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2009 Playoffs Pittsburgh Penguins - Canadiens Watch

2009 NHL Playoffs – Round 2: Penguins Knock Out Capitals With Crushing 6-2 Win

May 15th 2009 04:54
When the Washington Capitals pushed their series against the Pittsburgh Penguins to a decisive Game 7, hockey fans everywhere were salivating with glee. After all, nothing could be better than hotly contested Game 7, right? Wrong. Bolstered by their appearance in the Cup final last season, the Penguins ran a clinic against the Caps who were simply overwhelmed by their opponent's intensity and organization.

The game was defined by two key moments in the first period. First, Marc-Andre Fleury came up with a great save on Alexander Ovechkin's breakaway early in the game. Although commentators called it a miraculous save, I noticed that Ovechkin tended to go a lot for Fleury's glove side except when he was able to one-time his teammates' passes while posted in the left face-off circle. So, for me it was simply a great save. Then, a rare event happened. The Penguins scored twice in the span of eight seconds to take a 2-0 lead on the home side. Although the Capitals are reputed for their ability to come back, the Penguins' complete domination in the first twenty minutes showed that it wouldn't be a small task. The next goal would prove to be very important.


Bill Guerin scored Pittsburgh's third thirty seconds into the second period and when Kris Letang made it 4-0 two minutes later, even Ovechkin couldn't bare to watch the massacre happening on ice. Neither was I. When Jordan Staal made it 5-0, I switched over to the Bones finale and only came back during commercial breaks. I managed to catch Ovechkin's goal on a wrap-around – a gift from Fleury – that, at least, prevented the Penguins from subjecting the Capitals to total humiliation.

Sidney Crosby showed why he was the captain of this team from the start of the series. Last night was no exception as he scored his second goal early in the third. Both of his goals came on the powerplay and it was his third point of the night as he picked up an assist on Guerin's goal in the second period. Finally, Brooks Laich scored another consolation goal for the Caps who were simply not on the same level as the Penguins who showed great calm and concentration. After watching Pittsburgh's performance last night, you have to wonder how that series went on for seven games. But then again, perhaps it was just a case of Washington running out of gas since it was their second Game 7 of the postseason.


So, the Penguins return to the Conference finals for the second year in a row. They are only four wins away from another Stanley Cup final appearance where they'll be looking to get their revenge.

My 3 Stars:
3. The 'Rob Scuderi – Hal Gill' defense pairing who were excellent against Ovechkin
2. Evgeni Malkin
1. Sidney Crosby


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2009 NHL Playoffs – Round 2: Capitals Take Game 6 With 5-4 Win In OT

May 14th 2009 05:05
Facing elimination for the first time in this series, the Washington Capitals delivered a thrilling game against the Pittsburgh Penguins to defeat them on the score of 5-4 in overtime.

In the hours preceding the game, Alexander Ovechkin guaranteed that there would be a Game 7 to conclude this series. His teammates didn't seem to have received the message at the start the game since it was the Penguins who were in the lead on the score of 1-0 by the first intermission.

Overall, the game was all about momentum. After a Penguins-dominant first period, the Capitals scored twice via Kozlov and Fleischmann to grab a 2-1 lead. That one-goal lead was erased in the final minute of the period with a powerplay goal by Mark Eaton. Pittsburgh then restored their lead with another powerplay goal early in the third period via Kris Letang. One minute later, Brooks Laich tied the game also on a powerplay. Less than sixty seconds later, Kozlov scored his second of the game to put the game at 4-3. Needless to say, the match was pure madness. If you turned away from your screen even once, you were bound to miss a goal or two. As it was, I missed most of the goals between the end of the second period and the halfway point of the third because I kept flicking back and forth between the game and the House finale.

When it looked like Kozlov's second would stand as the winner, Sidney Crosby did what any captain is supposed to do: he raised his level up a notch and his tenacity allowed him to score the equalizer with five minutes to go on the clock. Both teams decided to play more cautiously at this point, avoiding to take any unnecessary risks. Yet, the game didn't drop in terms of intensity. As the Capitals probbed an hermetic defense, the Penguins stayed calm and collected, using the Capitals' tactics against them: every time a Washington defenseman stepped up at the Pens' blueline, a Pittsburgh forward would slip into the hole left by that defenseman to lead the counterattack. Although that tactic wasn't as effective in the final minutes of the game, the Capitals struggled with it all night long.

Finally, it was David Steckel who made Ovechkin's promise come true by scoring his third of the postseason in the sixth minute of overtime. The goal must have crushed the Penguins since they had managed to kill a penalty in the final two minutes of regulation. Now, it's on to Game 7 at the Verizon Center in Washington.

My 3 Stars:
3. Sidney Crosby
2. Alexander Ovechkin
1. Victor Kozlov

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2009 NHL Playoffs – Round 2: Penguins Defeat Capitals 4-3 In OT To Take Series Lead

May 12th 2009 04:14
Just 24 hours after coming back from a two-game deficit to tie up the series against the Washington Capitals, the Pittsburgh Penguins took it one step further by grabbing a 4-3 win in overtime at the Verizon Center consequently making the Capitals the team to face elimination in the next game.

