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Race to 4 in High Gear

A Penguin win in Game 4 of the Stanley Cups Finals Thursday night changes the complexion of the series. The fourth game in six nights seemed to take its toll on the Detroit Red Wings, but it could be argued that the Wings were beginning to feel the effects back in the latter part of Game 3.

Game 3 was not the Penguins’ best game and lacked consistency. They will tell you this, but they got what they needed: a solid effort by netminder Marc-Andre Fleury who weathered a barrage of 14 Wings shots on net in yet another troubling second period, holding their opponent scoreless.

Game 3 Notables–while a bit ugly, a win is a win, and it had elements in it that showed the character of the team as well as their depth:

• Hits–a staggering 36 hits executed by Penguins on Red Wings. Chris Kunitz led the way with a Herculean personal effort, laying 11 hits on the opponent. Both Matt Cooke and Brooks Orpik chipped in for 5 hits each, and while these three guys had the lion’s share of it, they were by no means the only ones. No less than 14 of the 18 players had at least one hit.
• Blocked Shots–Penguins had a total of 18 blocked shots; Jordan Staal led the way with 3 and 13 other team mates had at least 1 blocked shot, showing their total commitment to protecting Fleury.
• Second Line Gellin’–Something about Mad Max Talbot has ignited linemates Evgeni Malkin and Ruslan Fedotenko. Talbot managed 2 goals, and he keeps the line loose. As Geno congenially noted about Max in the press conference, teasing: ”little bit bad hands…missed lots of chances…has summer to learn,” but the big Russian center gave his recent winger high praise for his energy and work ethic. Clearly, this line is clicking.

On to Game 4

Thursday night’s second home game of the series for the Pens picked up where the previous game left off as the Penguins scored yet another power play goal. Play was much more consistent from first period to last with surges by the Red Wings, particularly when they managed a late first period goal to draw even, and then opened the second period with a go-ahead goal. That was the last time they led in the game.

Notables

• Special Teams #1 (Power Play)–The one special teams element that had been plaguing this crew all season long and early in the playoff run has awakened, and that’s dangerous for the Red Wings who fall in the middle of the NHL pack on penalty killing. So far in this series, the Penguins power play is humming along at 45.5%.
• Special Teams #2 (Penalty Kill)–Not to be outdone was the Pens’ penalty kill unit. After the Wings had gone up 2-1, Malkin rallied the troops with a short-handed break-away that Chris Osgood managed to turn back, but that was only the first wave. The Penguins’ PK continued to battle hard and both Talbot and Staal broke loose. Talbot laid a perfect pass to Staal who took off, drew even with Wings’ defenseman,  Brian Rafalski, turned on the jets with his characteristic left-handed power move and drew Osgood off his line, deking him for a great short-handed goal that pulled the Penguins even at 2 and turned the tide.
• A Flurry of Fleury, Part II–Marc-Andre Fleury hit his stride in this game, turning in an even more spectacular performance as he turned away 39 shots, broken down by period: 19/9/11. His stick handling around the back of the net was less nerve-wracking and more sure, and his team gave up the body on 15 shots led by defensemen Brooks Orpik and Rob Scuderi who stopped 3 each.
• Hits, Hits, and More Hits–The Penguins’ hit total stayed in the 30s (32), and the Wings pulled themselves up and matched the Penguins’ physicality with 33 hits for a game total of 65 hits. Thus far, these two teams have exchanged 267 hits, averaging 33 per game, and yet, the Pens continue to look fresh and ready to lay on more with mustard.
• Tic-Tac-Toe–The cherry on top, as if the previous three Penguins’ goals could not be bested, was the textbook tape to tape (to tape) passing from Chris Kunitz, across to Sidney Crosby, and back again to Tyler Kennedy who buried a one-timer blocker side before Osgood had a chance to finish tracking Kunitz’ pass.

Prior to tonight, Marian Hossa had consistently scored 2 goals in Game 4 of each round of this season’s playoffs. The Penguins got the memo, keeping Hossa pointless on 6 shots. It is noticeable that Hossa does not have the same first-step quickness he possessed in the first two games.

As a whole, where the Wings looked gassed at the end of Game 3, they were showing signs of not being able to sustain surges for very long, starting after their early second period goal. These surges became fewer and for shorter duration as the game wore on. It was very apparent in the last part of the third period as the Penguins imposed their will, wearing down the clock and making Detroit come the full 200 feet with the puck.

Game 4 is an encouraging sign that the Pens are for real and real serious. The fact that they are heading into Detroit’s house on Saturday seems less of a factor than it did in the first two games. It is as if the team, like Jordan Staal according to Coach Dan Bylsma, needed to get a feel for the style of the Wings’ play after coming off seven games against the Caps’ style. It seems they have acclimated.

A Date with Destiny

Hearken back…

Stanley Cup Finals (2008)…

The Pittsburgh Penguins found themselves like Cinderella at the ball, in the Stanley Cup Finals facing the storied and formidable Detroit Red Wings. For me, it might as well have been USA versus USSR in the 1980 Olympics, it was that gut-wrenching.

We all felt the overwhelming crush of the first game and then the second when our boys found themselves slapped around the ice much like they were in the first round against the Senators the previous season. We stood behind them, willing them to fight to stay alive, and out of sheer will they scratched and clawed to make it a brave game.

We stayed up through the multiple overtime sets when Petr Sykora joked during an intermission that he’d score the sudden-death game-winner–and did.

Maybe, like me, you were one of the ones who got an interesting e-mail the next day from a friend with a doctored photo of Babe Ruth calling his shot superimposed by Petr Sykora at the plate, signaling with  his hockey stick. It was inspiring.

Our boys had a chance.

Back in the ‘burgh, home ice, for Game 6 and a chance to even the series at 3 apiece. I never felt sicker than when that final horn blared the death knell of one hell of a season. It was hard to watch them, stunned, drained, shredded, slumped on the ice, backs against the boards. An epic denouement. Lord Stanley’s Cup was in our house but not in our hands. The photo of Evgeni Malkin standing alone near the Stanley Cup Finals ice stamp was a haunting and compelling image. The scene as all those whited-out Penguins faithful, with class, stayed and stood for the victor as the Red Wings relished in holding the Cup. We felt the sting as if we had been in those skates and sweaters, too.

And we vowed we’d be back.

Stanley Cup Finals (2009)

The path this year began in a high-powered, promising way with one of the best starts in franchise history, and then like that, the bottom fell out. Through 82 games of soul-searching, fumbling, struggling, but never saying die, they pulled themselves up by their skate laces. If nothing else can be said about this team (from the first to last guy), it is one seriously cohesive unit.

In the face of critics and nay-sayers and hand-wringers, they have managed to let it all roll off of broad, matured shoulders. Old souls in young bodies.

They had to earn their way into a playoff spot–unlike last season where they shot to second seed in the conference and home ice.

They had to fight and rally through two physically demanding rounds–unlike last season where they sailed through the first three rounds.

