2-0....again!!!!!

The game on Friday and today's game may have caused a few heart attacks here in the Pittsburgh area. With the Pens coming back and winning on Friday after being down 3-0 in the first half of the game and winning today in a shut down fashion really makes people wonder if it is the Pens year. On Friday the Pens had some last minute heroics from Evgeni Malkin which left the Rangers hanging the heads wondering what happened, and today the Rangers' heads were looking to the rafters wondering what they had to do to put a puck past Fleury. Fleury got his second career playoff shutout today stopping all 26 shots that he faced. My main man Jordan Staal buried a beautiful power play goal, his second from Evgeni Malkin and Ryan Whitney. It was a sick pass from Malkin and Staal left Lundqvist out to dry. Today had a feeling that it was going to be a low scoring affair, but I didn't think it was going to be a 1-0 nothing game for 59 minutes and 33 seconds. The Pens sealed the deal late in the third when Adam Hall got his first of the playoffs from 140 ft. away. The puck was a clearing attempt by Hall that trickled into the gaping net. The Mellon Arena can sense something special with this Penguins team, and so can I. Game three is Tuesday in Madison Square Garden where the Pens have struggled this year, but have excelled in the playoffs. Lets Go Pens!!!!!!

Three Stars:

1. Marc-Andre Fleury-26 save shutout.
2. Jordan Staal-GWG.
3. Henrik Lundqvist-30/31 saves.

My Playoff Predictions: Round 2

Lets see how my picks fared in the first round....

Eastern Conference:

I said MTL in 5. What really happened, MTL in 7. I didn't expect the Habs to have this much trouble with the Bruins. I thought this would be a quick series, but the Bruins fought hard. The jury is still out on Price, he had his up and downs, but he won and its a whole new round.

I said Pens in 6. What really happened, Pens in 4! I expected the Sens to fight like they did in the regular season, but the Pens dominated.

I said Caps in 6. What really happened, Flyers in 7. I knew this series had a possibilty to go to seven games, but I didn't expect Ovechkin to disappear for half the series. Ovechkin was nowhere near the player he was in the regular season, I was disappointed. Kudos to Backstrom, he is amazing.

I said Rangers in 7. What really happened, Rangers in 5. This came to a surprise to me. I expected Brodeur to keep this series in check, which he did to a point. The Rangers gave up more goal to the Devils, than they wanted, but it didn't happen, so on to the next round they go.

Western Conference:

I said Wings in 6. I called it. The Wings didn't win this series as impressively as they should have, I don't think they will make it past the next round.

I said SJS in 7. I called another one. The Flames gave the Sharks some serious trouble. I really don't have a liking for the Sharks, but hey what can I do. They shut down the Flames in the neutral zone in game 7.

I said Wild in 7. What really happened, Aves in 6. This series was a good one, possibly my favorite one. The wild weren't bad, but where did Gaborik disappear to? I think the Aves will be in the Western Conference Finals.

I said Ducks in 6. What really happened, Stars in 6. The Ducks got into penalty trouble, and the Stars power play beat them. New Stanley Cup Champion this year.

My Picks for Round 2:

Eastern Conference:

Montreal vs. Philadelphia. This series will be interesting. The Habs swept the season series, but that was the past. The Bruins exposed the Canadiens. If you play physical against them, they can be defeated. The Habs need to just score on the power play. The Flyers special teams were sloppy so I'll say the Canadiens in 7.

Pittsburgh vs. NY Rangers. This will be a great series, possibly one for the ages. The Rangers took 5 of 8 in the regular season, but did not play well on Mellon Arena ice. If the Rangers take a lot of penalties against the Pens, Pit will win, also Pittsburgh needs to find a way to win on Madison Square Garden ice. They were brutal there this year. I say Pens in 6.

Western Conference:

Detroit vs. Colorado. The Wings weren't impressive at all in round one, and the Aves were dominant. The season series was 4-0 in favour of Detroit, but the Wings goal tending will do them in. I say Avelanche in 6.

