Forecast: Hurricane Season Over!!
May 25, 2009 by Paul
Filed under Features, Highlights
On an exceptionally warm Saturday night in Raleigh, NC, hockey fans from both near and far descended upon the RBC center to have some fun and to watch Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Making the 4+ hour trip down from northern Virginia, I was pleased to see the tailgate parties in full swing when I arrived 3-hours ahead of the puck drop. The air was filled with the smell of brats, burgers and beer, as a live band played outside of the Arena entrance. It was definitely a party atmosphere, and the overwhelmingly hospitable locals welcomed the hoards of Penguins fans who opted to spend their holiday weekend supporting their team’s quest for the Stanley Cup. It was the perfect prelude to a pivotal game. For the Hurricanes…..a “must win” and a chance to climb back into the series. For the Penguins…..the opportunity to put the Canes in a seemingly unrecoverable hole.
Once inside the Arena, the excitement was palpable. A sea of red enveloped the majority of the Arena as the Canes’ faithful showed their colors in support of the home team and twirled complimentary white towels in the air. Amidst the steady roar of the crowd and the undeniable sound of cowbells, you could occassionally hear “Let’s Go Canes” chants interspersed with an equally enthusiastic and clearly audible “Let’s Go Pens” retort. While certainly the minority, large throngs of Penguins fans were in attendance and wanted to be heard and seen. Many showed up with homemade signs in tow and Penguins paraphernalia clutched in their hands to show their support for the team. Of course, there were many obligatory “Let’s Go Pens!” signs. Others were more original, like the sign that read “Hurricane ‘Geno!”. Another claimed “Welcome to Evgeni-Stan!”, an incredibly appropriate and humorous welcome given his absolute domination of the Hurricanes in this series. My favorite sign, however, was clutched in the hands of a proud young boy that bore the logo of The Weather Channel, and read “Forecast: Hurricane Season Over!!” That sentiment, almost poetic, seemed more prophetic by games’ end after the Penguins once again dominated the beleaguered Canes into a 6-2 submission. Indeed, the Canes’ season is perilously close to being over.
Best Sign of the Night Award
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A Tale of Two Teams – The Series Ahead
The similarities between these teams in the regular season now continues on in the playoffs. Both teams have overcome adversity and found success through the first two rounds of their playoff journey.
The Canes Journey
The Carolina Hurricanes have battled hard through the first two rounds of the playoffs. In the first round, the Hurricanes went the full distance and came back from a 3-2 series defecit to beat the #3 New Jersey Devils in 7-games. They outscored the Devils 17-15 in the series, with goaltender Cam Ward pitching one shutout. Two games went to overtime, with each team picking up a win. The Hurricanes then took on the #1 Boston Bruins. After losing the first game in Boston, the Hurricanes stormed on to win the next 3-games and put the Bruins on the ropes with the 3-1 series advantage. The mighty Bruins battled back, however, and forced game 7. Ultimately the Bruins took game 7 to overtime before the Hurricanes notched the deciding goal with just 1:14 left in the first overtime. The Hurricanes were actually outcored 17-16 in the round 2 series by the Bruins. Cam Ward pitched his second shutout of the playoffs in this series and the Canes found a way to win both overtime games against the Bruins. The top performers for the Hurricanes have been Eric Staal (9G, 4A) and Jussi Jokinen (6G, 4A). Sergei Samsonov has also been a factor on the scoresheet with 4-goals. Captain Rod BrindAmour only has 2-points (1G, 1A) in the playoffs, and is a -1. As a result, his ice time has been curtailed in these playoffs. He took a puck to the face late in game 7 against the Bruins and never returned. The extent of his injury is unknown, but reports out of Carolina indicate that he is hopeful to start in game 1 against the Penguins.
