Final Score: 3-2

Series Lead 2-1

Finally! This was a start to finish team effort from the Penguins and exciting hockey from puck drop to the final blocked shot.

With a packed house and an impressive light show introduction Tampa was in for quite a shock when Max Talbot kicked off the scoring not 6 minutes into the game, and Arron Asham, who has proven to be the Pens’ best asset during this series, followed suit not 40 seconds later. A few botched calls by the referees, missing a high hit on Lovejoy and calling goalie interference on Kovalev did not help matters, led to the first of two power play goals by Martin St Louis.

In the last minute of the first, Lecavalier gave the Pens a chance to demonstrate their “newly renovated” power play. It definitely looked better. The puck was only cleared by Tampa twice instead of 6 million times and the Pens actually managed to set up a good cycle, too bad they couldn’t deliver at all during both their power plays opportunities.

Most impressive tonight was the consistent ability to win draws, something not usually consistent with the absence of Crosby and Malkin. Talbot was over 50% tonight when it came to faceoffs and this is just the beginning of how far this team has managed to come since January. Zbynek Michalek has been a wall since he was signed over the summer but he has really come into his own these past couple months. Same goes for Martin and Kennedy. Who would have sat down last October and said that Tyler Kennedy was going to be one of the Pens’ best players? Or that Letestu would be centering the first line?

The Penguins’ passion and intensity carried through the second and third periods. Even when the Lightning were able to tie up the game they continued to tally shots until ultimately Roloson allowed Kennedy to score the game winner. This series is shaping up to be the most evenly matched when it comes to offensive skill and defence, which is surprising considering the Pens are missing their biggest players.

Leturnover No More

What can you really say about Letang’s performance tonight other than magnificent? Very deserving of the first star, Letang looked like he was on the warpath tonight and came away with two assists and a spectacular demonstration of his speed and agility. This was the Letang we saw in November, the one who was written in to the All-Star Game based on his skill. Now please, for the love of all things holy please, keep this up.

The Hit

In case you missed it, about midway through the first period, Chris Kunitz laid out a hit that definitely falls under the new NHL rules on headshots.  He was given two for elbowing and I’d expect the hit to be reviewed by the league. There appears to be definite intent to injure, I mean come on he was looking right at his head when he went to elbow. Does he deserve to be suspended? Yes. Is he a repeat offender? No. Will he be suspended? With the way the league rules on these kinds of hits I’d expect so, but then again I thought the hit on Chicago’s Brent Seabrook deserved a suspension and nothing came from that. At least Gagne isn’t severely injured, that is the important thing in this situation.

You can see the hit here: http://i56.tinypic.com/b967g7.jpg

» Continue reading “Power Surge in Tampa Bay: Game 3 Recap”

The Stanley Cup playoffs are here. I don’t know if I can even describe in words how excited I am. We all remember the NHL commercial campaign at the opening of the ’10-’11 season with the tag line, “questions will become answers.” That ad campaign got me so psyched for the season but that feeling can’t compare to the thrill I feel during the playoffs. The regular season, no matter how important or exciting can’t hold a candle to the post-season. Every goal, every game, all lead up to this. Coming off the regular season with four straight wins, the Penguins look to kick off their 2011 playoff run strong.

Regular Season Stats

Still still still without top scorers Evgeni Malkin and captain Sidney Crosby the Pens have found a way to stay strong. Mostly due to several players stepping up to fill those skates. Tyler Kennedy has become synonymous with goal scoring in Pittsburgh and Jordan Staal has also stepped up into a major leadership role for the Penguins. Without his former line mates present, Pascal Dupuis has also emerged as a key player for Pittsburgh. Kris Letang has really stepped up for Pittsburgh as the D-Corps has become a focus for the Pens without their top scorers.

The Lightning have been impressive all season and Pens fans should not underestimate this talented Tampa Bay team. This seven game series will definitely be one of the most watched and most exciting series of the first round. Prepare for a gongshow every night.

Twenty Minutes. Doesn’t seem like a painful amount of time, right? Well, the Pittsburgh Penguins seem to find a way to make the last twenty minutes of a game hurt more than I thought possible. After the third period breakdown against the New York Rangers fans weren’t expecting the Pens to let a four goal lead slip away from them in just twenty quick minutes. The Detroit Red Wings scored four unanswered goals on Monday night, three of which came in the final twenty.  The first goal for the Red Wings came late in the second from Henrik Zetterberg (assists to Daniel Cleary and Brad Stuart) and the momentum belonged to Detroit after that. Picking up another goal just 1:57 into the third was Valtteri Filppula, with Daniel Cleary notching his second assist of the night and Tomas Holmstrom getting the second assist. Cleary then added a power play goal at 8:06 with assists from Niklas Kronwall and Niklas Lidstrom. Lids got his second assist, along with Filppula on Mike Modano’s power play goal at 10:27 of the third. After that, the Pens seemed to buckle down and forced the game into OT and eventually a shootout.

Pascal Dupuis, who had two goals and an assist against Detroit on Monday

The first forty minutes were, as Evgeni Malkin would say, “just another day at zee office” for the Pens who had two goals in each of the first two periods.  First period goals from Pascal Dupuis (assists to Chris Conner and Jordan Staal) and Chris Kunitz (assists to Pascal Dupuis and Kris Letang) were nothing unusual as fans are getting used to seeing that pair come up big for the Penguins on offense. In the second, Pascal Dupuis scored a shorthanded goal with assists from Jordan Staal and Ben Lovejoy. Tyler Kennedy also scored in the second with assists from Chris Kunitz and Craig Adams. After the goal from Kennedy, Detroit coach Mike Babcock pulled Jimmy Howard from the net to replace him with Joey MacDonald. Howard, who is usually one of the more consistently dominant goalies in the league, looked off his game. MacDonald faced ten shots after getting put into the game and stopped every one until the shootout. James Neal had the lone goal in the shootout to give the Penguins the win.

Despite the problematic third period, the Penguins played extremely well for a team that had been faced with the serious news of their teammate Matt Cooke being suspended.  The team faces another tough test when they play the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday in Philly.

Who would’ve thought that a matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Islanders would be so eventful? This matchup between Pittsburgh, a consistently dominant team, and the Isles, who, uh, aren’t as dominant, was a sight to be seen. Pittsburgh gained a 2-0 lead early with 1st period goals from Tyler Kennedy and Chris Kunitz.

The Pens and Isles warm up before the puck drop.

While the rest of the game was scoreless, it wasn’t without it’s highlights. The most notable of the game was obviously the GOALIE FIGHT between Rick Dipietro and Brent Johnson. Dipietro went after Matt Cooke which started a scrum in the corner against the boards and out of nowhere Brent Johnson comes to center ice and knocks DiPietro out with one punch from his left. Johnson stood on his head and punched DiPietro’s last night. It would have been his second career shutout (it was credited as a ‘team’ shutout) Here’s the video for all who missed it and for those who just can’t get enough of it.

The other noteworthy highlight was Maxime Talbot getting his 50th career goal and his 100th point. Talbot has always been one of my favorite players on and off the ice so its great to see him put up those kind of numbers.

Overall, this was a fun game to watch if you are a Pens fan. If you’re an Isles fan, well, you’re used to it.