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Desperation Equals Domination

The Pittsburgh Penguins found themselves in a desperate situation on Wednesday night as they faced the prospect of going down three games to none in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Washington Capitals.  Less than two minutes into the tilt, that desperation reached a boiling point after an unfortunate misplay by goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury that resulted in a quick goal by red hot Alexander Ovechkin.  The resulting shock wave seemingly stunned the Penguins for the following 10-minutes of play as they fell back on their heels and let the Washington Capitals start controlling the puck in the Penguins end.  

Once Dan Bylsma finally got his team to settle down, however, that desperation played into their favor as they started to play like a team on a mission……a mission to climb back into a series that was heading the wrong way in front of a sold-out, white-out crowd.  Leading the charge like he was shot out of a cannon was an amazingly revved-up Evgeni Malkin who looked to silence any critics about his lack of production heretofore in this series.  Leading all players in ice time (29:38) and shots (9), Malkin scored a pivotal goal 15-minutes into the 3rd period to break a 1-1 tie.  Although the Capitals came back to score at 18:10 to send it into overtime, the Penguins all continued to feed off from the wellspring of energy brought to the ice by Malkin.  As a result, the Penguins asserted control over much of the play in the 2nd, 3rd and OT periods and outshot the Capitals 42-23.  Thankfully, the game time decision by Dan Byslma to include Kris Letang in the lineup paid a huge dividend halfway through the first overtime as Letang’s heavy shot deflected off from a Caps player and into the net behind Varlamove for the crucial game winner.  It was the perfect culmination of a dominant performance by a desperate team.

The Penguins will need to take that desperation into Game 4 on Friday night and again on Saturday when the series returns to Washington.  Capitals’ goaltender Simeon Varlamov has proven that his outstanding play is not just a streak of beginner’s luck.  Varly has stymied the Penguins’ offense and given the Capitals what they have needed to keep games close enough to give them the chance to win every night.  With opportunistic sharpshooters on the Caps bench, the Penguins can’t afford to sit back on 1-goal leads and expect to come out ahead.  Momentum can change in a heartbeat, and just like that a series can be over. 

To keep this series moving in the right direction, the Penguins will need Evgeni Malkin to continue to play with the passion that he displayed on Wednesday night.  Pairing him with an energy player like Max Talbot paid huge dividends, and should be replicated on Friday night.  The Penguins will also need to harvest some more offensive flair out of the Kennedy-Staal-Cooke line, similar to what was done in the first round against the Philadelphia Flyers.  And let’s face it, Marc-Andre Fleury needs to return to form and become the better goaltender in this series.  At the other end of the ice, the Penguins need put more players in front of Varlamov to wreak some havoc and screen the incoming shots, much like Bill Guerin did on the Evgeni Malkin goal on Wednesday night.  There is still plenty of other work to be done by the Penguins to assert more positive control over the series outcome.  In particular, they will need to continue to improve their performance in the faceoff circle and perhaps most importantly on the powerplay.  No more playing pass the biscuit around the outskirts looking for the perfect setup and shot.  It is time to crash the net and go for the mucking and grinding kind of goals that are achieved through hard work and sacrifice in the crease.  This is what it will likely take to have success against a hot goaltender who has stymied the opposition repeatedly. 

There will be little time to recover from Friday night’s game before traveling to Washington for Game 5 on Saturday, so the Penguins need to put forth their best effort of these playoffs in Game 4 and regain the upper hand on the series momentum.  Let’s Go Pens!

Penguins Take 2-0 Series Lead on Guerin’s OT Goal

The Pittsburgh Penguins met a much different team on Friday night than the one that showed up on Wednesday, but they came away victorious and took an ever important 2-0 series lead over the Philadelphia Flyers.  It took the better part of 4 periods and two come from behind goals for the Penguins to seal the deal by a score of 3-2.  In the end, it ultimately came down to poor discipline on behalf of the Flyers that lead to a minute and a half 5-on-3 sudden death powerplay opportunity for the Penguins.  The game winning goal came off from the stick of Bill Guerin with just 1:31 left in the first overtime period while Mike Knuble (cross checking) and Claude Giroux (slashing) sat in the penalty box for the Flyers.  The 5-on-3 opportunity for the Penguins came after they successfully killed of a minute and half of their own penalty on Hal Gill (cross checking).  To the credit of the officiating staff, none of the three calls in overtime were questionable. 

For Bill Guerin, the game winner was his second goal of the night as he also scored the Penguins’ first goal, an even strength tally that tied the score at 1-1 in the 2nd period.  “It’s been a couple years since I’ve been in the playoffs,” Guerin said after the game.  “So, just to be a part of this feels really good. To be able to contribute feels even better.”  At age 38, Guerin has brought the veteran presence that the Penguins need, both on and off the ice.  “Tonight, he kept saying the right things and doing the right things,” Bylsma said. “He’s patient – the way he takes a step to the middle, and it looks like he calmly puts it in the net.  I’m not sure he was calm on the inside and no one was calm on the bench. That’s what he brings to our room.  His experience factor.”  It is that type of veteran leadership that is so important to a young team like the Penguins.  He understands what it takes to win, and he also understands that you must always focus on the next shift and not dwell on the past.  “Bottom line – everyone knows it in the playoffs:  one goal, two goals, whatever you do, when the game is over the game is over,” Guerin said. “You have to get ready for the next one.” 

Marc-Andre Fleury had an absolutely incredible night in net for the Penguins, stopping 38 of 40 shots (including 10 in OT) for a 0.95 save percentage.  Fleury made a stunning highlight reel save in the 3rd period that prevented the Flyers from taking a commanding 3-1 lead late in the game.  Fleury made an improbable move from one side of the crease to the other and made a toe save on Jeff Carter’s shot toward an open side of the net.  The sure goal for the Flyers was thwarted by the raw athleticism and determination of Marc-Andre Fleury, who is showing every sign that he is in the zone that took the Penguins all the way to game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals last season.   “(A save like that) means the world to the team,” Guerin said.  “It gives you a second life.  You get energized by that and you realize that your goalie helped keep you in the game.  That’s what we ask from him at this time of the year.”  Fleury said, “I was a little far from the inside post, it wasn’t the best spot.  I just tried to get my pad over there and it hit my toe, so it worked out well.”  Dan Bylsma recognized Fleury’s pivotal play in the post-game press conference.  “The playoffs are all about timely scoring and individual plays that turn the momentum.  I haven’t seen the replay other than on the jumbotron looking up, but it looked like a for sure goal – it’s going in – but somehow Marc-Andre gets a pad on it.  It’s a remarkable save and certainly kept the game within reach for us at that point.”

Evgeni Malkin quietly went about his business picking up 3-points (1G, 2A) and Sergei Gonchar had 2-points (2A).  Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang each added an assist.  The Penguins ratcheted up the physical play by outhitting the Flyers 50-29.  Brooks Orpik was a beast on the ice racking up an incredible 14 hits just by himself.  “Tonight it was more of a playoff feel, that’s for sure,” Orpik said. 

The Penguins and Flyers now travel to Philadelphia for game 3 on Sunday.  The 3PM matinee will be aired in High Definition on NBC.

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