And while we’re at it, let’s not dredge up the things that make fans of the genitalia-less flightless bird (AKA: Ducks Minus Nuts) sad. Don’t bring up a “tired” Malkin disappearing. Don’t mention the French kid tripping before Game 1, the Zetterberg kill, the Zetterberg Smythe, the Kronwall assassinations. Now is not the time to bring up the past. It’s beneath you. And let’s just forget about Gary’s Baby Boy crying like a little bitch and refusing to acknowledge the Dynasty for what it’s become after Game 6.

Well, he might not have cried. But he’s most definitely a bitch, and not the complimentary “bitches” like all of us are. If that sentence confused you and made you sweaty and nervous, I can’t help you. I’m sorry.

Plus, there’s always this.

Courtesy of our pals at The Pens Blog. Charlie and his sisters contacted me early yesterday asking if I was up for a wager. I replied that I most absolutely am, but haven’t heard back yet. I’ll let you know what the stakes are as soon as I agree, which I will.

On to tonite. Franzen’s back. Cleary’s out. Lebda’s still riding and Osgood’s your starter (even though seeing 30 conk blocks tonite in a win would be fun). Malkin’s hurting, Crosby—allegedly—isn’t.

And nobody cares that Marian Hossa used to be a nutless duck. Seriously. It’s a “non-story.” Baby Bettman says so.

“We’re way past that,” center Sidney Crosby said Monday.

Good. Good for you Thid. We’re happy for you. But here’s something, if I were one to give advice to the opposition, you’d better not be “way past.”

There’s no better forward in the NHL than Hossa right now.

And there’s no line more dynamic than the one he shares with Datsyuk and Homer…a line we’d better come up with a nickname for PDQ (suggestions in the comment section and we’ll vote on that tonite during the Live Blog, brought to you by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band).

Would love to see how Therrien chooses to defend that line, or the second for that matter with Mule back.

Oh, and the power play clicking along at 30 percent? I’m sure Baby Bettman will be all psyched to put a kibosh on that…oh, nevermind. That would mean playing the PK.

Tony at The Confluence recommends we don’t buy into the hype surrounding tonite’s game. Actually, I think he’s recommending that to the Pens and their fans. Us? We buy into every bit of hype. We live for hype. We read the hype, spread the hype, stress about it and react to it. It’s who we are.

..there is Henrik Zetterberg, who frustrated Crosby to the point where he chased him down the ice and had to be restrained at the end of Game 4.

See…we dig that. Those are the kind of memories that warm us. That’s our kind of hype Ansar, thank you.

Oh, yeah. It’s just another game. But somebody’s gonna be bitching about something. It could very well be us, but I doubt it.

Hey, one more thing. All-Star game voting begins tonite. I’ve never been a “vote for” this Wing or that Wing kind of guy and I’m not starting this year. But I will say this: when you’re voting tonite, or sometime soon, remember that it’s a serious responsibility. Don’t vote one way just because the media tells you to. Don’t vote for a player because it would be “unique”. Look at their body of work, and look at what they can actually accomplish. And if you vote for someone who doesn’t deserve it? You have no room to complain down the road when their performance doesn’t equal your expectations.