And I only had to drive for 6 hours!

So I went to the Penguins game in Dallas last night. What a freaking awesome game! The 1st period was a bit of a snooze-fest, but things quickly turned around in the 2nd after the Pens got on the board, compliments of Jordan Staal. Mark Recchi chipped in a pair of goals, including a power-play goal with about 8 minutes to play that tied it up. The goal was also the 500th of his career. Props to the Stars fans for giving the Wrackin' Ball a nice standing O. The game moved into OT, and the overtime period was INTENSE. Both teams had some chances, but the Stars definitely had quality opportunities to end it. They couldn't though and the Pens uncharacteristically won in a shootout, with their proud papas on hand to boot.

The Pens left quite an impression on the Stars.

The real story of the game in my opinion was Marc-Andre Fleury. If the Pens make the playoffs this season it will be because of him. That's not a knock on Sid or Geno, the Pens' defense is just that bad. Flower was killing the Stars all night and brought the fans out of their seats on a couple occasions. He got a couple lucky breaks too, but that's all part of the deal when things are going well. He also stopped all three shooters in the shootout to secure the extra point for the Penguins. That is especially noteworthy when you consider the Stars are one of the best shootout teams in the league.

Not this time Sergei!

All in all the game was more than worth the drive and the price of admission. Dallas has a nice arena and a fun area around it to eat and such. I'm looking forward to seeing the Pens there again when they come back... in 3 years :(