As the Penguins Beat their Injured Red Wings Analysis

The Penguins beat their injured Red Wings,
compelling the Rangers to yell,
“To the Devils with the Islanders!”
who, with rattling Sabres, alarmed Predators everywhere –
from Panthers to Bruins to Canucks to Senators…

Now, the Penguins, being non-Flyers,
nestled in nests of happenstance Maple Leafs
carried afar upon stratospheric Lightning Hurricanes,
the Penguins' downy Blue Jackets, the current fashion in the Capitols,
were often mistaken by circling Blackhawks for Wild Ducks,
and for Coyotes by Sharks,
and for an Avalanche of natureware by Kings and Canadiens.

Me? I lay transfixed, gazing through mesmerizing Flames at Stars,
future league expansions fast-dancing through my brain,
even as Rangers yelled, rattling Sabres at Penguins
who beat their injured Red Wings under stratospheric Lightning clouds.




"As Penguins Beat their Injured Red Wings," by Numi Who, finds a simple, yet hilarious and effective way to name all the teams in the NHL (minus the Jets, as they had moved to Colorado, becoming the Avalanche) in just three stanzas. 

Right away, in the first stanza, the author uses many literary devices, including several double entendres that most people would not recognize without a good knowledge of the NHL.  The first line refers to not only penguins flapping their injured, sore, and red wings, but also refers to the Pittsburgh Penguins absolutely destroying a Detroit Red Wings team, which is extremely hampered by injuries.  This action then compels, or causes the New York Rangers to join with the New York Islanders, for the purpose of having a game with the New Jersey Devils, although it appears to be a joint attack against an opposing army, while using their weapon of choice, rattling sabres.  This, however, is a metaphor for the Buffalo Sabres, who the Rangers beat soundly, or rattled, who are, in this poem, a feared team in the league.  Therefore, this leads to another double entendre, as the other strong teams, the Panthers, the Bruins, the Canucks, and the Senators, or predators of the league, become alarmed.  However, the Predators is also the name of an NHL team from Nashville.  
  
In the second stanza, the first line does not refer to the Penguins inability to fly, but rather, talks about their ongoing piece rivalry with the Philadelphia Flyers. The next two lines talk about the Toronto Maple Leafs, and how they snuggle up to the Penguins, or lose miserably.  The Leafs are then carried away, or beaten badly by the Carolina Hurricanes and the Tampa Bay Lightning.  The Penguins then wear their Columbus Blue Jackets, who happen to be popular for the Washington Capitals.  When the Penguins wear their Columbus Blue Jackets, they are often mistaken to be Anaheim Ducks by the Chicago Blackhawks, Arizona Coyotes by the San Jose Sharks, and a Colorado Avalanche by the Montreal Canadiens and the LA Kings.  This means that against different teams, the Penguins play different game plans and have a different approach to each game, and other teams therefore see the Penguins as playing different styles against them and other teams.

In the final stanza, the author uses a double entendre once again "Gazing through mesmerizing Flames at Stars" does not refer to the author gazing through flames on the earth to see the stars in the sky, but rather refers to the author replaying a game in his head, having to remember what the Dallas Stars did, while ignoring the feats of the Calgary Flames, while the Rangers, who rattled, or destroyed the Sabres, providing more distractions for the Penguins, who have just beat their injured Red Wings, their rivals, while the Lightning look on.

I believe that the author is very clever, using many double entendres, while listing all of the teams in the National Hockey League.  This poem, however, is not easy to understand if the reader does not have follow the National Hockey league, since this uses many confusing double entendres that would not be easily understood without a good knowledge of the teams and the game.  Despite this deficiency, this poem is great for any hockey fan, young or old, big or small, who follows the NHL, passionately cheering on their favourite team(s).