SJ Sharks vs. Dallas Stars. The series was 3-1 in favour of the Stars. The Sarks had trouble with the Flames and the Stars blew by the defending cup champs. This will be a good series, but the Stars will pull it out. Stars in 6. Rematch of the 1999 Western Conference Finals. Stars vs. Aves.

Pens and Rangers

The wait is over, the Pens will face off against the New York Rangers in the second round. It seems that it has been a year since the Pens last played, and I'm sure Ranger fans feel the same way. This series will be a classic. Great goal tending at both ends, high scoring probability, and in your face style of play. These teams fared pretty even in the regular season. The Rangers won the season series 5-3, but they won 3 of those games in October and November....the Pens weren't playing so well then. I'm interested in Sean Avery and Jarkko Ruutu. I think they will try to out pest each other and hopefully Ruutu comes out on top. The key to the series will be special teams. If it comes to special teams, I have to give the edge to the Pens. The Pens power play wasn't anything to get overly excited about in round one, but their penalty kill was unbelievable! The Rangers on the other hand weren't bad with the power play, but they struggled with the offensively challenged New Jersey Devils on the penalty kill, not to mention they gave a couple 5 on 3's to the Devils. If the Pens get a ton of power play chances, the Rangers will have trouble in the series. If the Pens avoid stupid penalties, I don't see how they can lose. This will be a hard fought series with hopefully a good outcome in favour of the Pens.

Key Players:

Pit.-Sidney Crosby, Marc-Andre Fleury, and Jordan Staal. Crosby plays well against NYR, and so does Staal. Fleury needs to stay solid, he hasn't shown any blemishes so far and he needs to continue that.

NYR-Jaromir Jagr, Chris Drury, Henrik Lundqvist. Jagr kills the Pens due to the hate he developed for the Pens while in the burgh' and Drury is clutch, hence his nick name "Captain Clutch." Henrik needs to be Henrik, if he is not solid, the Rangers won't be.

Game 1 is Friday, and the rumor is Sidney Crosby asked for it to be a "white out." Lets Go Pens!!!!

4-0 Sweep!!!

The Pens got their revenge last night by knocking the Ottawa Senators out of the playoffs. The Sens eliminated the Pens last year in the first round by beating them 5 games to 1. Pittsburgh this year one upped them by sweeping the series. The Sens were never really in this series from game one although they showed some life in game three, but could not prevail. I thought the Sens would come out swinging in game four, instead they did just the opposite. There was no scoring in the first, but the Pens out shot Ottawa 14-5. The second period came along, and Pittsburgh didn't wait long to score. One minute and forty seconds into the second, Evgeni Malkin score his second career post season goal on the power play assists coming from Sidney Crosby and Sergei Gonchar. Scotiabank Place was silent sensing that the Senators season was all but over. The Senators didn't go away silently. Cory Stillman knotted the scoring up at one. It was an ugly goal, but the Sens would take it. It was Stillman's second of the series assisted by Wade Redden and Anton Volchenkov. The Pens knew that they could not let the crowd back into the game and by doing so they put up there second tally of the game. Jarkko Ruutu took a beautiful pass from Tyler Kennedy and scored a sick "spinarama" goal that left the Senators wondering what would they have to do to gain momentum. It was Ruutu's second career playoff goal and first as a Penguin assisted by Tyler Kennedy. Two minutes later the Senators thought they tied the game again, but upon further review the War Room in Toronto ruled it a non-goal due to Antoine Vermette kicking the puck into the goal. The Senators from that point on never showed life again. The third period was quiet, but Marc-Andre Fleury came up huge when called upon. With under a minute remaining Sidney Crosby ensured the Penguins a second round birth by shooting the puck into the empty net. It was Crosby's second goal this post season and it was unassisted. The game ended 3-1 in favor of the Pens, and the series ended 4-0 in favor of the Pens as well. The Pens won't know who they will play for a few days now which should help forward Gary Roberts nurse his groin injury.

