Today in Penguins History (12/17/2011)

Today in 2011 marked milestones for a number of players on the Penguins roster.  In a home game at Consol Energy Center, the Penguins skated to an 3-8 win over the Buffalo Sabres.  But that wasn't the highlight of the evening as a few feats were completed.

1.  Current KHLer, Simon Despres scored his first NHL goal of his career, a power play goal at that, making the game 0-2 Penguins in the first and assisted by Jason Williams and Tyler Kennedy. 

2.  Evgeni Malkin scored his 7th NHL hat trick with his third goal, a power play goal, coming midway through the third period.  Malkin scored his 12th hat trick mid way through the 2018-19 season (he has two others in the playoffs).

3.  With the 3-8 victory over Buffalo, Marc-Andre-Fleury earned his 200th win of his career, with 16 saves on 19 shots.  As of this posting, he has 452 all time regular season wins.

4.  Brooks Orpik picked up his 100th point in the NHL, assisting on Evgeni Malkin's first goal of the game in the first period. Not known for his scoring prowess, Orpik would put 15 more apples on the board that year.

5.  This game marked the 700th NHL game for Pascal Dupuis and with his assist on Deryk Engelland's goal in the second period, he also notched his 300th career point.  He finished his career with 871 games and 409 points, retiring in 2015 due to complications with blood clots. 

6.  Carl Sneep recorded his first point with the assist on Evgeni Malkin's second goal of the game in the first period.  Interestingly enough, this would also be his last point.  Sneep never played another NHL game for the Penguins, or any team for that matter.

Sometimes I Like My Collection

2011-12 Artifacts Tundra Tandems Marc-Andre Fleury/Kristopher Letang Dual Fight Strap #/10

Playoff Goalies - Best Card Match-Up

With round 2 of the NHL Playoffs coming near to a close, I wondered which of the remaining teams' goalies had the best assortment of cards out there.  I'm looking at the difference between quantity, quality and value.  I wanted to show off the best cards of each player that I have in my collection but with all the craziness of my life, I haven't had the time to find, pull, and scan any of them.  I started typing this post when the last game of Round 1 ended.  It's only now seeing the light of day.

So how do we go about doing this???  A head-to-head card stat matchup is just what we need.  Now you can hem and haw about the fact that I used the Beckett Online Checklist to assist in my endeavors but it's only a guide, not the Bible.  I didn't have the time to spend on final sale prices on Ebay or anything so this is  a "just for fun" post to make a comparison.

Maybe I will do a Round 3 matchup with the winners (or maybe not)

Round 2 - Western Conference Semi-Finals  (Chicago Blackhawks vs. Detroit Red Wings)

The Hawks and Wings have a long, storied history of playoff battles being that they are both Original 6 teams. They won't be facing each other as much starting next year but at least we have the Playoffs to reminisce.  For both teams thus far, they have gone with one guy in net.

Corey Crawford vs. Jimmy Howard

Corey Crawford
354 Cards
11 Rookie Cards
122 Memorabilia
24 Autographs
194 Serial Numbered Cards
Total Imaginary Contrived Value:  $2128.30
Average Card Value:  $6.01
2005-06 Rookie Cards

Jimmy Howard
701 Total Cards
17 Rookie Cards
260 Memorabilia
129 Autographs
459 Serial Numbered Cards
Total Imaginary Contrived Value: $8845.45
Average Card Value:  $12.62
2005-06 Rookie Cards

The edge here obviously goes to Howard since he has the volume but if Crawford can continue to anchor a successful Blackhawks squad for a few more years, his cards will only increase in number and value.

Round 2 - Western Conference Semi-Finals (San Jose Sharks vs. Los Angeles Kings)

Who says hockey is dead in California?  We have two teams facing each other for the battle of the Golden State this year.  We almost had another team with Anaheim but Detroit put an end to that in game 7 of round 1.  These teams have a host of goalies on their rosters but only two have gotten the ice time.