They have progressed steadily but quickly under Dan Bylsma who has shown his ability to read his players individually and collectively, leaving them confident and well-prepared–unlike last season when they didn’t really know any better and really hadn’t an idea just what THAT level of hockey was all about. Detroit was only too happy to initiate them and maybe to their own present and future peril.

At last season’s end, fans and pundits worried out loud about the loss of Hossa, Roberts, and Malone, but as Mark Madden pointed out in his radio talk show on Friday, if Hossa stayed, we might be looking at key players with much shorter contracts and the possibility of Malkin going to another team.

Instead, the loss has paid dividends thanks to Ray Shero’s shrewd dealing:

• To join Sidney Crosby (who when his contract was due took less to make room to keep others in the future), contracts of 4 or more years for Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, and Marc-Andre Fleury completed the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, giving the Pens a solid corps, and defensive insurance in Brooks Orpik.
• Add to that the late season acquisitions of Bill Guerin, Chris Kunitz, and Craig Adams.
• What you find is depth from 1st line to last, especially as the prodigal son Miroslav Satan arose from AHL purgatory to show some of his best work all season in the playoffs.

Let’s not forget that every guy who played this year contributed mightily whether for every game or for a short stint.

• When Gonchar was down, Goligosky answered the bell. Philippe Boucher continues to sniper with a Howitzer.
• Cooke and Kennedy meshed with Jordan Staal to become one of the best shut-down third lines that could generate a spark with their grinding cycle work.
• Max Talbot and Pascal Depuis played anywhere they could be of service, getting time on every one of the four lines and contributing mightily in penalty-kill situations. An unfortunate injury sidelined Mike Zogomanis, but when healthy, he is one of the deadliest in the face-off circle.
• Eric Goddard and Paul Bissonnette enforced when it was needed, but they made skilled contributions as well.
• Ruslan Fedotenko has come on to be a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs and worked throughout the season to try to keep the team sparked and competitive.
• Kris Letang has grown in confidence and skill. He is fearless, and not to be outdone is Mark Eaton whose defensive skill has also morphed into an offensive threat.
• Rob Scuderi and Hal Gill have developed into a strong defensive pairing, facing the likes of Ovechkin and Eric Staal with little difficulty.

It’s scary just how calm and loose this year’s Pittsburgh Penguins team really is. And maybe it’s a little maddening for the reporters who try to get some juicy tidbit out of them in interviews. In the hopes of a spark, they ask about the re-match, feelings about Hossa, the adversity, back-to-back games or too much time between games, and always, they are left a little diappointed. 

These players are even keeled, unflappable, and take it all in stride. It’s good to get back to the Stanley Cup Finals. They don’t think too much about the rivalry or how Hossa left. The adversity has made them stronger, and they know what they can do and the kind of character that’s in the locker room. Each knows he has a specific role to play and plays it with 110% intensity, stressing time and again the need to “play the right way.” Back-to-backs are the nature of the beast. They faced many during the regular season, faced them in the playoffs already. Not a big deal. And too much time? They’re glad it’s not a 10-day lay-off because, well, they’d rather be playing hockey.

They are a better, healthier, and more psychologically ready team than the Penguins of 2008, but they needed the early play-off spanking in 2007 to prepare them for the 2008 run, and they needed the 2008 finals defeat to prepare them for this run.

Yeah, that’s still hard to say (as a fan), but if we are going to be honest with ourselves as the Penguins have been with themselves, then we have to agree. This is going to be one hell of a series.

Manhandled!! Pens Sweep Series 4-0

The Pittsburgh Penguins did it differently this year in many ways, including allowing themselves to touch the Prince of Wales Cup.

So did Mario Lemieux all those years ago–twice–and they went on to win the big one–Lord Stanley’s Cup.

The Penguins bought into a system and a new coach’s philosophy and with each win, that buy-in rooted deeper into the soul of the team. The Carolina Hurricanes played with a lot of heart and a lot of tenacity, but the Penguins also kept coming like any one of the Terminator movies. It was at once an awesome and frightening thing to behold.

Tuesday night’s game in Raleigh, NC showed the almost bottomless depth of the Penguins and their newfound love of the road, destroying the spirit of opponents on their ice. Malkin and Crosby were double- and at times triple-teamed, and still, scoring came in the forms of Ruslan Fedotenko, Maxime Talbot, Bill Guerin, and Craig Adams. Talbot and Adams both proved that no goal is an ugly goal, and every shot is an opportunity to score. This particular game was frenetic in its pace and bone-crunching in its physicality end to end.

Series Notables that Will Serve Well in the Stanley Cup Finals

• Solid goal-tending–Netminder Marc-Andre Fleury played his most complete game in this series, making the key saves he needed to make, managing the puck well, and staying sharp in his positioning in front of the net. However, he came up big in each of the four games.
• Scoring from 10 of their 18 position players (sans goalies)–Goal contributions came from Malkin (6); Crosby (4); Guerin, Fedotenko, Talbot, and Adams (2 each); and Kunitz, Kennedy, Satan, and Boucher (1 each). It’s hard to account for so many potential scorers, and while the defensive scoring was not as high as it was in earlier series, it exists and could rear up again in the finals.
• Defensemen in on the offense–Pens’ blueliners accounted for 24% of the shots on net, led by Kris Letang who had 11, followed by Hall Gill (6), and Sergei Gonchar and Brooks Orpik (5 shots each).
• Defense with the reflexes–Like a well-oiled machine, the Pens’ blueliners have become sharper and quicker with their feet and with their sticks. None has shined better in the latter category than Rob Scuderi whose poke-checking has been like a hot poker, serving to frustrate rushes into the Pens’ defensive zone. Whether it’s six defensemen or seven in the line-up, these guys work so fluidly in tandem that one would swear they are psychic. This kind of teamwork in the defensive zone makes for a very secure and composed Marc-Andre Fleury, and such sympatico will be critical in the final series.

Brothers’ Keeper: The Staal Tracker

Despite Eric Staal’s best efforts, “little” brother Jordan (all 6′4″, 220 pounds of him) was equally a man possessed, matching Eric’s intensity and surpassing it, attempting to hit everything in sight with a Hurricane logo. Jordan was not without his own scoring opportunities, having had two good chances and a handful of scrums in front of a nervous Cam Ward–just to keep it interesting. Eric was fast and wily, managing the Hurricanes’ lone goal early on a thread-the-needle kind of stuff of the puck between Fleury’s skate and the post on a wrap-around.