The only Ottawa Senator that wanted to win the series, let alone a game was Martin Gerber. He played outstanding in every game making saves he had no business making leaving a few Penguin players looking up at the rafters wondering "What do I have to do to score a goal?" The Senators "Big Three" in Alfredsson, Spezza, and Heatly were pretty much non-existent throughout the entire series making life a living hell for Senators coach Bryan Murray. The Pens on the other hand had excellent goal tending from Marc-Andre Fleury and outstanding play from their "Big Three" in Crosby, Malkin, and Hossa. If the Pens can keep this torrid pace throughout the second round and the rest of playoffs, I have trouble believing that they will lose to anyone in a seven game series. Lets Go Pens!!!

Three Stars:

1. Evgeni Malkin-1 goal
2. Martin Gerber-31 saves
3. Marian Hossa-9 shots on goal

3-0 One More to Go!!!!!

Pittsburgh knew going into tonight that Ottawa would be fighting for their lives, but they didn't know that Senators captain, Daniel Alfredsson would be in the line up. Alfredsson has killed the Pens over the years, and I was a little scared he would continue his Penguins dominance. I was wrong. Alfredsson was nearly invisible along with teamates Dany Heatlty and Jason Spezza. The only reason Alfredsson dressed for tonight's game was to try to motivate his team, and get them out of this current funk they have been in. The Sens came out flying to a roaring Scotiabank Place crowd, but were not able to reward the "Sens Army" with an early goal. In fact, the first goal did not come until the second period when 18 year old rookie, Nick Foligno scored his first career playoff goal assisted by Jason Spezza. It was an awesome goal, that really brought the arena to life. Nick Foligno wasn't the only player t get his first career playoff goal, Pen's forward Maxime Talbot scored an awesome goal on the backhand which woke the Penguins' bench up. The goal was assisted by Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis. The second period came to an end with a score of 1-1, but the Pens were starting to look like the team that won the first two games of the series. The third period started and it did not take Sidney Crosby to make some noise. Crosby broke a Pittsburgh Penguins record for the fastest goal in a period in a playoff game. Greg Malone, father of Pittsburgh Penguin forward Ryan Malone, previously held the record scoring 14 seconds into the period. Crosby beat that record out by 2 seconds giving the Penguins the 2-1 lead. It was Crosby's first of this years playoffs, and it was assisted by Marian Hossa and Robert Scuderi. Scuderi's assist was his first ever NHL post season point. One minute and twenty-eight seconds after Crosby scored, Jordan Staal tallied (1) from Tyler Kennedy and Jarko Ruutu. This was Tyler Kennedy's first ever NHL post season point as well. The game seemed all but over until Marian Hossa decided to get the monkey off his back and score a goal. It was a power play goal and his first of the playoffs, assisted by Sidney Crosby and Ryan Malone. Final Score, Pittsburgh 4, Ottawa 1.

Side Notes: Marc-Andre Fleury had a phenomenal game stopping 33 shots out of 34. He was a little shaky at the start, but settled down, and came into his own. The only thing that bothered me this game was the power play. The Pens went 1 for 8, with a brief 5 on 3. The Pens are lucky they have a nice lead in the series and don't have to rely on the power play because the second round, pending they make it, they will have to do better than 12.5%. Some upsides to the game were a few players getting their first career post season points. I tip my hat to Nick Foligno, Max Talbot, Tyler Kennedy, and Robert Scuderi. The Pens have to feel good about themselves going into game 4 with a 3-0 series lead. Wednesday will be a battle and hopefully they seal the deal. Lets Go Pens!!!!!

Three Stars:

1. Marian Hossa-1 goal, 2 assists
2. Sidney Crosby-1 goal, 1 assist
3. Nick Foligno-1 goal

Pens Lead Series 2-0!!!!!!