The Pens Journey
The Pittsburgh Penguins have also had to battle throughout the first two rounds, standing in stark contrast to last season’s relatively quick walk through the playoffs. In the first round, the Penguins faced their cross-state rivals in the Philadelphia Flyers. The Penguins dispatched the #5 Flyers in 6-games, outscoring them 18-16 and winning the only overtime match. The Penguins faced off against the #2 Washington Capitals in round 2 and took it the full distance to win the matchup in 7-games after falling behind 2-0 early in the series. The Penguins outscored the Capitals in the series 27-22 and won 2 of the 3 games that went to overtime. The top performers for the Penguins have been Sidney Crosby (12G, 9A) and Evgeni Malkin (6G, 13A). The two are #1 and #3 in the league in playoff points. Penguins star defenseman Sergei Gonchar missed games 5 and 6 after leaving game 4 with a knee injury sustained in a hit by Alexander Ovechkin, but returned in Game 7. With 10-points (2G, 8A), Gonchar is the 3rd most prolific scorer for the Penguins in these playoffs.
The Series Ahead
Following on the heels of the Penguins-Capitals and Bruins-Hurricanes series, this series promises to be every bit as exciting. Both teams are extremely fast and play an aggressive style of hockey. “You’re going to see fast hockey,” said Sidney Crosby. “Their D is in the play, they’re quick up front, they attack, they don’t sit back. I think that’s similar to the way we like to play as well.” The Hurricanes’ strength, much like the Penguins, is their ability to excel in this style of fast up-and-down game. The key for each team will be to find ways to counter that strength and stifle the speed of the opposition attack by forcing them to play in their own defensive zone. “You don’t want to get caught up thinking it’s going to be odd-man rushes back and forth,” Crosby said. “We want to work hard. We want to work smart. That’s going to be resolved by the two teams and the way they play but you’ll see fast hockey.”
Coach Dan Bylsma knows what his team has to do to be successful. “In order to counteract a team that is aggressive and wants to play a speed game and has some skill up front, the longer you can force them to play in the defensive zone the slower it makes their game and harder for their D to get involved and be up the ice. That’s our game – getting to the offensive zone with speed. When we’re playing our best we are keeping teams in their defensive zone and holding onto the puck, dictating the game by playing in their zone. That’s the way we need to play to have success. That’s the way we want to play. We don’t want a game that goes up and down the ice at electric speed. We can play that way, we have the personnel to play that way. We want to play that offensive zone game and when we’re not there we want to attack, get the puck and return there as quickly as we can.” You can rest assured that Paul Maurice, with 11 more seasons of NHL coaching experience than Dan Bylsma, is drafting similar plans on how to stop the explosive offense of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Desperation Equals Domination
May 7, 2009 by Paul
Filed under Analysis, Features, Highlights
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
April 18, 2009 by Paul
Filed under Features, Highlights, News
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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Penguins Roll Over Flyers 4-1, Lead Series 1-0
The Pittsburgh Penguins kept their late season momentum rolling into the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs as they beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 in game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on Wednesday night. In a nearly textbook win, the Penguins flat outplayed the Flyers who looked as if they were still disoriented from the unexpected loss to the New York Rangers at the end of the regular season that squandered their home ice advantage. The Penguins, on the other hand, clearly came out prepared to play and took it to the Flyers for nearly 60-minutes, particularly in the first and third periods. Although game stats indicate that the Penguins were outhit by the Flyers 37-30, Pittsburgh appeared to have the more punishing physical presence. It started on the very first shift as Chris Kunitz lined up and pummelled Kimmo Timonen. Timonen, rattled by the hit, exhibited the after-effects throughout the remainder of the game and didn’t look 100% . The hits continued with Matt Cooke reaking havoc in the corners and Jordan Staal even getting into the act and making his imposing presence felt.
Pittsburgh overwhelmed the Flyers defense by maintaining constant pressure and good puck possession that slowly wore down the seemingly demoralized Flyers. Philadelphia didn’t help their cause any by taking far too many penalties. The Penguins had 6 man-advantages before going 5-on-3 for the final 19-seconds of the game. The Penguins only converted on 1 powerplay, otherwise the score would have been much more lopsided. The Penguins got goals from Sidney Crosby, Tyler Kennedy, Evgeni Malkin and….yes, Mark Eaton! Both Crosby and Malkin had 2-points with a goal and assist each. Sergei Gonchar, Jordan Staal and Kris Letang all picked up assists as well. The lone Flyers goal came on a Philadelphia power play after Marc-Andre Fleury was called for tripping. The Penguins outshot the Flyers 33-27 and crushed them in the faceoff circle by winning 64% of the draws.