For the final time of the season, here’s how the Brothers Staal shaped up in Game 4:

• Goals/Assists/Points–Jordan (0/0/0), Eric (1/0/1)
• Plus/Minus–Jordan (even), Eric (-1)
• Total Ice Time–Jordan (19:33), Eric (22:30)
• Shifts–Jordan (24), Eric (30)
• Average–Jordan (:48 per shift), Eric (:45 per shift)
• Shots–Jordan (2), Eric (5)
• Hits–Jordan (5), Eric (0)–Jordan combined with Chris Kunitz (5 hits) and Brooks Orpik (4) hits for a total of 14 of the team’s 25 hits on the night (56%).
• Giveaways–Jordan (0), Eric (0)
• Takeaways–Jordan (1), Eric (1)
• Blocked Shots–Jordan (1), Eric (0)
• Faceoffs Won/Lost/%–Jordan (6/6/50%), Eric (13/10/57%)

Rumor has it that if the Chicago Blackhawks go gentle into that good night on Wednesday against the Detroit Red Wings, the Stanley Cup Finals Game 1 could start as early as Saturday, May 30.

The “Date with Destiny” draws closer.

The Russian Nightmare: Pens 7 – ‘Canes 4

First it was Crosby, then it was LaRose. Then it was Malkin. Then it was Jokinen. Then Pittsburgh blinked, and it was Seidenberg. And that was just the 1st period. Yes, it was going to be one of those nights. Both teams were playing fast and loose, with loose being the operative word. Neither Marc-Andre Fleury nor his counterpart at the other end, Cam Ward, was getting much help from the defense. Traffic jams kept clogging up the view in front of the net only to end in sudden explosions that set loose breaks to the opposite end like it was the Autobahn.

The 2nd period settled in. Defense on both sides got back to the plan, and the flow was less frenetic though the hits kept coming. It was nice to see Max Talbot reap a reward for all his diligent toiling in the traces as he picked up the Pens’ game-tying goal at 3:11 by showing, yet again, the strength of the Penguins early in periods. It wasn’t until :08 were left in the period before Chris Kunitz broke his long 19-game drought with the go-ahead goal.

In the 3rd, Patrick Eaves did his version of early-period scoring, pulling the ‘Canes even at four goals apiece. The Hurricanes were feeling pretty good about their prospects at this point, but they failed to take into account one small thing.

Evgeni Malkin was not finished.

Scoring two more goals on the night to notch the Penguins’ second hat trick of the playoffs, the Russian Nightmare lit up the Igloo sending a shiver down the spines of the ‘Canes and their fans. Malkin scores, he sets up goals, he shreds defenders from one end of the ice to the other like a pinball wizard, and the boy can not only hit but take hits, though his preference is to artfully dodge them, leaving his opponent at odd angles in the air or in a heap.

This is a proud opponent though, and the ‘Canes continued to battle and do what has brought them to this point. However, late in the 3rd period, with Cam Ward pulled and a 6th attacker on the ice, miscues sprung the Penguins’ Staal unit. A weak clear of the puck in the Hurricanes’ vulnerable defensive zone caught the very end of Jordan Staal’s stick as he managed to get it toward teammate Tyler Kennedy for the empty-netter, sealing the deal at 18:11.

So Much to Like–Take Your Pick

• Any one of Malkin’s goals which heightened in spectacular-ness with each notch.
• A blistering 42 shots (by period: 12/16/14) on net versus 28 (by period: 14/6/8).
• Even hits (again) at 29 apiece, but bone-crunching, brain-rattling and memorable on both sides.
• Kunitz finally getting that goal.
• Satan picking up a 5-minute FIGHTING major as he came to the aid of Kris Letang who suffered a head-hunting elbow by Ryan Bayda as Letang touched up for an icing call.
• 4th line effectiveness and multi-faceted impact versus the ‘Canes 4th line that saw little ice time.
• The Staal line accounting for 6 points (Cooke-3 assists, Kennedy-1 goal & 1 assist, Staal-1 assist).

Despite some sloppy play at times that will continue to be addressed and shored up by the vigilant Dan Bylsma and company, the Pens played a better 2nd period, weathered a couple of storms of the Hurricanes’ own, and came out on top in a way that is eerily reminiscent of that Game 7 against the Caps. It showed on the ‘Canes faces as the minutes waned.

Brothers’ Keeper: The Staal Tracker

• Goals/Assists/Points: Jordan (0/1/1), Eric (0/1/1)
• Plus/Minus: Jordan (+1), Eric (-2)–Jordan is gaining confidence. Eric shows frustration.
• Total Minutes: Jordan (18:43), Eric (23:30)–’Canes coach, Paul Maurice was turning over the top units rapidly with the 4th unit seeing limited time.
• Shifts & Average Shift Time: Jordan (25 at :44), Eric (29 at :48)
• Shots on Goal: Jordan (2), Eric (3)
• Hits: Jordan (1), Eric (0)
• Giveaways: Jordan (1), Eric (0)
• Takeaways: Jordan (1), Eric (1)
• Blocked Shots: Jordan (0), Eric (1)
• Faceoffs Won: Jordan (9), Eric (8)
• Faceoffs Lost: Jordan (6), Eric (15)
• Faceoff Percentage: Jordan (60%), Eric (35%)–Complete flip-flop from Game 1 and more in Jordan’s usual range.

With Malkin awakened and on a tear for which the Hurricanes seem to have no answer as of yet, this series could get a out of hand quickly. Still, Game 3 back at Carolina’s stomping ground with the home team down 0-2, recalls the Philly series in a mirror situation. A stung team coming home to an expectant and passionate crowd makes for the height of desperation. The chippiness of Game 2 will carry over though it may take a more measured and controlled form.

Will Eric Staal catch fire? Will Cam Ward right his ship? Will Malkin increase to an F5? Will Penguins from all lines and the defensive corps continue to contribute in waves of oceanic proportions only seen on the angry Bering Sea? Saturday at 7:30 will unfold to reveal some of those answers.

The Hockey Gods Must Be Crazy

In my short blogging career, I’ve refrained from writing in 1st person, but on Game 7 Eve, I find myself feeling the pull of the fan side of me just as much as the analyst side. Driving in my car after work today, I knew hell had frozen over and pigs were flying because, for once, I was in complete agreement with both local sports commentators, Mark Madden and Rob Rossi, as they talked over the impending Game 7 on Madden’s radio show.

Here’s what made sense:

• Rossi–The key to the game is TRUST. The Penguins have to trust in themselves, trust in the system, and trust in the coaches. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury will be a monster in this game. While he has been criticized for the occasional soft goal, when going over his body of work, especially in big do-or-die situations, he rises to the occasion and gets it done just about every time. This will be such an occasion. He also has the ability to bounce back big after less-than-stellar performances.
• Madden–Chris Kunitz is not making the impact that he needs to and that he was brought onto the team for as one of Sidney Crosby’s wingers. While the hits have been spectacular, he often puts himself out of position–such a situation led to a Caps goal in Game 6. Jordan Staal is a big body that could more than adequately fill a Ryan Malone role; he needs to believe that and start utilizing his size and strength in front of Caps goalie Varlamov–a lot.
• Madden’s Line-up

Fedotenko–Crosby–Malkin

Kunitz–Staal–Guerin

Kennedy–Talbot–Cooke

Adams–Satan

The Malkin-Crosby pairing makes sense in that Ovechkin would eventually be overwhelmed trying to go head-to-head in a line against them. Malkin and Fedotenko can both handle Sid’s passes, which can be key in front of the net on tip-ins and weird bounces. Vice-versa, Sid’s no slouch in front of the net either as he’s proven in this series. Fedotenko has the hot hand right now, and this threesome could make for a pretty formidable line.

