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Broken Foot No Problem as Talbot Scores Game Winner

The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2 in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday night to take a 2-0 lead in the series.  Max Talbot, playing his first game back since breaking his foot in Game 3 against the New York Rangers, scored the game winning goal midway through the 3rd period.  The Penguins have become the 8th team in NHL history to go 10-1 in a playoff season, and the first team to do so since the 1995 Detroit Red Wings. 

In the 1st period, the Flyers were dealt some adversity less than 2-minutes into the game when defenseman Braydon Coburn took a puck to the face.  Hal Gill launched a shot from the left point that deflected up off from Evgeni Malkin’s stick and hit Coburn near the left eye.  Coburn dropped to the ice with his hands over his face.  Coburn, obviously cut by the puck, ended up leaving the ice with the help of a trainer and never returned to the game.  After a break to clean some blood off the ice, play resumed for a short bit before Tyler Kennedy and Scott Upshall dropped the gloves at 3:49.  Kennedy looked like a machine as he unloaded some wild swings on Upshall.  After falling to the ice and getting back up again for a little more dancing, the linesmen stepped in an stopped the fight.  At 10:48, just seconds after the expiration of a brief 5-on-3 opportunity, Sidney Crosby threw the puck on net to score a powerplay goal and take the lead 1-0.  Sergei Gonchar assisted on Crosby’s 4th goal of the post-season.  At 16:41 while skating 4-on-4, Sidney Crosby appeared to get his second of the night as he poked the puck at the side of the net, before Martin Biron swept it out of the goal.  The on-ice officials called no goal, but went upstairs and to Toronto to see if the video replay conclusively showed the puck crossing the goal line.  While it appeared to me that the puck had indeed cleared the line, it was ultimately ruled no goal by the NHL.  The Penguins went 1-for-3 on the powerplay and 1-for-1 on the kill in the first period, with shots even at 9 per side.   

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In the 2nd period, the battle of the special teams continued as the Flyers evened the score on their 2nd of back-to-back powerplay attempts as Pascal Dupuis sat for interference.  Jeff Carter scores his 5th goal of the post-season from Joffrey Lupul and Jaroslav Modrey.  But at 13:43, the Penguins powerplay hit back as Marian Hossa swatted a rebound past Martin Biron for his 6th goal of the playoffs to restore the Penguins’ 1-goal lead.  Ryan Malone and Sergei Gonchar collected the assists on the play.  But while on the powerplay late in the period, Evgeni Malkin made an ill-advised cross-ice pass at the Flyers blueline that was picked off by Mike Richards, who skated it in on Fleury and beat him high on the glove side shorthanded to even it up at 2.  The Penguins outshot the Flyers 16-13 in the 2nd and were 1-for-3 on the powerplay, 1-for-2 on the penalty kill and gave up a shorthanded goal.  In the final period, the Penguins found a way to get it done 5-on-5.  The Penguins 4th line capitalized on a bobbled clearing attempt by James Dowd as the Flyers turned over the puck in their own end.  After the turnover, Georges Laraque took the puck and played keep away from a back-checking Sammi Kapanen before throwing it to the boards behind the Flyers net.  Gary Roberts raced in behind the net, collected the puck, and backhanded it into the slot onto the stick of Max Talbot who buried it in the net behind Biron.  Talbot’s goal at 8:51 from Roberts and Laraque ultimately proved to be the game winner.  The Penguins got the insurance goal at 19:31 as Jordan Staal put the puck into the empty net with Biron pulled in favor of the extra man.    Sidney Crosby and Sergei Gonchar were credited with the assists on the final goal.  The Penguins outshot the Flyers 134-10 in the final frame and were 0-for-1 on the powerplay. 
Image details: Philadelphia Flyers v Pittsburgh Penguins – Game Two served by picapp.com

• VIDEO:  Video Highlights
• VIDEO:  Post-Game Press Conference w/Coach Therrien
• VIDEO:  Post-Game Interviews
• PHOTOS:  In-Game Photos
• AUDIO:  Mike Lange Highlights
• AUDIO:  Post-Game Rink Rat Report
• AUDIO:  Post-Game Hotline
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Game Rosters
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Game Summary
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Boxscore
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Play-by-Play

Sidney Crosby (1G, 1A) and Sergei Gonchar (2A) each had 2-points on the night.  Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin now share the NHL post-season points lead at 17-points.  Coming off a 3-point performance in Game 1, Evgeni Malkin was held without a point in Game 2.  Marian Hossa (1G), Max Talbot (1G), Jordan Staal (1G), Ryan Malone (1A), Gary Roberts (1A) and Georges Laraque (1A) all finished the game with 1-point.  Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 2-of-32 for a 0.938 save percentage as he extended this post-season record to 10-1.  His 10-wins is a league best, as are his 2-shutouts.  His 0.937 save percentage in the post-season is just slightly behind league leader Chris Osgood with 0.939.

The Penguins travel to Philadelphia for Game 3 on Tuesday night, where they will hope to steal at least one of 2-games played there before returning home (if necessary).  The Penguins have kept the possibility of sweeping the Flyers alive, but they will face a big challenge and an unfriendly crowd in the next two games in Philly. 