Jordan Staal played an amazing game at both ends of the ice. Leading all Penguins’ forwards in ice time with 20:36, he stepped up his physical play and was an absolute defensive juggernaut against the Flyers. Mark Eaton made the defensive play of the game by eliminating a two-on-one opportunity in the first period to protect the Penguins 1-0 lead. With Mike Richards and Scott Hartnell breaking in on net, Eaton dropped to the ice and diverted Richard’s attempted pass to neutralize one of the the Flyers’ best scoring chances of the game. Evgeni Malkin got the game’s only unassisted goal as he corraled an errant pass and backhanded it past a sprawling Martin Biron before raising his arms into the air like Philly’s Rocky Balboa.
Dan Bylsma captured his first career post-season win as a head coach. After the game he noted “”One of our goals was to set the tone and certainly after the first period …
I think the whole period long we forced them to play in the defensive zone a lot, which is one of the situations we want to keep replicating.” Whatever Dan Bylsma is doing to lead, coach and inspire this young team, let’s hope he can keep it up! Tonight’s game was a thing of beauty for a Penguins fan!
Critical Weekend for Penguins
After going 15-2-3 in their last 20 games, the Penguins are still not assured of a playoff berth. With just 5-games left to play, the Penguins could still finish the season as high as 3rd place or as low as 10th place in the East. This uncertainty underscores the importance of this weekend for the Penguins who hit the road against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night and the Florida Panthers on Sunday night. A regulation win against both teams would clinch a playoff spot for the surging Penguins, but don’t expect it to be easy. First, the Penguins will play their first road game since March 12th after an extended 8-game home stretch in which they went 6-1-1. Second, they will be playing their first back-to-back games since March 14/15, and they have yet to win both when playing back-to-back games this season. Third, they will be playing against two fierce competitors in the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers. The Hurricanes are tied with the Penguins for the best record in the NHL over the last 10-games, and are riding a 7-game winning streak. The Florida Panthers, while not as successful over their last 10-games, are sitting 2-points out of a playoff position and are fighting for their lives.
Tonight’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes promises to be one of the best matchups of the season, as two of the hottest teams in the NHL face-off in what will undoubetdly be an intense, playoff style environment. In addition to winning their season’s best 7-straight games, the Hurricanes are also sitting on a franchise record 10-straight home wins; two streaks that the Penguins hope to bring to an end. The Pittsburgh Penguins (42-27-8/92-points) and the Carolina Hurricanes (43-28-7/93-points) are very closely matched and have a lot in common. The Hurricanes have only lost 1-game in regulation over their last 14-games played, while the Penguins have only lost 1-game in regulation over their last 16-games. Over the last 20-games, the Hurricanes have gone 15-3-2, while the Penguins have gone 15-2-3. Both teams also made a coaching change midway through the season, as the Canes fired Peter Laviolette and replaced him with Paul Maurice. As far as offense goes, the Penguins are 7th in the league with 3.1 goals per game, while the Canes at 16th have averaged 2.83. Defensively, the Canes are 10th with 2.7 goals against per game while the Penguins are 16th with 2.86 goals against. The Penguins’ improving powerplay should look to take advantage of the Carolina penalty kill which ranks in the bottom third of the league, however, the Hurricanes are one of the least penalized teams at home. All in all, I look for this to be one of the most consequential and exciting games of the season for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
On Sunday, the Penguins will match up against the rested Florida Panthers less than 20-hours after they finish their game against the Hurricanes. The Panthers, coming off from a 3-1 loss against the Atlanta Thrashers on Friday night, are currently sitting 2-points out of a playoff position with just 4-games remaining in their season. The Panthers will be highly motivated to pick up 2-points to keep their playoff hopes alive and will be looking to take advantage of a likely tired Penguins team. While the Panthers have given up the most shots of any team in the league, their goaltending has been outstanding. Tomas Vokoun ranks 2nd in the league behind Tim Thomas with a 0.925 save percentage, while his backup Craig Anderson is 3rd with a 0.924 save percentage. Offensively, the Panthers are a middle of the pack team in terms of goals scored. Look for a desperate game from the Florida Panthers, which could result in more scoring opportunities for the Penguins.