Staal centering Guerin and Kunitz is also a good choice. When Kunitz first arrived, Sid was out hurt, so he was put on a second line centered by Staal while Malkin centered the first line. Instantly, the chemistry was there and both Kunitz and Staal were very productive. That reunion could be the spark that gets Kunitz on the board–he’s due. Bill Guerin is another guy who knows how to play in front of the net and has shown some success doing that in the playoffs.

Talk about an energy line–Talbot centering, flanked by Tyler Kennedy and Matt Cooke is literally high-octane as all three are very similar in tenacity and style of play. Talbot has had a great series, and his efforts helped to spark Malkin. He has given 110% to the best of his ability. While Kennedy and Cooke have struggled, it is not out of the realm of possibility that one or both of these guys could figure in scoring in this game.

One change I would make, however, is to come back to four full lines of forwards rather than double-shifting one of the three centers with Adams and Satan. This would require reactivating Pascal Depuis, another hardworking energy guy, and having to go back to six defensemen. Craig Adams has had a solid series, playing a physical role and working hard on the boards. Miroslav Satan had his best two games of the entire season in 5 & 6, adding a rarely seen physical element to his repertoire.

It involves making a choice between the veteran Philippe Boucher with his explosive slapshot and the young Alex Goligoski’s offensively-minded defensive playing style. In agreement with Madden, running seven defensemen throws off the forwards’ rotation cycles and was the cause of a too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty, something the Penguins rarely did all year. That’s a penalty that can be ill-afforded in a series like this where one mistake can literally cost a team the game, and in this game’s case–the series.

Coach Dan Bylsma’s decision to use seven defensemen was a necessity. The team was in a back-to-back game situation, and the fact that Sergei Gonchar was lost so early in the previous night’s contest, caused Bylsma to have to roll his remaining five defensemen for a ton of minutes. They needed the burden of the next night to be shared in order to regain their own legs, particularly in the event of a Game 7 situation. It would not hurt to resume the make-up of 12 forwards and 6 defense.

Rob Rossi believes this team will win Game 7, that they have another level in them, and it is true. They need to stick to their plan and play for 60 minutes. The 2nd period has been make-or-break for them, and they are well aware of it. If they keep their shifts to 40-45 seconds instead of 1:05 or more, they will be able to sustain their energy and their tempo because when they play at that level, they dominate.

No time like the present.

Get One for the Sarge

On a high-intesity drama scale, the Eastern Conference Semifinals series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals continues to thrill. Game 4 saw a determined Penguins team once again at the mercy of  the cruel humor of the Hockey Gods as another weird development put a Caps goal in the net only :36 into the game.

But the Pens seem to like it that way as goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury joked carefully afterward that that was the plan. One hates to put too much focus on the stat for trivia enthusiasts that in this series, the team that scores first loses, but that’s how it’s shaped up so far. It’s that kind of self-deprecating humor that keeps the mood light and the guys loose, and then it’s back to business.

In this game it was not a case of dueling hat-tricks between Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. Instead, it was a checklist of contributions from goals to helpers in a well-balanced effort. Guys like Pens defenseman Sergei Gonchar, Bill Guerin, Ruslan Fedotenko, and Max Talbot all scored goals. Others like Jordan Staal, Miroslav Satan, Chris Kunitz, and defenseman Rob Scuderi assisted to make it all happen.

Serious Stuff

The jury is still out on the knee-to-knee hit Alex Ovechkin took on Sergei Gonchar that put “Sarge” out of the game. The Penguins are not saying much on the subject–in interviews they said they had only seen the replay of it once, and many of them prefer to leave it up to the league and the refs. As Bill Guerin noted, it’s not up to him. The Capitals, on the other hand, saw it very differently.

In the post-game press conference, a clearly uncomfortable Ovechkin tried to explain it (several times) that the hit was an accident. His coach, Bruce Boudreau, cavalierly and unabashedly stated that if anyone (implying “with a brain”) looked at the tape, they would clearly see that Ovi led with the shoulder, and, in professorial fashion he proceeded with the physics lesson for the “rubes”: where the shoulder goes, the knee will follow. It was a good hit. Still, one would have loved to have been a Russian fly on the wall as Evgeni Malkin’s father was seen in animated conversation with Ovi after the game.

The league and the refs will ultimately decide, but as Jay Caufield from FSN-Pittsburgh pointed out, using the Donald Brashear 6-game suspension for his hit on Blair Betts as an example, it’s got to be consistent.

Taking his argument further, one need only go back to the Philadelphia series when Daniel Carcillo was suspended for a game after hitting Maxime Talbot in the back of the head with the butt end of his stick on a face-off. The Ovechkin hit on Gonchar clearly falls between these two incidents in terms of severity. The hit on Betts caused a concussion and broke occipital bones. The hit on Talbot did not cause injury but was a situation that could have gone badly. In the case of Gonchar, it is not known yet the degree of his injury, but the term ACL has been bandied about.

The Pens were a bit dazed upon that incident, but they played through it and maybe in spite of it–those band of brothers rallied so that Gonch’s loss would not be in vain. Tonight could easily be a carry-over of that spirit because it’s events like that which can galvanize a team, particularly one that seems to be improving and gathering strength with each period of play in this series. Game 4 was crucial and pivotal. The Caps are on their heels, and Varlamov may have spent Friday night sleeplessly replaying his performance on his second loss in a row.

