Friday, May 14, 2010

Cinderella Lives On as Habs Take Game 7...What happened?

Nights can happen where nothing just seems to go right. The refs make bad calls, the goalie let's in a softie and so on. But how often do those nights happen to the Pens in high pressure moments in the playoffs? Can't remember the last time the Pens got rattled, maybe in the first couple games of the Detroit series in 2008, but that's it.

Tonight the Pens were doomed and all of us including critics, fans, and experts thought this would be a tight hockey game going into the 3rd period. But the dam would break just 10 seconds in, 10 seconds!!! Sid knocked down Gorges and was called for boarding, very iffy penalty but that's fine. On the PP just 20 seconds into it Gionta deflected a PK Subban shot and somehow some crazy way it snuck in between Fleury's right arm and right pad, 1-0 Habs.

A goal like this, just seconds into the game, was clearly deflating for the Pens. It wasn't the start they wanted nor were expecting. But so what? It's only a one goal game, time to regroup because there are still 59 minutes to play. The Pens had a very hard time generating any offense in the first period. There was no forecheck and no speed, nor composure. The frustration would be evident on the Habs 2nd goal off the stick of former Pens forward Dominic Moore. Gonch failed to clear the puck out and Orpik was too busy pushing Lapierre behind the net while Moore was left wide open for a turn around shot, 2-0 Habs.

Being down 1-0 seemed like the end of the world for the Pens, at least that's what their body language was telling me. They knew scoring the 1st goal in this game would be huge, especially when Halak is the goalie your facing, goals will be very very hard to come by. But the game prolonged and Cammy sniped the 3rd Habs goal on a nice play off another Pens defensive miscue. And the worst play of the night came when Gonch simply let Moen skate around him and score a shorty for a 4-0 lead. I think Fleury should've been pulled after the 3rd goal but it didn't matter at the end.

The Pens would finally get to their game during the 2nd half of the 2nd period. As the referee kicked the puck up to Kunitz and he shot it five hole, 4-1. After an expired PP with under 5 min left, Poni fired a shot from the point and it was deflected by Staal, 4-2 Habs and the building began rocking. Every fan stood up cheering as loud as they possibly could. For good reason too, I mean Staal was the first Pens player to screen Halak since they did it in game 1.

The tables were quickly turning towards the Pens favor as the hitting and forecheck picked up like none other. TK and Cammy got into a scuffle behind the net and that was a trade anyone would take. TK who has 0 goals in 10 playoff games vs. Cammy who leads the playoffs with 13 goals. As the period was winding down Gorges took a penalty and the Pens would have a 4 on 3 PP to begin the 3rd period, can you ask for anything better? The hockey gods were giving the Pens every opportunity to get back into the game.

But some of that momentum seemed to be lost during the intermission. The Pens failed to score on the 4 on 3 and failed to score on a Gill holding penalty. The best PKer for the Habs in the box and still no goal is scored. Both Sid and Geno had glorious chances right in front but they couldn't lift the puck. Anything low is easy pickens for Halak. It shouldn't take 7 games to realize that.

The Habs added a 5th goal by Gionta who looked like a baseball player and the game was over. The Pens outshot the Habs 18-3 in the 3rd and still no goals to show for it. Brent Johnson did a terrific job in relief of Fleury, especially early on he made some huge stops on Cammy and Gomez. But what happened to the Pens this series? Was this game just a fluke or did some similar patterns from previous games continue here?

For one, Fleury was not the same goalie as last year. He had one good game where we won 2-0 and he made some great saves but otherwise he was mediocre at best this series and this playoff season. Where was that big save in a timely moment the past couple games? And most importantly where were the Pens big guns? The Habs big guns: Gionta and Cammy outperformed Geno and Sid by a considerable margin. Cammy had 7 goals while Gionta had 5, Sid and Geno had 1 each. In game 7 Sid and Geno's level of play was even worse than in previous games.

We're used to seeing Sid explode past defenseman and forwards alike, not once did that happen here. And what about our defense, who was our shutdown pair? Orpik/Gonch? You kiddin' me, and its def. not Letang/Eaton. Don't get me started with how bad Gogo/Leopold were either. The likes of Gill/Scuds were clearly missing for the Pens all year long. There was a clear lack of a big d-men clearing space on the PK and shutting down or containing the oppositions top guns.