There’s no doubt about the critical importance of this road trip. With just 5-games remaining in the season, the Penguins need to look at “the next game” as the most important one of their season. That’s how they approached the 5-game, 5-win road trip in late February through early March that springboarded them into a 6-1-1 homestand, and a serious playoff contender. “We did a good job here at home,” Crosby said. “Now, we got a big test on this road trip. The challenges just keep coming for us.”
Let’s Go Penguins!
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Penguins Stellar Season Comes to an End
Congratulations to the Detroit Red Wings who beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 in Game 6 on Wednesday night to clinch the Stanley Cup. The Red Wings had a phenomenal season and earned the right to lift the holy grail of hockey. Congratulations are also in order for Henrik Zetterberg for winning the Conn-Smythe Trophy for the most valuable player of the playoffs. He proved that he can dominate both offensively and defensively, and was a tremendous force behind the Red Wings success.
Image details: Detroit Red Wings v Pittsburgh Penguins – Game Six served by picapp.com
Despite the disappointment of coming so close and falling short of a Cup win, the Pittsburgh Penguins have every reason to be proud of the season that they put together, the adversity that they overcame, and the accomplishments that they achieved. This group of talented young players matured a great deal throughout the course of the season and the post-season. It is quite evident that this team has a bright future ahead of them in the coming years, and the experience gained throughout this post-season will be likely pay significant dividends for seasons to come. Throughout the course of the finals, the Penguins exhibited a tremendous amount of character in battling back, and didn’t fold after going down 2-0, or when they were 35-seconds away from losing Game 5. They are to be commended for their heart, spirit and belief in themselves. After several years of missed expectations, the Pittsburgh Penguins appear to be poised to excel over the coming years.
I have enjoyed blogging about the Penguins throughout this highly entertaining season, and I will continue to keep things up to date throughout the off-season, so check back weekly! I want to thank the thousands of readers who have come to NHLPens.com since I started the site at the end of August 2007. Since that time, NHLPens.com has had over 19,000 unique visitors and over 60,000 page hits. If you liked the content I have provided, or would like to see something different, please let me know at Paul@NHLPens.com, or leave a message in the forum by clicking the link at the top of this posting.
Let’s Go Pens!!!
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Penguins Beat Detroit in Triple-Overtime Thriller!
With less than a minute to go in regulation, it looked like the Stanley Cup would be skated around the rink inside of Joe Louis Arena. The Detroit Red Wings had posted a come from behind rally and scored 2-goals in the 3rd period to put them 1-goal ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins (3-2). But with their goaltender pulled, the Penguins’ last gasp attempt at survival paid off as Max Talbot scored the game-tying goal with just 35-seconds left on the clock to force overtime. Then Marc-Andre Fleury took over, stopping 24-shots through almost 50-minutes of overtime play to give his team the opportunity to win. And win they did, after Petr Sykora clinched the game-winner, a powerplay goal at 9:57 of the third overtime! In a game that had almost everything, including injuries to Sergei Gonchar (upper body) and Ryan Malone (slapshot to the face), the Penguins found a way to win.
Image details: Pittsburgh Penguins v Detroit Red Wings – Game Five served by picapp.com
The Penguins came out in the first period and surprised a nervous Red Wings team as they put up an early 2-goal lead. The first goal game at 8:37 as Marian Hossa slung the puck inside of the far post and beat Chris Osgood. Sidney Crosby and Pascal Dupuis had the assists on Hossa’s goal, his 11th of the post-season. Then at 14:41, Adam Hall was credited with an unassisted goal after a botched Red Wings clearing attempt by Niklas Kronwall put the puck into their own net. Since Hall was the last Penguin to touch the puck, he was given the goal. Shots were 8-7 Detroit and the Penguins were 0-2 on the powerplay and 3-3 on the penalty kill.
In the 2nd period, the Red Wings drew within 1-goal as Darren Helm took a feed from Kirk Maltby and snapped off a shot that beat Marc-Andre Fleury. With 2:50 left in the period, the Penguins suffered a huge blow when Sergei Gonchar went awkwardly into the end boards at high speed. Gonchar left game for the rest of the period, but returned briefly in the 3rd before leaving again. He ultimately returned to the ice in the 3rd OT period, and skated his first shift on the game-winning goal. The Penguins had another setback with just 1:22 left in the period, as Ryan Malone took a puck to the face off from heavy slapshot by Hal Gill. The shot hit Malone on his broken nose, and he immediately left the ice bleeding profusely. He ultimately returned in the 3rd period looking fully playoff tested with a gashed and swollen face, and gauze packed in his nose. Shots were 12-7 Detroit in the 2nd and both teams were 0-1 on the powerplay.