Penguin Notables

• Coaching–There are many theories floating around about the idea of coaching face-offs. They are hard to accurately emulate in practice, so often, it is not something that is worked on to any major degree. However, Pens coach Dan Bylsma was seen working with Crosby in face-off style scenarios, giving Sid an idea of how to approach an opponent’s stance and positioning. The biggest difference between Michel Therrien and Dan Bylsma behind the bench is communication. Bylsma stays engaged with his players individually but not intrusively. One of the most maddening things about Therrien was that during times when he should have been in the ear of players, he was standing back, arms crossed, gazing out over the ice like a first row season ticket-holder. Bylsma has a talent for teaching on multiple levels.
• Face-offs–To piggy back on the previous comment about face-offs, in game 4 it was not always about winning the face-off. In one draw that Evgeni Malkin took, he intentionally deferred the win to his Caps opponent in favor of exploding past him to follow the puck, which he successfully gathered up after some jostling in the corner. This an excellent stratgey, showing once again that there is more than one way (the conventional way) to skin a cat even if it means sacrificing a stat. Whether this was an idea derived from a coach, a player, or both, it shows that these guys are becoming advanced students of the game–they are thinking out of the box and getting positive results.
• Hitting–When the Penguins control puck possession, whether in their defensive end or in the offensive zone, it all starts with physical play. The more Pens who hit a Cap off the puck, the more pucks come into the Pens’ possession. They have proven it time and again. This style of play disrupts the Caps’ flow and makes for tired, frustrated bodies. As soon as the Pens lay off the hits, the Caps come back and reset their speed game.
• Defensive Play–Given the way these guys played for much of the first 3/4 of the season, if anyone said that Rob Scuderi, Mark Eaton, and Hal Gill would be forces to be reckoned with this year, it would not have been believed. Their often sloppy and lacklustre play during that time was hard to watch, but these guys to a man have dug deep within themselves and found new life–in a huge way. Scuderi and Gill have been tasked with accoutning for Ovechkin, and Game 4’s performance showed that they are equal to the challenge, holding Ovi to only 2 shots in the entire game. To cap it off, Scuderi also figured in the scoring with 2 assists. The 3rd line looked more like themselves, and it is only a matter of time before they get on the scoreboard. Staal chipped in on the Fedotenko goal with some hard jabbing on the boards to break the puck free in the right direction. Marc-Andre proved solid once he got the fluke goal out of the way early in the game.

Keys to Game

It’s simple. Keep the pressure on. keep the hits legal but keep them coming hard and fast. The Caps are starting to hear big steps behind them every time they go to the boards for the puck. Keep up not only the profusion of shots, but follow on for the rebounds. Varlamov is brilliant up to two whacks at the puck, but as the numbers climb to three and four hits at it, he breaks down. Keep drawing strength from each other and take care of individual assignments. Basically, do the things that have translated into success, and do it for 60 minutes.

The Devil is in the Details: Pens 2–Caps 3

In Saturday afternoon’s opening salvo between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the thing that seemed to worry the NBC commentators most in the first period was the fact that the sponsors wouldn’t get to plug their products. Meanwhile, the rest of Hockey Nation was transfixed by the rattling pace that ebbed and flowed end to end on the ice. It was a battle that might not have matched the sports prognosticators’ prophecies the way they had foreseen.

Literally, it was a game that hung in the balance from beginning to end, and it was so tight that there was absolutely no room for error. Interesting notables:

Shots

• 15 of 18 Penguins registered shots on net versus 11 of 18 for Capitals.
• Of the total 36 shots on net by the Penguins, 5 players registered 3 or more shots: Sidney Crosby (6), Sergei Gonchar (5), Jordan Staal (4), Tyler Kennedy (3), and Kris Letang (3). Production, then, came from the 1st line center, the 3rd line center and wing, and two defensemen, a nice smattering.
• Of the 26 shots registered by the Capitals, only three players registered 3 or more shots: wing Alex Ovechkin (9), wing Matt Bradley (3), and center David Steckel (3). Only defenseman Milan Jurcina registered more than one shot on goal among Caps defensemen with 2. For the Caps, they relied heavily on Ovi’s profusion of volleys at the net with production falling off dramatically to two other forwards and not much offense from the defense.
• Penguins defensemen registered 11 of 36 shots (31%) more than doubling Capitals defensemen who registered 4 of 26 (15%).

Spreading out the shots through the offensive lines and getting production from the defense as well plays in Pittsburgh’s favor. It’s easier to plan for and key in on a few guys known to be the primary shot takers. While Evgeni Malkin was harrassed and kept to two shots, there were others that were getting good opportunities, making it harder to defend. The Caps had to be cognizant not just of Penguins forwards but the blueliners as well. Eventually, the Caps will have to consider just about every player in a Penguins jersey an offensive threat, and not just from the location of the blue line on the ice. Gonchar, Hal Gill, Mark Eaton, Letang, and Brooks Orpik were all seen strong and deep in the offensive zone. Greenhorn goalie Simeon Varlamov can be shaken and looked shaken in a couple of instances; however, he recovered and stayed solid. To keep him rattled, the Penguins must continue to increase shot-production and get in Varlamov’s face in front of the net. He needs to feel the constant claustrophobia of rush-hour traffic.

Hits

• 13 of 20 hits for the Penguins came from the usual suspects: Kris Letang (5), Brooks Orpik (3), Maxime Talbot (2), Chris Kunitz (2), and Matt Cooke (1).
• 8 of 24 hits for the Caps came from defenseman John Erskine alone, then D-man Mike Green (3), followed by four forwards and one defensemen each with 2 hits, including Ovechkin.

While the Penguins are also spreading out the hitting, Orpik as the main man needs to keep the heat on. He does not necessarily need to bring 14 hits a night, but 14 would be a nice number in game 2 just to give the Caps something to think about on their ice. Matt Cooke also needs to step it up and do so smartly, particularly if Bylsma continues to match the Staal line against the Ovechkin line, which means that Cooke and Ovi will be seeing a lot of each other. If Ovi can’t have Sid to torment, he’s shown he’ll settle for Cooke. Now that he knows this, Cooke needs to be the brighter lightbulb.

Important Miscellany

• Interesting Match-up–Putting Jordan Staal’s line against Alex Ovechkin is an interesting and compelling match-up. First, it keeps Ovi out of Sid’s hair, and if Cooke can manage to stay disciplined, both he and linemate Tyler Kennedy can work him over to tire and frustrate him.
• Penalties–The Penguins managed to stay out of the box EXCEPT twice, and the fact that the two penalties happened in overlapping fashion set up the first error that cost in a tight game. Both penalties were mental mistakes. Gonchar’s delay of game penalty is avoidable if he takes the extra step across his blue line. Cooke’s hooking retaliation for Ovechkin’s hit on him moments earlier is avoidable if he refrains from using the can-opener, waiting for a more opportune time to separate Ovi from the puck. Cooke has to know that Ovechkin draws the ire of opposing players, and his own reputation as well adds to the magnetic pull of a ref’s vision when these two come together. As a result of heightened scrutiny, sneaky, dirty infractions will not exist for Matt Cooke in this series, so he needs to cut that tactic out of his repertoire.
• Power Play–While analysis of the Penguins power play has been done ad nauseum, it bears mentioning a couple of promising things. The second power play centered by Staal is getting out there for between :57 and 1:00 left in a 2:00 opportunity. This is up from the usual :35 to :42 range. Interim Coach Dan Bylsma also tried this unit with Malkin and Bill Guerin flanking him, which makes for a big, strong line, and they seemed to move the puck better than the first unit. There is still too much playing with the puck, in general, and too many attempts from above the circles resulting in 0-6, ouch. More shots need to be fired across Varlamov’s crease from the goal line. On occasion when reinstated Petr Sykora found himself on the power play with Staal, they were trying to work it that way. The off wing needs to troll down toward the net when he sees these two trying to set it up. Either that or bring defenseman Letang who has shown he can score by creeping in that way.
• Face-offs–Among all players who entered into a draw situation, Pittsburgh came away with 53% to Washington’s 47%, a 6% advantage. However, when looking at the center position, which is the one that takes the majority of the face-offs by design, the analysis reveals a different picture. Penguins centers took 58 of the 60 face-offs in the game (97%); Caps centers took 56 of the 60 (93%). Of Pittsburgh’s four centers: Crosby (50%), Malkin (63%), Staal (59%), and Talbot (56%), they won 32 of the 58 (55%) face-offs they took versus Washington’s five listed centers: Boyd Gordon, Niklas Backstrom, Brooks Laich, David Steckel, and Sergei Federov who won 25 of the 56 (45%) face-offs they took. The advantage widens to 10% in the Penguins’ favor.
• Goaltending–In any game, but especially in the playoffs, the goal tender has to the best defender, the best penalty-killer. Both Marc-Andre Fleury for the Penguins and Simeon Varlamov for the Capitals kept their respective teams in the game, preventing a score-fest that would have looked like the Fourth of July. Of particular note is young Varlamov’s incredible robbery of Sidney Crosby in which the heel of his paddle somehow managed to keep the puck from crossing the goal-line, preventing a goal that would have brought the Pens even at 3, likely forcing overtime.

