Ann 22008 NHL Playoffs - Round 2: Pittsburgh Penguins vs. New York Rangers Game 3 REVIEW
April 30th 2008 21:32
Russian sensation Evgeni Malkin leads Penguins to a 5-3 win over Rangers.
So far, each game in this series have shown different aspects of ice hockey. Game 1 was all about Pittsburgh's character (or the Rangers' defensive breakdown) as they came back from a 3-0 deficit. Game 2 showed the Penguins' capacity to play in tight games. And Game 3 was eerily similar to the Flyers-Canadiens series.
Indeed, like the Flyers who haven't managed more than 25 shots on goal per game since the first match yet seemed to have found a weakness in Price's glove-hand side, the Penguins scored five goals in 17 shots, exposing a major flaw in Lundqvist's play. (Boy, was that sentence long or what?) The New York goalie is considered one of the best, but one little detail caused his downfall last night – he plays deep in his crease. Unlike other goalies, Lundqvist doesn't challenge shooters by stepping out of his zone. He is content to stay in the blue crease and tries to appear as big as possible. Problem is, this tactic doesn't work with precision-shooters like Malkin. The Russian prodigee scored two goals from the point on the powerplay, both goals momentum-changers.
The Rangers came close though. Down 3-1 at the end of the first period, they fought tooth and nails to level the score back at 3-3. At this point, Michel Therrien called a timeout to calm down his troops who were starting to get nervous in the D-zone. In the end, Pittsburgh got the job done and the Rangers are now contemplating elimination.
In the Western Conference, the Wings defeated the Avalanche 4-3, Detroit now leads the series 3-0. The Stars edged out the Sharks in OT with a 2-1 win. Dalla also leads the series 3-0.
So far, each game in this series have shown different aspects of ice hockey. Game 1 was all about Pittsburgh's character (or the Rangers' defensive breakdown) as they came back from a 3-0 deficit. Game 2 showed the Penguins' capacity to play in tight games. And Game 3 was eerily similar to the Flyers-Canadiens series.
Indeed, like the Flyers who haven't managed more than 25 shots on goal per game since the first match yet seemed to have found a weakness in Price's glove-hand side, the Penguins scored five goals in 17 shots, exposing a major flaw in Lundqvist's play. (Boy, was that sentence long or what?) The New York goalie is considered one of the best, but one little detail caused his downfall last night – he plays deep in his crease. Unlike other goalies, Lundqvist doesn't challenge shooters by stepping out of his zone. He is content to stay in the blue crease and tries to appear as big as possible. Problem is, this tactic doesn't work with precision-shooters like Malkin. The Russian prodigee scored two goals from the point on the powerplay, both goals momentum-changers.
The Rangers came close though. Down 3-1 at the end of the first period, they fought tooth and nails to level the score back at 3-3. At this point, Michel Therrien called a timeout to calm down his troops who were starting to get nervous in the D-zone. In the end, Pittsburgh got the job done and the Rangers are now contemplating elimination.
In the Western Conference, the Wings defeated the Avalanche 4-3, Detroit now leads the series 3-0. The Stars edged out the Sharks in OT with a 2-1 win. Dalla also leads the series 3-0.
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