In 48 Hours, the Penguins regain control of series thanks to wins on back to back nights, capped off by the above game winner
(Photo Credit: AP)
In just forty-eight hours, the Washington Capitals went from controlling their own destiny to being on the verge of falling off a cliff, as the Pittsburgh Penguins managed to take a 3-2 lead in this best of seven series, and swiping the home-ice advantage in the process. Game six is tomorrow night in Pittsburgh, where the Penguins will look to put the Capitals away for good, and advance to their second consecutive Eastern Conference Finals. It seems as if the ghosts of playoffs past are coming back to haunt the Capitals, who prior to game four, seemed to have the edge in this series. How did this reversal of fortune come about? Lets start with game four on Friday night:
Game four, at the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, was the first game in this series that was decided by more than one goal. The most prolific goal scorer in the NHL, Alexander Ovechkin, was held to only two shots and one assist and the magic wore off for rookie goalie Simeon Varlamov, who was suddenly exposed by the Penguins.
Nicklas Backstrom scored the first goal thirty-six seconds into the game, to give Washington an early 1-0 lead. That would quickly be erased as the Penguins regrouped and scored three times in a twelve-minute span to leave the first period with a 3-1 lead. Throughout the remainder of the game, Pittsburgh would never trail. Early in the third period, the Penguins Sidney Crosby and Miroslav Satan caught a Washington defender in a 2 on 1 situation. Satan dished the puck to Crosby for an easy deflection and a 4-2 lead at 4:16. Two minutes later, Milan Jurcina brought the Caps back within one goal by scoring shorthanded, cutting Pittsburgh’s lead 4-3. Maxime Talbot would score at 14:46 to give the Penguins back their two-goal cushion. The Penguins went on to win 5-3 and tied the best of seven series at 2 games apiece.
Pittsburgh was dealt a major blow in this game, however, when defenseman Sergei Gonchar had to leave the ice following a knee-to-knee collision with Alexander Ovechkin. While some thought the hit was negligent, Ovechkin insisted it wasn’t intentional. "Yeah, it probably was knee on knee -- I tried to hit him with my shoulder and he just moved left [into] the same spot," Ovechkin said. “I don't know what's going to happen, but I didn't want to hit him. I wanted to hit him, but I don't want hurt him, especially knee on knee." Gonchar’s agent, J.P. Barry, was outraged with the hit. "We now have Exhibit A of the extreme double-standard that exists in the NHL's approach to discipline," Barry told TSN, a Canadian network. "Alex clearly cuts back with his knee after missing his check, with devastating results. But of course, because it's Alex, it’s all Sergei's fault.”
Simeon Varlamov, who has been amazing in goal for the Caps so far in the playoffs, suddenly looked like Achilles when he was struck in the heel by Paris’ arrow. Varlamov was torched for five goals, four of them softies according to Washington coach Bruce Boudreau. "There were four soft goals out of the five," Boudreau said. "But he'll bounce back. He's a real competitive guy." Varlamov came into the game with a 1.64 goals against average and appeared dumbfounded at allowing four soft goals. He probably couldn't be blamed for Guerin's go-ahead goal on a rebound of Crosby's in-close forehander midway through the first period. However, Varlamov had a good look on Gonchar's tying goal from close to the blue line, which came slightly more than 3 minutes after Washington took the early lead.
"We said we've got to get two at home and now we've got to try to get one on the road," said Penguins defenseman Rob Scuderi. He was also named the second star of the game with two assists.
It was on to Washington and the Verizon Center last night as the Penguins came, conquered and left with the home-ice advantage. In another one goal game, Evgeni Malkin, the NHL’s regular season scoring leader, who hasn’t made much noise in this series, gave Pittsburgh the win when his shot went into the goal off a deflection by a Capitals player. Malkin was skating up the right wing and put a shot on goal just as Capitals defensemen Tom Poti tried to make a sliding play to block the puck. The puck deflected off Poti’s stick and into the net, giving the Penguins a 4-3 victory, at 3:28 into the extra period.