All in all, it was an electrifying game. Players, fans, and pundits alike have come away from it with a lot to think about. If this first game is any indicator, then every game in this series will be a chess match of cosmic proportions. Neglecting one small detail could blow a game wide open. The powder keg has been lit. The only remaining question is: How long is the fuse?

The “Shhhh” of Death

For all those Christopher Walken fans who remember him as the angel of death in Prophecy, watching Penguin Mad Max Talbot put an index finger to his lips, with a little knowing smile to the Philly fans as he said “shhhhhhh” was the the kiss of death for the Flyers.

On the heels of a fight with Flyers’ tough guy, Dan Carcillo, Talbot’s atonement for a goal-costing mistake earlier in the game proved to be the wake-up call for a team that had played hard, but found themselves down 3-0 barely five minutes into the 2nd period. Coach Dan Bylsma said of the fight, “I think Max Talbot really changed the momentum with that,” referring to the fact that the Philly fans were really into the game and extemely loud. Defenseman Sergei Gonchar concurred, “Yeah, it’s one of those things. Fight starts and things start going your way.”

Entering the first intermission, the Penguins were down 2-0 and having to start the 2nd period on the penalty kill. Danny Briere found the back of the Penguin net as Evgeni Malkin looked on from the sin bin to make it 3-0. Enough was enough. If Penguins fans were scanning their team’s bench looking for a hero, Mad Max might not have been their first choice, but here’s a guy who has a lot of heart, a lot of drive, and he lays it out, all out, on the ice every game in any way he can. Carcillo was due anyway. He was the one who received the 1-game suspension earlier in the series on a shot to Talbot’s head in the final seconds of that game.

When asked about the timing of the fight, Talbot replied, “I think it was the right time. The crowd was into it. Sometimes it’s gonna work. Sometimes you lose momentum. This time it gave it a little bit of momentum.” The momentum started with Ruslan Fedotenko breaking out of his 5-year playoff goal-scoring slump with his net presence on some hard work by linemate Malkin.

Not to be outdone, just a shade under two minutes later, Mark Eaton scored on a screamer of a shot through a collectively strong shift, joining the rush with linemates of the moment Tyler Kennedy and Fedotenko during a 4-on-4 situation that happened as a result of the earlier goal and a melee in front of Biron’s net. The crowd was no longer into it. All the energy was coming from the Penguins bench, and they were cyphoning it off the Flyers bench.

Captain Sidney Crosby evened it up, and it was clear that the Penguins were steam-rolling. Coach Bylsma’s mantra to his team throughout the game was an admonishment of patience, “Keep playing the right way. Stay focused for 60 minutes.” For Sergei Gonchar, he got the monkey off his back, scoring what would end up being the game-winner, his first goal in 29 playoff games. The collective sigh of relief could be felt on the Penguins bench comingled with the rejuvenation of the team.

Crosby’s empty-netter after Philly pulled Biron to add the extra attacker was a thing of beauty. His first attempt did not go as he was in hot pursuit by a back-checking Flyer, but the puck bounced his way as he buzzed around the net and laid it in on the second chance, leaving 28 seconds on the clock.

The biggest element–character. That’s according to Max Talbot, “a lot of character.” It’s no surprise to Penguins fans, particularly in the last two seasons. Last year, they battled through an unbelievable number of injuries, including lengthy ones to Crosby and Fleury around mid-season. The talking heads said the team would be lucky if they could manage to stay around.500. In Malkin’s mind, that was unacceptable because he literally took the team on his shoulders, and his drive was infectious. The team pulled together and put themselves high in the playoff rankings. And then they battled the Giant Detroit Red Wings. No one expected them to be there.

The character of that group of guys, their never-say-die attitude even when things look bad is a testament to their heart. There’s no quit in them. Certainly not in Philadelphia on Saturday as they came roaring back with 5 unanswered goals. Coach Bylsma said of this series and of his team, “Huge test. Huge character for our team. Down 3-0 in this building. I think that says a lot about our group…When the team plays the right way, it gives different guys an opportunity to score.”

What worked:

1. The right fight at the right time. Something like that in a high-stakes game is always a gamble, but for those supporters of taking fighting out of the game, if they are honest in their assessment of how the game subsequently unfolded, they would be hard-pressed to disagree with it.
2. The Staal line. While their offensive numbers are not earth-shattering in this series (2G, 4A collectively), they have become a forechecking nightmare. Consistently throughout this series, with the exception of Game 3, they have kept the Flyers in their end for seemingly interminable chunks of time, wearing players down. These three have accounted for 58 shots (29% of the team’s shots) and 33 hits (20% of the team’s hits). Jordan Staal remains strong on the face-off averaging 57% in this series, ranging from 50%-79% for five of the six games. More consistently than the other lines, they have been able to start and sustain cycles. On special teams, Cooke and Staal have been solid on the primary penalty kill, and Staal is overdue for a few short-handed goals.
3. Other intangibles that boost a team. Gonchar and Fedotenko breaking out of their slump. Rob Scuderi’s gutsy continued play on a PK with what at first looked like a useless left arm, later determined to be a shot taken to the body with the left arm protecting. Goals from two defensemen. A power play that had a pulse and some chances on the net.
4. Defensive Corps. Really, with a few exceptions in this series, the Penguins defensive corps of Brooks Orpik, Sergei Gonchar, Hal Gill, Rob Scuderi, Mark Eaton, and Kris Letang has been about as solid, unit for unit, as they have been all year. They have improved greatly from early to mid-season play when they looked slow, out of sync, and at times, uninterested. Orpik has always been a solid hitter, but he’s found another gear and the “pounding” per square inch is well nigh incalculable. Scuderi thinks nothing of giving up the body to block a shot, and the others have followed suit, particularly Letang and Eaton. Scuderi also shines as the lone defenseman in 5-on-3 situations. Gill has shown more speed and is gaining offensive confidence.