Antti Niemi vs. Jonathan Quick

Antti Niemi
623 Total Cards
17 Rookie Cards
235 Memorabilia Cards
129 Autographs
390 Serial Numbered Cards
Total Imaginary Contrived Value:  $6848.45
Average Card Value:  $10.99
2009-10 Rookie Cards

Jonathan Quick
742 Total Cards
3 Rookie Cards
358 Memorabila Cards
112 Autographs
423 Serial Numbered Cards
Total Imaginary Contrived Value:  $11477.90
Average Card Value:  $15.47
2007-08 Rookie Cards

Quick gets the edge slightly ahead of Niemi.  We can definitely chalk that one up to the fact that he won the Cup last season and has been playing consistently well for a while now.  Not only that, he seems to save his best stuff for the playoffs and this year is not exception.  Niemi has that superstar goalie ability but doesn't get the hobby respect yet (and probably never will without some exposure in a Finals).  Being a Hawk early on helped but being in San Jose, I don't expect collectors will jump all over him, even if he takes the Sharks deep.


Round 2 - Eastern Conference Semi-Finals (Pittsburgh Penguins  vs. Ottawa Senators)

This Eastern Conference matchup should be a battle.  There is no love-loss between Pittsburgh and Ottawa but for this season, the Pens have had the Senators' number.  They won all regular season games this season but as we all know, the post season is season 2.0.  Ottawa has been playing great and without the best goaltending on the ice, the Pens could be in trouble.  I hope one of the two guys in net will step up against Ottawa's Anderson.

Tomas Vokoun and Marc Andre Fleury vs. Craig Anderson

Tomas Vokoun
1619 Total Cards
5 Rookie Cards
612 Memorabilia
265 Autographs
1001 Serial Numbered Cards
Total Imaginary Contrived Value:  $15,229.04
Average Card Value:  $9.41
1997-98 Rookie Cards

Marc-Andre Fleury
2232 Total Cards
41 Rookie Cards
1027 Memorabilia
494 Autographs
1419 Serial Numbered Cards
Total Imaginary Contrived Value:  $40,210.41
Average Card Value:  $18.02
2003-04 Rookie Cards

Craig Anderson
453 Total Cards
9 Rookie Cards
154 Memorabilia Cards
60 Autographs
284 Serial Numbered Cards
Total Imaginary Contrived Value:  $3683.25
Average Card Value:  $8.13
2002-03 Rookie Cards

For sheer per card value alone, Fleury smokes his counterparts.  At over $18 per card, he is one of the top draws for collector's out there because of his history, media "likeability", and lights-out capable play.  But the Pens went out and got Vokoun for a reason, and he is showing it in the playoffs so far.  Fleury can only sit back and watch now, hoping for a couple mistakes to get him back on the ice.  Tomas has been around longer but spent a lot of his career behind marquee goalies or on squads without much hobby love.  Now, in Pittsburgh, I'm going to guess the market will start to heat up for his stuff, especially low production cards, GU, and autos.

Anderson has started to gain some popularity, especially amongst Sens fans.  Lets face it, Ottawa wouldn't be there if it weren't for Anderson (Lehner isn't starter material in my opinion).  Although he only has 453 cards, the majority of them are memorabilia, auto'd, or serial numbered, drawing much higher traction in the market.  If Ottawa can pull off a miracle somehow and get to Round 3, his status as a prime time player in the card market may get a huge boost.

Round 2 - Eastern Conference Semi-Final (Boston Bruins vs. New York Rangers)

With the second of two Original Six matchups in this years playoffs, it's a miracle Boston is even here.  Down 4-1 in the 3rd Period against Toronto, Boston came roaring back, scoring three goals and sending it into overtime.  It didn't take long and they put the icing on an improbable game 7 comeback, ending Toronto's season.

Tuukka Rask vs. Henrik Lundqvist

Tuukka Rask
654 Total Cards
12 Rookie Cards
354 Memorabilia Cards
142 Autographs
420 Serial Numbered Cards
Total Imaginary Contrived Value:  $8555.15

Average Card Value:  $13.08

2007-08 Rookie Cards

Henrik Lundqvist
2046 Total Cards
17 Rookie Cards
985 Memorabila Cards
411 Autographs
1322 Serial Numbered Cards
Total Imaginary Contrived Value: $35,795.85
Average Card Value:  $17.50
2005-06 Rookie Cards

Lundqvist is the clear cut winner here, from a card volume stand point, average card value, and rookie class competition standpoint.  He plays for an original 6 team with a huge market and has been an anchor on his team since coming into the league.  Ladies love him, and men want to be him (I don't know why I just said that).

