Kukla's Korner Hockey
The Heart & Soul Is Back In Pittsburgh
by Paul on 04/10/08 at 11:26 AM ET
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from David Shoalts of the Globe and Mail,
“Last year, I think we were in shock after Game 1 in Ottawa. They came out and battled us so hard,” said Roberts, who tried to aw-shucks his way around his role in last night’s win. He said luck was the big factor since he is still not in prime shape because of the injury layoff.
“Hopefully, I’ll feel as good tomorrow as I do right now,” he said. “I didn’t have a lot of jump in my legs out there. I was just fortunate to be in the right place at the right time.”
Perhaps. But Roberts had enough left in the tank to score his second goal with 1:35 left and swat around a couple of Senators who tried to rough up the Penguins at the end of the game.
Watching Roberts show the way for his youthful teammates must have gone down especially bitterly with Senators owner Eugene Melnyk. He has long believed, as have the team’s fans, that Roberts is just the kind of heart-and-soul player the team lacked.
Update 2:02pm ET: From the Stats Wizards at Elias Sports Bureau, more on Roberts—
Gary Roberts, age 41 years, 322 days on Wednesday, is the oldest player ever to record a multiple-goal game in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Two other players age 40 or older scored two goals in a postseason game: Detroit’s Igor Larionov on June 8, 2002 at Carolina (age 41 years, 187 days) and Anaheim’s Adam Oates on May 16, 2003 vs. Minnesota (age 40 years, 262 days).
Roberts notched his 31st and 32nd career playoff goals, coming 20 years and three days after his first one (April 6, 1988 for the Calgary Flames against goaltender Roland Melanson in a 9-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings in Game 1 of the Smythe Division Semifinal). The Calgary lineup for that game featured three future Hall of Famers (Al MacInnis, Lanny McDonald and Joe Mullen). Roberts has recorded more than a quarter of his 91 career playoff points against the Senators (14-9—23 in 24 games).
Filed in: NHL Teams, Pittsburgh Penguins, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: gary+roberts
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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.
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