What Still Needs to Happen–Lessons for Round 2:

1. Consistency. 60 minutes of focused play that “sticks to the plan.”
2. Score First and Score Often. The Penguins do themselves no favors by getting behind in a game even if they are one of the top teams in the number of come-from-behind wins. Those kinds of games are psychologically as well as physically draining. The Flyers proved to be tough to beat when they get a lead, and other teams in the playoffs will be just as tough if not tougher. With a lead, teams will lock down in their zone with very agressive “outriders” in the neutral zone as the Flyers showed in this series. The Penguins need to keep the pedal to the metal no matter how many goals they score. They themselves proved that no lead is safe.
3. Keep the Hits Coming. The Penguins are as physical a team as any when they decide to be, and when they knock bodies off the puck, they do so effectively, winning the majority of the battles on the boards. Another thing they started to do in the playoffs but got away from again are good, clean, crunching open-ice hits. They are not known for it, but they are good at it. If the opportunity presents itself, they should take it. Hits are just as exhausting to receive as they are to give, and the receiver usually finds himself hesitating a little too long, expecting a hit to come. Hits get in a guy’s head. This provides the perfect opportunity to win the puck and further punish the opponent through extended cycles.
4. Drop-pass Sparingly. The Penguins became too predictable with the drop-pass. It wouldn’t hurt to fake a drop and then deke around a defender, and the Penguins have enough stick-skill to do this. Not only should the drop-pass be used sparingly, but it can’t happen high, dead-center inside the offensive blue line because it’s off to the races for the other team. If it has to happen there, the forward dropping the pass needs to linger on angle just long enough to screen without interfering, thus deterring a pick-off.
5. More Net Presence. Of course, this requires someone to shoot on net in order to be effective. Net presence should come in any combination of standing up and screening the goalie, to buzzing around the net, to criss-crossing in front of it, all of this with shots, shots, shots.
6. Power Play, Please. If the power-play does not improve, the Penguins will not get far. Given their strong cycling at even strength, it would be interesting to see what Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy could do with Geno, or even Guerin or Kunitz coming out as the first unit. This would give a different look and throw teams off. Keep the defensive pairing of Gonchar and Letang. Bring Crosby out with Kunitz and either Talbot, who can manage a winger spot, or Satan, who looked better in Game 6.

Finally, a word needs to be said about the Philadelphia Flyers. While Pittsburgh and Philadelphia fans love to hate each other and their respective teams, it cannot be disputed that any time these teams match up, people will get their money’s worth. Biron is a tough customer between the pipes. The likes of Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, the up-and-coming Claude Giroux, and tough guys Scott Hartnell and Dan Carcillo provide a gritty, hard-hitting force to be reckoned with. They should be commended for giving the Penguins early adversity, something they did not have to face in last year’s playoffs until the finals, showing that they truly are one of the top teams in the East.

Lucky Number 13

Fridays and the number 13 are traditionally viewed as a very unlucky combination, but it was a Friday night, and it was Number 13, Bill Guerin, who brought the luck to the team in game 2 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals match-up against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Game 2 had a decidedly different feel to it than Game 1, which saw the Penguins dominate their opponent in every aspect of the game, making it look easy.  The Flyers recovered in the off-day, made adjustments, and were bound and determined to prove that they, too, could be a disciplined team.  And for a while, it seemed to be working.  The Flyers drew first blood barely seven seconds into their power play against the second PK unit of Maxime Talbot and Pascal Dupuis on a weird tip in from a shot at the blue line.  In the first period, the Broad Street Bullies de jour only had one offender in the sin bin versus two from the Pens.  This was a vast improvement from game 1, which saw four Flyers caught for penalties in the first period.

The Penguins continued a steady pace though, and Marc-Andre Fleury did his part to keep the game close, facing a total of 14 shots in the first frame.  His team was rewarded as #13 Bill Guerin hitched a ride on a shift with the original 2-Headed Monster of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.  Even strength at 16:38 in the second period, a 3-on-2 rush initiated by a great Gonchar poke-check in their defensive end sent the puck to a waiting Malkin on the right boards, and they were off.  A smart and sassy wrister from Guerin notched the equalizer.

The newly minted, disciplined Flyers team started to tarnish a little as the third period saw them taking the only penalty in the period on a Jeff Carter hook, and it would prove costly.  Guerin quarterbacked a play from the left side of Martin Biron who had to be mindful of Malkin behind him in the trapezoid.  Crosby was perched in the right circle.  Guerin surveyed the scene and made a shift a little higher in the left circle.  Crosby shifted up as well, allowing Guerin to send him a crisp pass across the front of the goal.  Crosby quickly turned the puck to Sergei Gonchar, who sent it back left again to Kris Letang cheating in on the left circle.  As this was happening, both Guerin and Malkin converged, and Letang’s slapper was fed into the net by Malkin.

That was with 3:47 left in regulation.  The Penguins had life, and the Flyers were seething.  OT was spectacular as Fleury turned away 10 shots and Biron faced 11.  The Flyers slung off their sheep’s clothing starting at 16:55 when the first wolf Mike Knuble reared his ugly head on a cross-checking penalty, which had him and an already-penalized Hal Gill for the Pens hanging out in the sin bin as their teams moved through a 4-on-4 situation.  Twenty-five seconds later at 17:25, one second before Gill was to be let loose, a second wolf emerged as Claude Giroux of the Flyers took a 2-minute slashing penalty and went to join his teammate, Knuble.

This created the perfect 5-on-3 the Pens needed.  Coach Dan Bylsma elected to insert Chris Kunitz in the power play this time, which slid Malkin to the right point with Gonchar on the left.  Guerin and Crosby took the left and right circles.  As Malkin shifted the puck along the blue line to Gonchar, the Sarge made for what looked like a slap shot that instead was slap-passed to a waiting Guerin perched just to Biron’s right off the left post.  The goal was the nail in the Flyers’ coffin as all discipline was thrown out the door, ending with a frustrated Kimmo Timonen taking a 10-minute misconduct penalty.

So what is it about Bill Guerin?  Last season, the cult of Gary Roberts applauded his role as the veteran in the locker room who could guide a young captain in Crosby and a young team in the Penguins to victory.  With Roberts, though, you never knew what you were going to get.  The cold look of a crocodile and the hit of a freight train, Roberts commanded notice.  He scored some key goals, but was seen more as an enigma–something simultaneously awed and feared.

Bill Guerin, by stark contrast, appears to be one of those veterans who fits the category of “still waters run deep.”  He’s not flashy, but he’s reliable.  He doesn’t do anything to command notice in the ways Roberts did, but that makes Guerin even more dangerous than Roberts.  Guerin skillfully flies under the radar of opposing teams, and by the time his presence is realized, it’s too late–kind of like a Stealth bomber.  His body of work in game 2 is a classic example of this.  He only posted two hits and a blocked shot, but he had his finger on the trigger for 8 shots on net, two of which were fatal blows to the Flyers.