But his on-ice counterpart in Round 2, Tuukka Rask is no hobby slouch.  Despite only having cards going back to the 07-08 season, he has still broken double digits in per card value.  He also plays for an original 6 franchise but one with a more recent success in the playoffs.  People thought he wouldn't be able to crawl out of Tim Thomas' shadow but he seems to be doing just fine.

PC Pickups From The Local Show

A week or so ago was the latest installment of the community garage sale at one of the nearby town's Community Center.  The unique thing about this show is that about 3/4 of the floor is made up of all the sellers of everything from antique toys, to records and tapes (even 8-tracks), to sheets, towels, and other strange oddities.  The other 1/4 of the floor is comprised of non other than sports cards and memorabilia. 

The show is put on by a local card show promoter out of the Chicagoland area and it comes through here about 4-5 times a year.  The fun part about the show is the interesting mix of dealer tables.  For anyone that has been to a show ever in their lives, you have essentially 5 "stereotypical" cardboard pushers at every show including:

• The "overproduction era" guy has his table full of 88 Topps and 91 Score cards with price tags from a 1994 Tuff Stuff magazine.  $2.00 for the "Bo Breakers" card?  Really?

• The "NASCAR" guy with everything from cards, hats, and event-worn jackets to the hood from Dale Jr.'s car.  You know the guy...most of his table is taken up by die-cast cars, secured snugly in their packages and there is usually a blue and white Igloo swivel-top cooler filled with Busch Light and Mountain Dew behind the tables.  The weekend before he was here.

• The "hit" guys where there is nothing but jersey/auto cards, super sick "MOJO" hits, and short prints galore, all of which have higher than Beckett HI price tags.  They also have "the case" where you find the greatest anomaly in all of sports cards...the "HOT PACKS".  They had one of these too.  Not this exact one but their's was numbered 4 or 5, I forget.

• The "common" box guy who usually has a nice mix of 1960s-1980s 3500 ct boxes jammed to the gills.  Good luck getting to his table to take a gander.  You might get a lucky break if you can throw a Twinkie down the aisle.  One of the on lookers is bound to take the bait, freeing up a spot.  What a sight that would be.

• The "look-up" guy who has nothing priced, nothing labeled, and doesn't really want to talk to you other than to tell you that everything on the table is a "real nice card".  Try your best to buy something and you may have to wait 15 minutes while he looks each item up in the price guide only to then spend 12 more minutes trying to calculate his profit/loss ratio after he reluctantly lets you have the card for 2X HI book value.

Our show here didn't disappoint either.  Considering I generally move past all of the above dealers, I was able to find a few tables with some stuff I could use.  Since I don't want to single anyone out in particular for being either a bad seller or a good seller, I'll just cut to the chase and show you what I picked up for my PC.

The first group all came from the same seller.  It was an older couple with some monster boxes filled with older baseball, some older football, and quite a bit of older hockey.  I didn't bite on any of the hockey stuff because most was very banged up despite having a bunch of stars.  What I did find came from......wait for it......A FIFTY CENT BOX!!!

1972 Topps Pirates Team Card #1

The Wold Champions...at least I can say this happened in my lifetime...of course not in the year here but the late 70s.  I can all but guarantee it won't happen again while I am still alive and possibly the lives of both my children.  Maybe grandkids?

I also found a plethora of Pops...

  A 1976 and 1967 Topps

  A 1968 and 1972 Topps

 1972 and 1974 3-D Super Stars cards

 And finally, a 1979 Topps.  I already have a couple of these but for $.50, what's one more?

And a few from Dave Parker...

Total cost...$6.00.  I know, it adds up to only $5.50 at $.50 a piece but I hate change so I told her to keep it.  She told me to consider it a down payment for next time.  Fair enough. 


The next guy was an older gentleman from a nearby town that had a hodgepodge of miscellaneous stuff.  There was really no rhyme or reason to his set up at all.  Most product was mixed together and other than the few better singles carefully laid out on the table, he had a bunch of 800 count boxes randomly placed with $.10 each penciled on the lids.  For $.10, I took a look and found a few for the Pirate PC.