Onto the 3rd period where Detroit made a full court press to win the Stanley Cup, as they outshot the Penguins 14-4. At 6:43, the Wings got the tying goal on the powerplay as Tyler Kennedy sat for hooking. Pavel Datsyuk picked up his 10th goal on a tip-in that beat Marc-Andre Fleury five-hole. Assists were credited to Henrik Zetterberg and Brian Rafalski. Then at 9:23 with momentum clearly on their side, the Wings scored the go-ahead goal on a wrister by Brian Rafalski, from Johan Franzen and Henrik Zetterberg. From that point on, it looked as if the Red Wings would finish it off and win the Stanley Cup. NBC had rolled video of the Cup being removed from its case and getting polished. With just 40-seconds left, the desparate Penguins pulled Marc-Andre Fleury from the net and threw all they could at Osgood. Just 5-seconds later while champagne bottles were being prepped in the Red Wings locker room, Max Talbot stopped the anticipated celebration by banging home a puck behind Osgood to tie it up.
During the first Overtime period, Marc-Andre Fleury put on a clinic by stopping all 13-shots by the Red Wings. The Penguins offense was largely ineffective notching just 2-shots on goal, despite having a 2-minute powerplay on a questioned goaltender interference call on Henrik Zetterberg. In the 2nd Overtime, the youth of the Penguins started to pay dividends as they matched the Red Wings skating game and took an 8-7 edge in shots. Each team was assessed a minor penalty in the 2nd Overtime, but neither team could capitalize. Then in the 3rd Overtime, Jiri Hudler took a double-minor high sticking call after cutting the face of Rob Scuderi with the blade of his stick. The Penguins responded by putting the injured Sergei Gonchar back on the ice, along with Malkin, Whitney, Sykora and Malone. After being largely absent throughout the entire series, Evgeni Malkin made a beautiful pass to Petr Sykora in the high circle area and he put it in the net to end the game at 9:57. Sergei Gonchar was also credited with an assist.
Image details: Pittsburgh Penguins v Detroit Red Wings – Game Five served by picapp.com- VIDEO: Game HIghlights
- VIDEO: Coach Therrien Press Conference – 3 Jun
- VIDEO: Post Game Press Conference
- VIDEO: Post Game Locker Room Report
- PHOTOS: In-Game Photos
- NHL OFFICIAL: Rosters
- NHL OFFICIAL: Game Summary
- NHL OFFICIAL: Boxscore
- NHL OFFICIAL: Play-by-Play
The win could prove to be a momentum swing in this series that should have ended tonight for the Red Wings. The Penguins found a way to get the tying goal in the waning moments of the game, and then battle through the adveristy of injuries and being outplayed in the 3rd period and first overtime to eventually win it after a prolonged battle on the Red Wings’ ice. Marc-Andre Fleury proved phenomenal in goal by stopping 55-of-58 shots for a 0.948 save percentage. Marian Hossa had another spectacular game, picking up 2-points (1G, 1A). Sidney Crosby padded his league leading post-season points by netting 2-more points (2A). The Penguins take the series back to Pittsburgh trailing 3-2 with a chance to tie it up on Wednesday night.
The Penguins return home to Pittsburgh for Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Wednesday night, where they will look to win 1-more on home ice to send the series back to Detroit for a deciding Game 7.
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Penguins Come Alive, Beat Red Wings 3-2
At last, we witnessed the level of competition that we had originally anticipated between these two great teams! After a 2-game slumber party, the Pittsburgh Penguins awoke at Mellon Arena and became the team that went 12-2 to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals. After going scoreless in the first 2-games, the Penguins scored the first 2-goals of this game thanks to the tenacity of Captain Sidney Crosby, and ultimately went on to beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 on Wednesday night. It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t supposed to be easy. But, from this fan’s perspective, the game contained all of the intensity and excitement that you would expect from a Stanley Cup game.
