue it possessed a storybook ending for the NHL, and I guess all I can say to that is "to each his own." As I've been writing and blogging about the Penguins I've come to ignore such remarks (see also: Crosby dives, the NHL fixes Pittsburgh games and Bettman loves Crosby). But you can't deny the excitement of the event, the attention for the sport and the overall exhibition of fans' love and commitment for a game that found them outside in whiteout conditions.

I'm sure there might be some more events between these two, but I put that into the hands of your trusty blogger D.O.

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nice write up

but not a team I would consider a rival…I mean there is some history but not any animosity…I realize this is going to be an ongoing post but I would have started with philly or ottowa or are you just building up to those

irregardlessly (I love made up words) this is a great feature and I hope it continues

whats the word on cunnyworth?

by Lion Alum on Jul 15, 2008 11:12 AM EDT 0 recs

I have to agree that there is really no rivalry between these two teams. Even the Bills-Steelers on the rare occasions when they get together are a bigger rivalry, largely because of the sizable and enthusiastic crowds of Steelers fans who manage to find their way into the Fortress on Smokes Creek.

However, I am forced to admit that this quote did rankle me a little:

And last but not least, our most recent venture together – The Ice Bowl. I believe the fans of both teams developed a weird sense of camaraderie as both teams battled through the snow, ice and wind on New Year’s Day. Some would argue it possessed a storybook ending for the NHL, and I guess all I can say to that is “to each his own.”

Of course it was a storybook ending for the NHL. The game was played in one of the few venues in the US that had the capacity to not only sell out the game but to have a wildly enthusiastic crowd at the same time. It featured one of the teams and players that the NHL has spent an immense amount of marketing capital on. And in the end the team that the league has bent over backwards to try and save won the game in a shootout scored by the league’s most heavily marketed player and defeated the team that the league has bent over backwards to try and destroy over the last decade. If it had been Vanek or Stafford who had scored the gamewinner, the game would not have had the nationwide appeal, particularly from the league’s point of view. The league did not want a repeat of the 07 All-Star Game where a Sabre not named Miller was named MVP and where Crosby was effectively a non-factor and they got it. The league wants the most heavily marketed players to succeed because it increases their television ratings.

Really, from their point of view the league simply could not have scripted the outcome of the game any better.

Of course one of the things that is forgotten about the game were the television ratings. Despite the game being played in Orchard Park and despite the Pens having the most heavily marketed player in the league, TV ratings in the Buffalo market for the game were about double what they were in the Pittsburgh market (38.2/58 for Buffalo and 17.7/30 for Pittsburgh) and the Buffalo figures do not include those who were watching the always excellent CBC coverage instead of the rather anemic NBC coverage.

"I could have conquered Europe, all of it, but I had women in my life." - King Henry II of England

by Calvert on Jul 16, 2008 10:40 AM EDT up 0 recs

I don’t think the ratings are forgotten, just like I really don’t want to believe you’re trying to sound like a victim here. In the end the ratings were the best thing to come from the event – but now they move into Wrigley, a smaller stadium by far. Why the downgrade?

FrankD from Pensburgh.com

by FrankD on Jul 16, 2008 11:13 AM EDT up 0 recs

The ratings

Let’s not discount the Pittsburgh ratings which were also very good. The numbers in Buffalo were much better for a couple of reasons, number one is that it was a historic event for the city and it really didn’t matter if you were a hockey fan or not, second is that in Buffalo we are practically Canadian, especially when it comes to hockey. It’s almost as if people from Buffalo have adopted Canada as their home country, between hockey and music I consider myself to be an adopted Canadian. As far as U.S. markets go it will be tough to find a better one than Pittsburgh.

D.O.
www.diebytheblade.com

by D.O. on Jul 16, 2008 1:11 PM EDT up 0 recs

Nice work D.O. – thanks for giving me the floor for a bit. I love watching these two teams play one another and we’ll forever have that Ice Bowl – just like the Pens will always have that victory.

Oh ziiiiing.

FrankD from Pensburgh.com

by FrankD on Jul 15, 2008 3:15 PM EDT 0 recs