Last night was another dominating performance by the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Pens fired 54 shots on goal which is a franchise record for a playoff game. If it wasn't for Senators Goalie Martin Gerber the game might have been over in the first period. The scoring got started late in the third by Pens defensman Sergei Gonchar (1) from Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. It was a 5 on 3 power play goal. At the end of the first period, the Pens had 20 shots on the board!!! The second period came and the shooting gallery continued. Roughly five minutes into the period the Pens got another power play marker this time from Petr Sykora (2) assisted by Evgeni Malkin and

Sidney Cosby giving the Pens the 2-0 advantage. Petr Sykora wasn't done yet. Five minutes after Sykora scored Brooks Orpik came out of the penalty box and received a pass from Evgeni Malkin which sprung him on a brake away. Gerber made a great save on Brooks, but he didn't freeze the puck. The Sens turned and looked to clear the zone, but miss played the puck and Ryan Malone passed the puck to Evgeni Malkin who found Petr Sykora (3) open for a one timer and the Pens were on top 3-0. The Mellon arena was ecstatic and I think the Pens got caught up in the excitement a little too much because less than a minute later ex-Penguin Sean Donovan (1) scored assisted by Chris Neil and Mike Commodore. Although the Pens were out playing the Sens, the game was close thanks to Martin Gerber. I knew going into the game that it would not be as easy as it was on Wednesday for the Pens. Sure enough, there was no quit in the Ottawa Senators. Late in the second period Tyler Kennedey took a hooking penalty and the Senators capitalized. The goal came from Cory Stillman (1) assisted by Dany Heatly and Andrej Meszaros. The second period ended with a score 3-2 in favor of the Pens, but the Pens were out shooting Ottawa 40-19!!! The Pens fired more shots in the first two periods of game two than they did in three period in game one! The third period began and the Pens kept on putting shots on goal, but Gerber had the answer. Penguins forward Marian Hossa had a beautiful chance to put the game away, but good not tap the puck in to the open goal. Soon after Hossa's missed opportunity the Sens Cody Bass scored his first career post season goal assisted by Randy Robitaille and Mike Commodore. The Sens started looking like the team that had fired 40 shots in the first two periods. The third period was winding down and it was looking like overtime was a legit possibility until Penguins' forward Jarko Ruutu was high sticked in the face by Senators forward Martin Lapointe. Penguins' coach Michel Therien called a timeout to draw up a play. The timeout ended and the Pens put their power play unit to work. With 1:02 remaining on the clock Ryan Malone brought the Mellon Arena to its feet when he scored his first post season goal on the power play to give the Pens the 4-3 lead. The goal was assisted by Sidney Crosby and Marian Hossa. The Ottawa Senators pulled Martin Gerber to get the extra attacker and Ryan Malone scored his second goal of the game assisted by Sidney Crosby and Marian Hossa again. It was an empty net which put the Pens up 5-3 in the game and 2-0 in the series.

The only thing that really bothered me last night was the Pens defense not clearing bodies from the front of the net. On every goal the Senators scored there were players whacking at Fleury's pads trying to knock the puck through into the goal. The Pens have had this problem all year. This is the reason they brought in defensman Hal Gill who has been stellar since he has arrived. If the Pens are to close out this series and move on to the second round, they need to be more physical in front of their own net. The Pens proved they could do this in game one against the Senators on Wednesday. Other than the defense needing to be more physical I have no problems with their play. Also if the Pens are able amount 54 shots a game, I don't see them having any issues through out this post season. Off to Ottawa for game 3. Lets Go Pens!!!

Three Stars:

1. Petr Sykora- 2 goals
2. Evgeni Malkin- 3 assists
3. Ryan Malone- 2 goals, 1 assist

Pens vs. Sens: 1-0 Pens!!!!!!!

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:

1. Marc-Andre Fleury- 26 saves, 1.000 sv%
2. Gary Roberts- 2 goals
3. Evgeni Malkin- 1 goal, 2 assists