DEAN JACOBS – OVATHLETICS.COM
Wooo Weee! It was a solid first round performance put out by the Pittsburgh Penguins in this 2009-10 NHL playoffs. The opposing team, the Ottawa Senators. Pittsburgh and Ottawa got off to a ferocious start last Wednesday night, and the intensity and rivalry grew to the boiling point after that.
Game 1 opened to a capacity crowd at Mellon Arena. It didn’t take long for the line in the sand to be drawn. In the 1st period of game 1, Ottawa was playing well. The system of trying to trap the Pens in the neutral zone was working. The Sens were preventing a flow up ice by the Guins, and causing a lot of forced offsides. However, Pittsburgh did get the first goal of the game and series. On a power play, Gonchar received the puck at the point, waited about 5 seconds, faked a shot and passed it to Malkin. Malkin wound up and ripped one past Eliot for the Penguin’s 1st goal. Peter Regin tied the game at 1 at 11:15 into the 1st period, on a ticktack bank shot. And a few minutes after that, as the period was about to end, Chris Neal scored on a quick rebound, flicking the puck over Fleury. The opening period ended with the score 2-1 in favor of Ottawa.
To open the 2nd, Sens scored on a power play, held over form the 1st period. On another Power play, midway through the 2nd period Crosby fed Malkin at the Right point and he ripped one on net. The puck went off a body and in. Malkin was credited with the goal, and the score was 3-2, Sens. Ottawa responded with yet another Power play goal. It was a long shot from point, rebounded and picked up by Fisher who had a wide open net to work with. The 2nd period ended with the score 4-2.
The 3rd period opened with the Penguins only having 12 shots in the game to that point. At 5:16 of the final period Craig Adams brought the Penguins back to within 1. Several minutes later Ruutu pushed the sent back up to the 2-goal lead. The last ray of hope for Pittsburgh came from Sidney Crosby in waning minutes of game 1. The Cros flicked a puck from behind the net to Goligoski, who place the puck perfectly to go in the net, and again the Penguins were within 1 with 2:24 left. The crowd went wild and the Guins were flying but time ran out, and the Pens dropped game 1, 5-4 amidst only 49 total shots and a lackluster game by Pittsburgh. The home loss in the Playoffs is only one of 5 for Pittsburgh in the last 23 games. Game 1 wasn’t good for Pittsburgh, but it wasn’t terrible. It was a good barometer for what Pittsburgh needed to achieve, as they moved forward.
The 2nd game of the series came on Friday night, again at Mellon Arena, and again there was a crowd beyond capacity there to cheer on their Pittsburgh Penguins. Just 24 seconds into game 2, Peter Regin had a perfectly place shot go right over the shoulder of Marc Andre Fleury, and instantly the Senators had the one goal lead. Crosby got the 1st goal for the Guins off a rebound on a Kunitz shot, later in the 1st. It was a physical and brutal brand of hockey, in the 1st period of game 2. The opening period ended knotted at 1, with plenty of hits and not as many shots.
Then 2nd period went by without consequence. Early in the 3rd period, the Guins went on a Power play, right after loading the shots and pressure on Ottawa in their zone. It was the perfect chance for the Guins to go ahead, but instead they blew the opportunity. Then the tides turned with just several minutes left in the final period. After some hard work, solid chances, and good hustle by the Pens, it all finally paid off. With a little under 4 minutes to play, Kris Letang slapped one from the point, got a good screen, and the puck went in the net. The Penguins took their first lead of the game, and they would not relinquish it. The score was 2-1 Pittsburgh, and the remaining time wound down on Ottawa. The Pittsburgh Penguins won game 2, tying the series at 1 and sending game 3 to Ottawa. Pittsburgh out shot Ottawa 30-21.
Sunday in Canada was the 3rd game of the 1st round of the NHL playoffs. The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Ottawa Senators were tied in wins. Each team had won a game, so the 3rd contest was of the utmost importance. And now the Senators were on home ice, but the Pens had a fantastic regular season road record in their corner.
Game 3 got underway, and almost immediately, Alexi Ponikarovsky got the Guins on the board. Pittsburgh led 1-0. On the road especially, the first goal is of the utmost importance, and for Pittsburgh, it immediately got their game flowing the right direction. The penguins were generating more offense than the Senators throughout the 1st period, though the shot total would show different. The stomachs of Pittsburgh collectively dropped with 40 seconds left in the opening period. It looked as though Ottawa got their first and the game tying goal, but upon further review the goal was overturned because it was clearly kicked it in the net. The period ended with the Guins hanging on to their 1 goal lead.