No team scored in the first period as both Washington and Pittsburgh net minders, Simeon Varlamov and Marc Andre-Fleury, respectively, managed to block every shot on goal. It was the first time in this series that the first period ended without a goal being scored. Penguins forward Jordan Staal gave his team a 1-0 lead at 5:17 of the second period after whistling a wrist shot past Varlamov after Brooks Orpik fed him the puck from behind the net. Alexander Ovechkin, quiet in game four, tied the game a minute later when he rifled a wrist shot from the top of the left circle. Nickolas Backstrom scored a power play goal at 14:35 to give Washington a 2-1 lead, after the Penguins were whistled for a too many men on the ice penalty.
The Penguins responded quickly in the third period when Ruslan Fedotenko and Matt Cooke scored goals less than six minutes apart to give Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead. Fedotenko’s goal came fifty-one seconds into the period when he fired a blast from the top of the left circle that hit the upper right portion of the crossbar and down into the net. With just over four minutes left in the game, Alexander Ovechkin beat Marc Andre Fleury with a short wrister to tie it up and get the fans at Verizon Center out of their seats. Enter those ghosts of playoffs past, who some in Washington say may have caused Caps forward David Steckel to miss a half open net from point blank range just 19 seconds into overtime. "If Steckel puts it in, in overtime, we're talking about all different things, all different questions," said Boudreau.
Not too long after Steckel’s miss, Evgeni Malkin scored the game winner. "These games come down to mistakes and bounces," Crosby said. "And we got a good bounce there on the last goal." Said Simeon Varlamov, “It's always hard when you play in overtime and you allow a silly goal like this. That's twice now. But winners make their own luck."
Game six is set for Monday night in Pittsburgh and the Capital’s backs are against the wall. Since 1991, Washington has lost five series in which it blew a lead against Pittsburgh, including two 2-0 advantages in 1992 and 1996. "Desperation and urgency," defenseman Brian Pothier said Saturday night. "It's another elimination game for us. We're getting used to these."
Hard Hits…The reason there were back-to-back games in this series was because of a Yanni concert in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night. Capital’s owner was not happy about this, but hey, at least you still have a home game. Unlike the Rangers who used to get kicked out of their own arena when the circus came to town…Evgeni Malkin scored his first career postseason overtime goal. Since he has awakened over the last three games, the Penguins have won three straight. Washington will need to find a way to contain him if they want to win game six. Handling Crosby is bad enough. If both of these guys are hot, it’s going to be an early summer for the Capitals…Marc Andre Fleury is 5-0 in postseason OT’s. Varly may make highlight reel saves, but Fleury has that veteran savvy that has helped lift Pittsburgh to a lead in this series. He’ll give up goals, but he a lot of offensive support that can take them back. And he’s been clutch so far when he needs to be…Washington is 5-1 in playoff elimination games over the last two seasons. The one loss came in game 7 at home in OT against Philadelphia last year. The Caps trailed 3-1 in that series…Talk about bad breaks; both OT game winners scored by the Penguins deflected off Capital players into their own net. Good thing this isn’t Brazil and that there are no “hockey hooligans” waiting in the parking lot.
Title Fight: Crosby vs. Ovechkin
Round 4
Crosby- 1 Goal, 1 Assist, +1, 4 Shots on Goal, 1 Hit, 18:06 Time on Ice
Ovechkin- 0 Goals, 1 Assist, +/- 0, 2 Shots on Goal, 2 Hits, 25:22 Time on Ice
Result: Crosby takes round 4 as Ovechkin barely makes it onto the score sheet. Crosby’s corner men came up with a game plan to keep Ovechkin in check, while Crosby did more damage in less time. Crosby takes this round 10-9 and the fight, like this series is tied 38-38.
Title Fight: Crosby vs. Ovechkin
Round 5
Crosby- 0 Goals, 0 Assists, -2, 5 Shots on Goal, 1 Hit, 21:58 Time on Ice
Ovechkin- 2 Goals, 1 Assist, +1, 5 Shots on Goal, 6 Hits, 24:04 Time on Ice
Result: Ovechkin came out swinging in this round and battered Crosby by recording three points in this game, as opposed to the pretty boy’s none. Even though his team lost, Ovechkin scored both game-tying goals and gave his team a fighting chance. Ovie wins the round 10-9 and leads 48-47. It’s a close one folks.
Information from the AP, Washington Post and Pittsburgh Gazette was used in this story.
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