Gonch's age is finally catching up to him and although he is an outstanding offensive talent, his defense is downright awful. The Moen goal and the Moore goal were just a few examples of it. Sure a lot of pressure should be put on Geno, Sid, and Fleury but what about their wingers? Poni had 3 goals in 27 games and just 2 points in the playoffs. Feds was nowhere and like Poni, saw himself a healthy scratch for a couple games this series. Guerin's age has also caught up to him as his 5 on 5 play was terrible.

The strongest part of the Pens playoff run was their secondary scoring production from guy's like Cooke, Talbot, and Adams. Cooke played above and beyond his expectation and the other two seemed to continue where they left off during last year's Cup run. But other supporting cast members such as TK, had 0 points in 10 games, wow. Staal was decent, but not great. An upset like this shouldn't come as unexpected as it might seem.

The Pens are far and away a better team on paper than the Habs, but the Habs had heart, hunger, and a desire to win which the Pens couldn't match. Sure the Pens wanted to win, but the physical side had finally taken toll on them. They've played 303 games (including the playoffs) the past 3 seasons and roughly 50 playoff games. As we all know playoff hockey is a whole different monster from the reg. season. It's been an incredible run and when you run into a hot goalie and an opportunistic/energetic team, it's never gonna be easy. Remember in the 1st round, the Sens almost took the Pens to 7 games. Without Michalek and Kovy (2 top 6 wingers) and without Kuba , a top 4 defenseman.

If the Pens did prevail past the Habs, Philly/Boston wouldn't be a problem. But whoever wins the Chicago/San Jose series will annihilate anyone coming outta the East and they woulda beat us. So a repeat Cup performance is basically a pipe dream, at least with this group of Pens players. The Pens had another solid season and with the core still in place, the future still looks as bright as ever. But GM Ray Shero will have some major re-tooling to do, especially on the backend. Maybe starting summer off early is the best recipe the doctor could've ordered for these defending Stanley Cup champs, somethin' Ovie can't even say.


-IN GONE-CHAR WE TRUST





















Tuesday, May 4, 2010

The "Other" Goalie Comes up Big at the Bell...Pens win 2-0



Where have all the Canadiens gone? The boys in red were storming up and down the ice in the 1st period of play but then they disappeared and in came the Pens offensive attack. Dump pucks in deep, crash and bang the Habs D, and initiate a ferocious forecheck. This lead to some quality scoring chances from Cooke, Gogo, and Sid which were all turned away by the force field called Halak in the 2nd period.

But then a scrum ensued at the end of the 2nd where Sid got into it with Gill, Gorges and company. You can only wish for a power play situation where both the USS Gill and Gorges are in the penalty box. And after going cold the past couple games, Mr. Malkin one timed a cannon of a shot past Halak as Kunitz/Sid were providing a pair of screens in front. No goalie, not even Halak can stop Geno's shot when it's on the money like that.

Fleury stopped all 18 shots he faced and a few of which made Halak's saves look ordinary.
Once off a Gionta stop Fleury slid side to side then again on a try by Cammy, MAF was in the zone. The smiling assassin is 8-1 in game 3's since the 2008 playoffs, not too shabby.
But it was a collective team effort tonight at the Bell Center, where the fans are always makin' some type of noise: booing the refs for a non-call, singing the soccer anthem, or booing Sid.

Persistence, investment, and speed were the key components to a Pens victory tonight. After weathering the storm in the 1st period the Pens didn't let up. They came out with 14 shots in the 2nd and completely took over the game from a territorial standpoint. This lead to penalty calls which lead to the eventual Geno game winner. The Habs were having an impossible time exiting the zone the 2nd half of the game. Even with speedsters such as Gomez, Cammy, and Gionta the Pens were able to forecheck and get to their game.

Letestu, who was inserted in Guerin's place in the lineup, looked very good centering the 3rd line with Cookie and TK. Cooke has been engaged on nearly every shift he plays, we know he can hit and agitate but the guy is showin some skill as well. Once Geno scored his PP goal he had a couple shifts after where he was just flying around the ice. Let's hope the monster has been unleashed. Halak played well, but Fleury was better.

PENS LEAD SERIES 2-1, GAME 4 on Thursday



-IN GENO WE TRUST