After a scoreless period where both teams played like they were afraid to concede the first goal, the floodgates opened in the second period when Jordan Staal scored his goal of the postseason to give the Penguins a one-goal lead. That lead didn't last long however as Ovechkin equalized the score one minute later with his ninth goal of the playoffs. Later on, the Caps took the lead with a superb powerplay goal by Nicklas Backstrom, a player mostly renowned for his passing skills.

Three more goals were scored in the third period as Ruslan Fedotenko tied the game early in the first minute and Matt Cooke restored the Penguins lead six minutes later. The visitors then proceeded to shut the game down but that wasn't enough to stop Ovechkin who forced the second overtime of this series with his second of the game.

Unfortunately of Washington's hope to win the game evaporated when Milan Jurcina took a tripping penalty one minute and a half into OT. It was only the second penalty called after a too-many-men infraction by Pittsburgh way back in the second period. As the penalty-clock winded down and it looked like the Capitals would succeed in killing it off, Evgeni Malkin, Game 3's hero, scored the Penguins' fourth goal of the game, giving Pittsburgh a well-deserved win and a 3-2 lead of the series overall.

All in all, the Penguins didn't look like they missed Gonchar too much – good for them since the defenseman will probably miss the rest of the playoffs – but the lack of powerplays probably made his absence a lot more bearable. On the other side, Mike Green is having a terrible postseason. He has the points - one goal and eight assists since the start of the playoffs – but watching the games, you never think that Washington's number 52 is a candidate for the Norris trophy (though he did play much better on Saturday). As the Capitals' number one defenseman, he has to be huge when his team needs him – not just offensively, but defensively as well.

My 3 Stars:
3. Nicklas Backstrom
2. Evgeni Malkin
1. Alexander Ovechkin


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2009 NHL Playoffs – Round 2: Penguins Tie Series With 5-3 Win Against Capitals

May 10th 2009 02:32
For the second consecutive game, the Washington Capitals got a quick goal which gave them an early lead over their opponent. But this time around, the Penguins seized full control of the game to put the series at 2-2 after being down 0-2.

The Capitals' Nicklas Backstrom was the first player to reach the back of the net 35 seconds into the game. However, all the momentum carried by that goal was broken with a boneheaded play from captain Chris Clark who cross-checked Crosby from behind right at the blue line. The Penguins tied the game on the ensuing powerplay, and then scored two more before the end of the period to put the score at 3-1


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2009 NHL Playoffs – Round 2: Malkin Shines In Penguins' 3-2 OT Win Over Capitals

May 9th 2009 05:03
Since the series opposing the Washington Capitals to the Pittsburgh Penguins started, much has been said about the rivalry between Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin, leaving Evgeni Malkin in the shadows as usual. The season's leading goalscorer didn't really help his cause as he was pretty quiet in the series between both teams with no points to his name and performances well below his usual standards.

Although Ovechkin put the spotlight on himself once again by scoring the game's first goal on his team's first shot thanks to a lucky bounce off the boards that put Fleury way out of position, the game slowly but surely turned into the home side's favor as the Penguins forechecked the Capitals to death, effectively eliminating their devastating transition game


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2009 NHL Playoffs – Round 2: Ovechkin & Crosby Put On A Show As Capitals Top Penguins 4-3

May 7th 2009 03:33
Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. Two superstars. Two personalities. Two playing styles. On Monday, the two players completely stole the show as they collected their first career playoffs hat trick.

The Penguins captain started the show on his team's first powerplay with his sixth goal of the postseason early in the first period. That goal was the only one of the opening twenty minutes despite an overabundance of powerplays and 4-on-4 situations


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2009 NHL Playoffs – Round 2: Capitals Draw First Blood Against Penguins, Win 3-2 (Video Included)

May 5th 2009 02:51
Going into this year's Stanley Cup playoffs, most of the question marks surrounding the Washington Capitals were about their porous defense and inconsistent, if not shaky, goaltending. The first game against the New York Rangers in the first round confirmed those fears as Jose Theodore let four pucks slip past him in a 4-3 defeat. But then something happened. When rookie Simeon Varlamov replaced Theodore for the second game of that series, the Capitals had no choice but to protect their young and untested goalie. Suddenly, the Caps were able to not only get the big stops from the goaltender when it mattered but, most importantly, they also learned how to shut down a game.

It's those two aspects that stood out for me in the Caps' first game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. After a sloppy start during which they conceded the first goal, the Capitals got into a groove that was hard to match. Goals by David Steckel and Alexander Ovechkin (on the powerplay) in the first period gave them the momentum they needed to start the second period with some jump. Despite Washington's explosion of energy, it was the Penguins who scored the only goal of the period as Mark Eaton put both teams level at 2-2. It's at this point that goaltending becomes important and Varlamov answered the call in a big way towards the end of the period. With two minutes remaining, the young goalie, taken out of position by Kunitz's pass to Crosby, somehow had reflex and presence of mind to put his stick on the goal line and deny Crosby of a sure goal in an empty net. The Penguins captain was already celebrating when Varlamov swatted the puck away from the goal to keep the score at 2-2


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