 

And a couple more for my Topps Baseball set.  He had a ton of inserts from this years' Topps but out of all of them, I only needed these.

And I can't forget the one hockey card I found in there.  It was this 1994-95 Leaf Limited Gold Pavel Bure.  I actually didn't really know these existed because this was from a 10 card insert set that fell about 1 every 48 packs.  Keep in mind that was in 1994 so it was fairly hard to pull (fairly, considering it was in the heat of the overproduction era).  I never bought any of this back then because I had no money of my own in 1994 and wasn't really collecting then.  Most of what I have from this set are all the base cards and I have only picked those up after the fact.  They are serial numbered out of /2500.

Finally, I picked up three beasts for my PC from my favorite couple from the western Chicago suburbs.  This husband and wife team deals in about 80% hockey and they usually have some really nice stuff.  Plus, they are fun to talk to and are more than reasonable on their pricing.  Most stuff is under case but they are always more than happy to open them up, let you touch, and work out deals.

I've bought some neat stuff from them before and showed them on here, although I couldn't find the posts to link.  This time around, here's what I was able to walk away with...

 It's a little blurry on the scan because it is imprisoned in a screw down case.  But, this is a 2005/06 SPx Winning Combos Mario Lemieux/Jaromir Jagr Memorabilia card numbered out of #/99.  The only thing better would have been Jags on the Pens.  But either way, I'll take it.

Double your pleasure on this one...I picked up two Marc-Andre Fleury Rookie cards.  The scan dust really ticks me off because these are beautiful cards in person.  They are from the 2003-04 Pacific Invincible set.  The one on the left is the Red Parallel version numbered out of #/850.  The one on the right is the base rookie.  These were short printed in the main collation of the product and usually only fell about 1-2 per box.  The base rookies are supposedly serial numbered out of #/799 but mine isn't marked.  Since I have no others from this set to compare it to, I'm going to presume this may be the retail version which might not be numbered.  Either way, both are huge adds to my Penguin PC.

Just A Quick Brag Post

I just wanted to take a moment and brag about my latest addition to my Penguins PC...THIS BEAUTY!!!  2010-11 Artifacts Tundra Tandems Crosby/Fleury #'d/75.  I suppose I could have spared you the details because you can see all of that printed on the card.  I picked this one up off the Bay and was so jacked when I saw the package in the mail because I new what it was.  This is one of those cards that looked good online but looks 1000% better in person.  No Event-Worn nonsense here either.  My only gripe is the small but noticeable nick on the bottom right corner.  Otherwise, this card is EPIC in my opinion.  I'll shut up now.

Well Thought Out Yet Completely Random Penguin Cards of the Week: Game 7 Edition

With the unofficial self-proclaimed theme of the Pens being "Out For Justice", it is fitting that it all comes down to one game. 

WIN OR GO HOME!!!! 

With that being said, I wanted to present not one random Pens card but a multitude in the hopes that it may bring some luck.  These are the guys that need to play on some kind of Zen level tonight if the Pens are going to make it out alive.  I am not superstitious or anything but I did notice myself sidestepping all the sidewalk cracks on the way to work this morning.  I'm just saying...

2007-08 OPC Micromotion Brooks Orpik

Orpik was quoted as saying, "When you play a best of 7, usually the best team wins.  So, I think we're pretty confident going into it."  Let's just hope not TOOO confident.  Brooksy can be a game breaker and he is going to have to bring it.  Out For Justice!!

2008-09 Upper Deck Winter Classic Kris Letang. 

Tanger must play the game of his life tonight.  No more random shots AT the goal.  We need shots ON the goal.  Experimental gameplay time is over.  Out for Justice, indeed.

2009-10 Upper Deck Bill Guerin. 

When asked about game 7, Guerin said, "It's obviously not what we were looking for."  Yeah?  Well, you got it.  Now do what you do best and make it happen.  Your leadership is unparalleled in that locker room and whatever is left in that tank needs to be emptied tonight.  Out For Justice!!

And last, but certainly not least are the three key elements to tonights game.  If either of these three gentleman is having an off night, tee times will be early tomorrow for sure.  The time to show what we are made of is now.  There can't be another game 6 performance.  Out For Justice!!!

2009-10 Collector's Choice 3 Star Selections Crosby/Fleury/Malkin