Penguins Take Commanding 3-0 Lead Over Rangers

The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New York Rangers 5-3 at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals series. Marc-Andre Fleury was huge in net as he stopped 36-of-39 shots and Hart Trophy finalist Evgeni Malkin loomed large with 2 powerplay goals and an assist. The Penguins’ special teams were the difference, however, as they went 2-for-2 on the powerplay and killed off all 5 New York powerplays, including two 5-on-3 chances for the Rangers. The Penguins remain unbeaten in the playoffs, becoming just the 11th team in the NHL’s long history to win the first 7-games in a playoff. The last team to do so was the 1994 New York Rangers, who ultimately went on to win the Stanley Cup that year.

In the 1st period, the Penguins jumped out to a quick lead at 1:02 on a beautiful passing play by the Penguins top line. Sidney Crosby stripped the puck off from Jaromir Jagr in the neutral zone and passed it up to Pascal Dupuis. Crosby then rushed the net and redirected a hard shot by Dupuis onto the net. Henrik Lundqvist made a beautiful pad save on Crosby, but failed to control the rebound which came off of his pads and onto the stick of Marian Hossa. Hossa wasted no time as he buried it in the Rangers’ net to make it 1-0. The Rangers bounced back at 14:32 as Martin Straka took advantage of a mad scramble in front of the net and threw the puck over a sprawling Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury had his hands full with Jaromir Jagr and two of his own teammates all in the crease and pushing on the net. The play was ultimately reviewed to confirm that the goal went into the net before it was dislodged. Jaromir Jagr and Paul Mara picked up the assists on the play. But less than 2-minutes later while playing on a line with Evgeni Malkin and Petr Sykora, Georges Laraque found the corner of the net over Lundqvist’s shoulder to make it 2-1. Malkin and Sykora got the asissts on the goal. The Penguins then found themselves on a 4-minute powerplay after a high-sticking call on Ryan Callahan for catching Hal Gill in the nose. The Penguins wasted little time as Evgeni Malkin blasted his 4th of the post-season into the net to make it 3-1. Sergei Gonchar and Marian Hossa set up the Malkin goal. At the end of the 1st period, the Penguins found themselves up 3-1, despite being outshot 15-9. The Penguins were 1-for-1 on the powerplay in the period.

In the 2nd period, the Rangers poured it on as they outshot the Penguins 14-4. Early in the period, the Penguins found themselves in penalty trouble as Sykora, Dupuis and Orpik all took back-to-back overlapping penalties that resulted in two 5-on-3 chances for the Rangers. But the Penguins were phenomenal on the penalty kill as they have been all series, and shutout the Rangers on the man advantage. As the period wore on, Jaromir Jagr and Martin Straka picked up their game to a frenetic pace to get themselves back in the game, and it worked. At 12:07, the Rangers finally managed to beat Marc-Andre Fleury as Ryan Callahan got his 2nd goal of the post-season from Scott Gomez and Sean Avery. Then at 13:11, Jaromir Jagr came around from behind the net and picked the high corner over Fleury’s right shoulder to tie the game 3-3. Scott Gomez and Martin Straka picked up the assists on the play. At this point in the game, the momentum had clearly shifted to the New York Rangers who were out-hustling the Penguins on every shift. Penguins’ coach Michel Therrien took a very wise timeout at this point in the game to slow the pace down and to chirp at his players. At 15:56 of the period, Ryan Hollweg took a bad boarding penalty on Petr Syokora that ultimately put the momentum back at the Penguins end of the ice. On the ensuing powerplay, Evgeni Malkin scored his 2nd of the night with another one of his signature blasts from the high circle area. Sergei Gonchar and Sidney Crosby picked up the assists on the play, as the Penguins restored a 1-goal lead.

Image details: Pittsburgh Penguins v New York Rangers – Game Three served by picapp.com

In the final period, the Penguins were outshot 10-4 but managed to score the only goal of the frame to make it 5-3. At 2:30, Kris Letang let a shot go from the point that was redirected between the legs of Henrik Lundqvist by Ryan Malone, who was left standing all alone 10-feet in front of net. Pter Sykora picked up the other assist on the play.The Penguins successfully killed off 2-penalties in the period, and were afforded no powerplay of their own, as they went on to win the game 5-3.

• VIDEO:  Game Highlights
• PHOTOS:  In-Game Photos
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Game Rosters
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Game Summary
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Boxscore
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Play-by-Play

For the Penguins, Evgeni Malkin picked up 3-points (2G, 1A), Marian Hossa (1G, 1A), Sidney Crosby (2A), Sergei Gonchar (2A), and Petr Sykora (2A) all notched 2-points. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 26-of-39 shots for a 0.923 save percentage.

The Penguins return to Madison Square Garden on Thursday night where they will be given the opportunity to sweep the series and keep their undefeated post-season record alive to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Penguins can thank their brilliant goaltending, solid defensive play, and pheneomenal special teams for their success so far this post-season. The Penguins have also found offensive contriubutions from all four lines. It is undeniable that this team has the momentum and the skill to go a long ways in this post season, as long as they continue to play their game.

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