Tonight was a game to remember for Pens fans, and a night to forget for Sens fans. The "Mellon" was
rockin' early on and it didn't take long for "Scary" Gary Roberts to add to the fire. Gary Roberts scored 68 seconds into the first period assisted by Georges
Laraque and
Maxime Talbot giving the Penguins the coveted first goal and a ton of momentum. After the Roberts goal, the Pens were rolling. Eleven minutes later
Evgeni Malkin came streaking into the Sens zone on a 2 on 1 with Peter
Sykora and set up
Sykora for a sick one timer that put the Pens up 2-0. The second period came and went with no scoring from either team, but key penalty killing. The Pens killed two 5 on 3's that lasted 52+ seconds. The biggest factor in
tonight's game was Marc-Andre
Fleury. Not a lot of chances were given to the Senators due to a stellar performance by the Pens "D" and when the Sens finally did get a scoring chance,
Fleury was there to deny them. The third period was starting to wind down, when
Evgeni Malkin seemed to take his play to a whole other level which payed
dividends in the end giving
Malkin his first career playoff goal. The goal was a beautiful goal which brought the house down in Pittsburgh and from then on it was smooth sailing for the Pens.
Malkin's goal was assisted by Ryan Whitney and Ryan Malone. Nearly five minutes later Gary Roberts scored another goal, his (2) from
Evgeni Malkin and Marian
Hossa, which put the icing on the cake in game one. The game wasn't over, due to a few nice scraps between Ryan Whitney and Wade Redden, and Gary Roberts and practically the entire Senators team!
The Pens dominated the play from the drop of the puck and hopefully this continues into game 2. Marc-Andre
Fleury made a statement tonight by recording his first career post season shutout and removing all doubt that he could carry the team through the playoffs.
Malkin also played a
phenominal game, he had 1 goal and 2 assists and controlled the game when he was on the ice. Gary Roberts played one of his best games as a Pittsburgh Penguin tonight having the
GWG and another goal to go along with it. Pens fans, don't get carried away just yet, being that it has only been one game and there is a lot of hockey
yet to play. Expect a tough,
competitive game on
Friday from the Sens. Lets Go Pens!!!!!!
Three Stars: - Marc-Andre Fleury- 26 saves, 1.000 sv%
- Gary Roberts- 2 goals
- Evgeni Malkin- 1 goal, 2 assists
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