From watching interviews, Guerin possesses the same kind of quiet, even-keeled, contemplative personality that Sidney Crosby does, and in that, Sid has a perfect mentor.  Unlike Roberts, Guerin is also one of those two puzzle pieces the Pens have been looking for to complete the Crosby line and end the saga of “Who Can Play with Sid?”  Marian Hossa was not the solution either, truth be told.

It is doubtful that there will be any WWBGD?  like the WWGRD? (What Would Gary Roberts Do?) slogans that seemed to show up everywhere in Pittsburgh last year.  It’s not necessary.  Guerin, now and in the long run, is a better suited veteran (and Crosby linemate) for the Penguins in terms of his poise and his skill.  The Pens are lucky to have Number 13.

Jordan Staal Reigns God-Like as Pens Stun Red Wings in OT

It promised to be a great rematch between last season’s Stanley Cup finalists, and for Jordan Staal and the Pittsburgh Penguins it turned into a personal and team statement about resilience!  After falling behind 5-2, the Pittsburgh Penguins posted one of the most significant comebacks in recent years against the seemingly invincible team that bested them for Lord Stanley’s prize in June.  Long overdue for a breakout, it was Jordan Staal who put the team on his back in the 3rd period and carried them to an improbable overtime frame by scoring 3 consecutive goals for the hat trick.  But he wasn’t done there.  In the overtime frame, Staal stunned the Stanley Cup champions by stealing the puck from Pavel Datsyuk to force a turnover and then threading a cross-ice  pass to Ruslan Fedotenko who buried the puck in the net to win the game.  The 7-6 victory powered the Penguins to their 4th straight win and improved their record to 9-3-2. 

In the 1st period, the Penguins jumped out to a quick lead on a goal by Sidney Crosby to make it 1-0 at 4:34.  Tenaciously chasing the Red Wings into their own zone, Max Talbot stripped the puck away and passed it back to Miroslav Satan coming across the blueline.  Satan fed the puck to Crosby at the net, where he backhanded it through the pads of Chris Osgood.  At 13:21, the Red Wings bounced back on a goal by Darren Mccarty, his first of the season, off from a chip pass by Kirk Maltby.  Then at 13:43, Mike Zigomanis took a tripping call to set up the league’s best powerplay unit.  At 15:19, with Ziggy in the box, Tomas Holmstrom tipped in a shot by Niklas Lidstrom to make it 2-1.  Marian Hossa also picked up an assist.  With 32 seconds left in the period, Alex Goligoski (holding) took the Penguins 3rd penalty which would carry over into the 2nd.  The Penguins were outshot 14-5 in the 1st, were 2-for-3 on the penalty kill, and 0-for-1 on the powerplay. 

In the 2nd period, the Red Wings scored with 19-seconds left on the 1st period carryover penalty to Alex Goligoski.  Mikael Samuelsson attempted a cross ice pass that got caught up in Brooks Orpik’s skates, before Jiri Hudler collected it and placed it on the blade of a wide open Johan Franzen who beat Marc-Andre Fleury to make it 3-1.  At 4:14, however, the Penguins drew within a goal as Petr Sykora threw a puck on net that deflected off from Max Talbot’s skate and across the goal line.  Sidney Crosby and Petr Sykora were credited with assists on Talbot’s goal.  But with under 2-minutes left to play in the period, Pavel Datsyuk let a hard one-timer rip from the point that eluded a screened Marc-Andre Fleury to make it 4-2.  Marian Hossa and Niklas Lidstrom were credited with the assists.

In the 3rd period, it looked as if the Red Wings were going to finish off the Penguins as they built a 3-goal lead on a powerplay goal at 5:03 while Sidney Crosby sat for interference.  Henrik Zetterberg took a cross ice feed and placed the backhander into the open side of the net to beat Fleury and extend the lead to 5-2.  The Red Wings then got into penalty trouble as Johan Franzen and Vilttari Filpulla each took hooking calls 5-seconds apart to give the Penguins an extended 5-on-3 opportunity.  After some early frustration, the Penguins took their timeout to regroup and discuss a change-up in their set play.  They then came back out and executed a pass play to perfection that moved the puck to the side of the net first, before moving it back out to Evgeni Malkin at the point for the one-timer.  The play turned the Red Wings defense around and got Osgood out of position as Malkin’s shot blistered into the far side of the net to make it 5-3.  Miroslav Satan and Sidney Crosby picked up the assists on the goal.  Then a little over a minute later, the Penguins drew to within a goal as Jordan Staal chipped a backhander into the net at 8:09.  Matt Cooke and Mike Zigomanis were credited with the assists on Staal’s goal.  At 10:14, however, the Red Wings got a goal back as Jiri Hudler launched a big blast that trickled behind Fleury and into the net just out of the reach of a scrambling Kris Letang.   With just over 4-minutes left in the game and trailing 6-4, Jordan Staal collected a rebound in traffic and beat Chris Osgood to make it interesting as the Penguins trailed by just one goal again.  Matt Cooke and Kris Letang got the assists.  Then with just 23-seconds left in the game and Marc-Andre Fleury at the bench for the extra attacker, Jordan Staal collected another rebound in traffic and fired it into the net for the hat trick and the improbable game tying goal.  Evgeni Malkin and Alex Goligoski were credited with the assists.  With just 4-seconds left in regulation, Brian Rafalski took a hooking penalty that would carry over 1:56 seconds into the overtime period.  The Penguins finished the 3rd period by outshooting the Red Wings 16-8.

In the overtime period, the Penguins were unable to score on the 4-on-3 but managed 3-shots on net.  After the penalty expired, Pavel Datsyuk was attempting to carry the puck out of his zone with Jordan Staal approaching from behind on the backcheck.  Staal lifted Datsyuk’s stick and stripped him of the puck and turned it back into the Red Wing’s zone.  Staal then placed a perfect cross ice pass onto the stick of a streaking Ruslan Fedotenko who one-timed it past Chris Osgood to win the game 7-6 with 1:11 left in the overtime.

• VIDEO:  Game Highlights
• PHOTOS:  In-Game Photos
• Game Rosters
• Game Summary
• Game Boxscore
• Shots Summary
• Faceoff Summary

Jordan Staal had 4-points (3G, 1A).  Sidney Crosby had 3-points (1G, 2A) and led the team with 6-shots on net.  Evegeni Malkin had 2-points (1G, 1A) to keep his NHL leading points streak alive at 11-games.  He also leads the NHL in points (24) and assists (19).  Miroslave Satan (2A) and Matt Cooke (2A) each picked up 2-points.  Defenseman Rob Scuderi left the game with an ankle injury after blocking a hard-shot in the 1st period.  He returned briefly, but then left the game in the 2nd period and didn’t return. 

The Penguins return to the Mellon Arena where they will face the cross state rival Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night.

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