The 2nd period started with the Pens on the disadvantage because of a diluted call, carried over from the end of 1st. Therefore, the crowd and momentum were on the side of Ottawa, and at 18:02 of the middle period, Mike Fisher scored, tying the game at 1. Then, after a flurry of shots on the Pens’s goal, the Guins got a 3 on 2, led by Malkin who slid it to Kunitz, putting a shot on net. The rebound was picked up and flicked in by Malkin, and again the Guins had the lead. Later in the 2nd, Captain Crosby skated around the Ottawa net, and the entire Senators team, and flicked the puck quickly past Eliot for the 3rd Penguin’s goal of the game. In the 3rd period, Bill Geurin deeked Eliot for Pittsburgh’s 4th goal of the game. And the game ended 4-2 in favor of the Penguins, and put Pittsburgh up 2-1 in the series.
After Boo-ing their team the game before, the Ottawa fans were back into it for Tuesday night’s home game. The crowd was loud and excited, and so were the players. Both teams came out playing very physical and looking good. Early, the Senators were creating a few more chances and shots than Pittsburgh, but the Guins were certainly matching the intensity and physical play. The Penguins and Senators were truly battling, matching shot for shot, and hit for hit. After a barrage of shots in several minutes on Ottawa’s net, the Penguin’s went on a power play, halfway through the period. The cable signal went out, and when it came back on the score was 1-0 Pens and the power play was over, but now there was a 4 on 4 situation happening. I later found out, the goal was Malkin’s. Just after, a slashing call on Pittsburgh sent it to 4 on 3, then 5 on 3 advantage for Ottawa. Pittsburgh killed all penalties, got a couple more good chances, and the period ended. Pittsburgh led the tally 2-0 and the shots 14-6 at the end of the 1st.
In the 2nd period, within the first 4 minutes, the Pens got a breakaway and Crosby slipped the puck through the 5-hole of Eliot for the Guins’s 2nd goal of the game. And not even 5 seconds after that, Jason Spezza turned the puck over again, and Matt Cooke scored off a great Max Talbot pass. The score was 3-0 Pittsburgh. All of a sudden, the Penguin’s were absolutely controlling the game, and that was all she wrote in game 4 for the Ottawa Senators. A few minutes later in the 2nd Crosby ripped another in the net.
Though Ottawa managed to keep the game relatively close, and score a couple more goals, it wasn’t enough for the Sens and Pittsburgh took game 4, with conviction. The other Penguin’s goals came from Talbot, Kunitz, and Stall. The only bright spot for Ottawa was Daniel Alfredsson, scoring his 1st goal of the playoffs.
A home game on Thursday was the setting for game 5 of the series between Ottawa and Pittsburgh. The Senators got on the board first, with a Power play goal from Mike Fisher. The puck redirected off a Penguin’s skate and behind Fleury for the 1st goal of the game. Ruutu scored the 2nd goal for the Senators, still relatively early on in the first, and quickly, the Guins quickly found themselves down by 2. Then, what could have proved to be the Guins saving grace came with 1:55 left in the 1st period. Kris Letang ripped a wrister, which smoked behind LeClaire, and the Pens were within 1.
The second period started, and immediately the scoring kicked in. The 1st goal came for the Penguins on a much-disputed tap in by Chris Kunitz at 1:26. The score was tied at 2 and that’s the way it stayed until midway through the 3rd period. Each team got another goal, Crosby for Pittsburgh, and Regin for Ottawa, and the game was again tied at 3.
The 3-3 tie carried over into the Guin’s 1st Overtime game of this postseason. It turned out to be along one. After 2 long, tiring, and grueling OT periods, the teams entered the 3rd extra session, with not a lot of gas left in the tank. Unfortunately, the Pens didn’t get fortune to bounce in their favor on Thursday night. At 7: 06 in the 3rd OT, Carkner scored for Ottawa, and they won the game 4-3. The series was 3-2, Pittsburgh.
Saturday’s away game finished out the series for the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Guins took game 6 and the series as well, on the visitors ice. A second consecutive OT game showcased the Guin’s getting the better of Ottawa the 2nd time around. In regulation, Pittsburgh’s goals came from Matt Cook in the 2nd, Bill Geurin on the Power play in the 3rd, and another from Cooke at about the halfway of the 3rd period. Ottawa’s goals came from Cullen, Neil, and Alfredsson.
In the 3rd period and into Overtime, the Pittsburgh Penguin’s took over and absolutely dominated the Senators. It was clear to viewers, Pittsburgh was not letting this game get away from them. The Penguins rallied from 2 goals down in the final period, to come back and take the game in OT. The pressure was ferocious from the Guins, and at 9: 56 of the 1st OT, their persistence paid off. Pascal Dupuis scored the extra-time goal, and the series was over.
If Pittsburgh can continue to play like they did towards the end of the last game against Ottawa, there will be no stopping them. A Penguin’s team running on all cylinders is almost impossible to beat. It’s still unsure as to who the Pens will play next, but whoever it is, they better bring their best.