In the 1st period, the Penguins finally ended a lengthy scoring drought and managed to get their first goal of the series. The goal didn’t come until 17:25, but it was just what the Penguins needed to lift a large burden and give them some confidence and momentum. With the Red Wings trying to move the puck out of their own zone, Sidney Crosby picked off an unforced turnover and drop passed it to Marian Hossa who unloaded a quick shot on net. Chris Osgood made the save, but gave up a juicy rebound that Crosby redirected back between the goaltender’s legs to make it 1-0. Marian Hossa was credited with the lone assist. The Penguins were outshot 9-6 in the first, but were prefect on the penalty kill as they killed off penalties to Jordan Staal (holding) and Sergei Gonchgar (hooking). The Penguins had 2 powerplay opportnities, including one that carried over into the 2nd period, but failed to convert.
Image details: Detroit Red Wings v Pittsburgh Penguins – Game Three served by picapp.com
In the 2nd period, the Penguins managed to pour on the pressure and take the Red Wings off their game as they outshot them 13-9. At 2:34, just 32-seconds into the Penguins final powerplay of the night, Sidney Crosby found the back of the net again to establish a 2-goal Penguins lead. With Crosby and Hossa posted by the net, Sergei Gonchar let a shot go from the point. The shot never made it through, bouncing off a defender’s skate and onto the stick of Ryan Malone. Malone then attempted a shot that bounced off some skates again and found the stick of Marian Hossa. Hossa quickly released a shot that was stopped by Osgood, but the puck rebounded to Crosby on the side of the net who put it behind the goaltender to make it 2-0. But the Red Wings found a way back into the game on a powerplay of their own at 14:48, as Hal Gill sat for the 2nd time in the period for clearing Tomas Holmstrom from in front of the Penguins net (via a cross-check). The goal was scored by Johan Franzen who simply undressed the Penguins defense, walked right in on goal, and roofed the puck over Marc-Andre Fleury’s shoulder. Nicklas Lidstrom and Niklas Kronvall picked up the assists on the goal, that sliced the lead to 1-goal. The Penguins were 1-for-1 on the powerplay and 1-for-2 on the penalty kill in the 2nd period.
In the 3rd period, the Penguins managed to restore the 2-goal lead on an even strength goal by Adam Hall at 7:18, his 2nd of the playoffs. After a huge hit by Kirk Maltby on Tyler Kennedy at the Penguins end of the ice, Gary Roberts responded at the other end of the ice by leveling Andreas Lilja and freeing up the puck. Max Talbot dug the puck out of the boards and made a cross-crease pass to Adam Hall, who ultimately ended up behind the net with the puck. Standing behind the net all alone with the puck, Adma Hall made a couple of attempts to pass the puck out, but it ultimately ended back up on his stick. He finally found an opportunity with Osgood turning to get back into position, and shot the puck off the back of the goaltender and into the net to make it 3-1. Gary Roberts and Max Talbot picked up the assists. After the Hall goal, the action up and down the ice was non-stop, with play going without a whistle for over 6-minutes. Finally, at 13:37, Mikael Samuellson let a shot go that appeared to deflect off from Brooks Orpik’s stick and into the net to cut the lead to 1-goal again. Brad Stuart and Valtteri Filppula picked up the assists on the play. Things got hairy at 15:42 as Evgeni Malkin took a hooking call and gave the Red Wings the opportunity to tie it up, but the excellent play of Marc-Andre Fleury and the Penguins’ penalty kill thwarted a late game comeback for the Red Wings. The Penguins survived a 16-5 shot surge in the final frame to come away with the much needed victory.
Image details: Detroit Red Wings v Pittsburgh Penguins – Game Three served by picapp.com- VIDEO: Game Highlights
- VIDEO: Post-Game Press Conference
- VIDEO: Post-Game Interviews
- PHOTOS: In-Game Photos
- AUDIO: Mike Lange Highlights
- AUDIO: Rink Rat Report
- AUDIO: Post-Game Hotline Show
- NHL OFFICIAL: Rosters
- NHL OFFICIAL: Summary
- NHL OFFICIAL: Boxscore
- NHL OFFICIAL: Play-by-Play
The Penguins looked like a different team than what they brought to the first 2-games of the series. They played the game that they needed to play by getting aggressive on the puck and putting pressure on the Red Wings defense and on Chris Osgood. The Penguins also managed to change up the mathcups and enabling Crosby and Hossa to find more open ice. Sidney Crosby (2G) was the game’s 1st star and Marian Hossa (2A) was the 2nd star. Marc-Andre Fleury had a strong game in net as he stopped 32-of-34 shots, including 15 in the final period, for a 0.941 save percentage. The series resumes on Saturday night as the Penguins host the Red Wings at Mellon Arena for Game 4, and look to tie the series up 2-2.
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Penguins Blanked Again by Detroit’s Stifling Defense
The Pittsburgh Penguins and their fans had another frustrating game against the Detroit Red Wings as they lost 3-0, marking a second consecutive game in which their highly potent offense was snuffed out by the exceptional defensive play of the Red Wings. The Penguins seemingly played a better game than they did in the first game, but took too many ill-timed penalties and failed to convert on the few good chances that they were afforded. To their credit, the Penguins never gave up in the game, but just could not break through the stifling defense of the Red Wings. The Red Wings will take a 2-0 series lead to Pittsburgh on Wednesday, where the Penguins hope to extend their home playoff unbeaten streak.
The Red Wings scored the ever-important first goal early in the first period, as Brad Stuart picked the corner on a semi-screened Marc-Andre Fleury to make it 1-0. Valtteri Filppula picked up the assist on the even strength goal. Then at 11:18, Tomas Holmstrom made it 2-0 as reached in behind Fleury and tapped in a puck that had trickled through his legs on a Henrik Zetterberg shot. Shots were 12-6 in the first period, with all 6-Penguins shots coming on 2-powerplays. The Penguins killed off 2-penalties of their own, including 14-seconds of a Gary Roberts roughing call that carried over into the 2nd period.
Image details: Pittsburgh Penguins v Detroit Red Wings – Game Two served by picapp.com
There was no scoring in the 2nd period as the Penguins were again held to just 6-shots on goal. The Red Wings put 11-shots on goal, all of which were stopped by Marc-Andre Fleury who did his part to try and keep his team within striking distance. The Penguins successfully killed off the balance of Roberts 1st period penalty as well as a slashing call against Ryan Malone.
In thr 3rd period, the Penguins took penalty after penalty and never gave themselves the chance to get back in the game. At 7:49, the Penguins went on the power play and it looked like they might get an opportunity to cut the lead in half. But just 15-seconds into the man advantage, Ryan Malone was called for goaltender intereference and the power play was negated as the teams skated 4 per side. During the 4-on-4, Detroit scored their 3rd goal of the game as Valtteri Filppula made a spectacular move around Kris Letang and then connected on a Bobby Orr-like diving shot that beat Marc-Andre Fleury. Then at 11:51, Max Talbot took a double-minor roughing call in a fracas with Detroit’s Johan Franzen, who got just 2-minutes. Then again at 16:08, Ryan Whitney took an ill-timed roughing call when he took a shot to the head of Pavel Datsyuk after the whistle. Then at 18:52 with the little question as to game’s likely outcome, Petr Sykora knocked Chris Osgood down as he skated by the net and a large scrum ensued. Sykora picked up a goaltender intereference call while Malkin and Roberts each took 2 for roughing. Gary Roberts also picked up a 10-minute misconduct. Detroit’s Lilja and Franzen each got 2 for roughing, giving the Red Wings yet another power play.
Image details: Pittsburgh Penguins v Detroit Red Wings – Game Two served by picapp.com
- VIDEO: Game Highlights
- PHOTOS: In-Game Photos
- NHL OFFICIAL: Game Rosters
- NHL OFFICIAL: Summary
- NHL OFFICIAL: Boxscore
- NHL OFFICIAL: Play-by-Play
The Penguins return to Mellon Arena for Game 3 on Wednesday night with the hope that they can find a way to break the defensive juggernaut. The Penguins will have the crowd on their side and the good fortune that they have enjoyed on their own ice throughout these playoffs, having yet to lose a game there. If the Penguins can find a way to win on their own ice, they can claw their way back into this series and gaain some confidence and momentum. Needless to say, it will be a tough challenge if Detroit can continue to play the way they have in Games 1 and 2.
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