PITTSBURGH, Pa – In playoff hockey, it often isn’t always the superstars who leads their team to victory but the unlikeliest ones. In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference championship the Pittsburgh Penguins won the game thanks to the efforts of a player who did not even know he was going to play until minutes before the contest.
In addition, goaltending does not immediately come to mind when one thinks about the Penguins, but timely, and at times spectacular, goaltending was also behind their victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference championship.
Paced by the outstanding netminding of Marc-Andre Fleury and a goal and an assist from Philippe Boucher the Penguins claimed the contest by a 3-2 count. For all the superb stops by Fleury his best one was the one he didn’t see. With less than 30 seconds left in the game Carolina’s Eric Staal found himself all alone with an empty net and the puck heading his way, but Jussi Jokinen’s pass deflected off Staal’s stick and went under Fleury’s back. The Hurricanes would have one more chance when a long clear-in attempt nearly handcuffed the Pittsburgh goaltender but Fleury steered the puck to safety.
Carolina started the game with a bevy of quality scoring chances only to be denied by Fleury. Fleury made a pair of excellent saves to keep the game scoreless until his teammates could give him some breathing room. The netminder made a save on Chad LaRose as the Carolina winger tried to convert a two-on-one to keep the game scoreless. Then during Carolina’s first power play Fleury stopped Tuomo Ruutu from deep in the slot.
“We didn’t get the start we wanted to. They got some quality chances early on,” said Sidney Crosby. “Usually when you’re at home, you’re not talking about weathering the storm, but he (Fleury) did that for us tonight. So even after that, throughout the game, we came up with some big saves, especially late there. Get a couple of big saves and that is the difference in the game, so, that’s what you need in order to win in the playoffs.”
Fleury’s stops kept the Penguins in the game and gave them time to get their vaunted offense on track. Miroslav Satan would be the one to break the scoreless tie when he accepted a pass from Matt Cooke as soon as he was released from the penalty box. Satan moved in alone on Carolina’s Cam Ward and froze the goaltender with a forehand deke before tucking the puck into the net. The crowd barely had time to settle in after cheering Satan when it was 2-0. The second score came courtesy of Evgeni Malkin who flicked a backhander past Ward from the circle to the goaltender’s left.
Malkin’s goal was set up by Boucher who took advantage of a poor Hurricanes line change to rush the puck up the ice. Boucher fed the disc to Malkin who calmly found the back of the net with his deceptive backhander.
Even with a lead the team would never relinquish Fleury kept up his outstanding play. Carolina had chances to get on the board when LaRose had his second great chance of the night only to be denied by a solid save. Sergei Samsonov was next to have a chance, but the Carolina winger nixed his own opportunity when he held the puck too long before firing it into Pittsburgh defender Kristopher Letang’s skate early in the second period.
Meanwhile Ward was doing his best to keep his club in the game. Ward made a terrific glove save at his doorstep on Bill Guerin who had just received a backhanded pass from behind the goal from Sidney Crosby. Minutes later Ward stopped Tyler Kennedy on a clear breakaway and a follow up attempt although he was helped by Kennedy who mishandled the puck at the end of the initial rush.
Then just when it seemed Pittsburgh was going to cruise to victory the Hurricanes got close and made a bid to pull even again. Carolina’s first goal came when LaRose finally broke through. After being denied on a pair of sterling chances LaRose ensured the third time was a charm after he took a pass from Erik Cole and fired the puck through Fleury’s five-hole. Soon afterwards the Hurricanes nearly tied the game when a LaRose shot blistered into an open net, but the goal was waved off and Cole was assessed a penalty for knocking Pittsburgh’s Hall Gill into Fleury.
Only a goal separated the clubs at the start of the third period and Pittsburgh defense stiffened as they allowed only a single shot during the first ten minutes of the period. Meanwhile Ward would keep the game close as he stiffed Malkin on a clear breakaway after a Samsonov turnover.
Boucher, who was told he was going to play only after the pre-game warmup, wound up giving the Penguins all the insurance they would need late in the period. With Carolina’s Matt Cullen in the penalty box for delay of game Boucher fired a wrist shot that trickled through Ward and went into the Hurricanes goal.
“I think throughout the year you have stories similar to Philippe’s situation with injuries where you have to fight your way back into the lineup,” said Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma. “He’s a guy who has a lot of experience. He’s in a situation where we won a lot of hockey games with him out of the lineup. As he got back to being healthy, we were making a push for the playoffs with the six defensemen.
“But you know, he’s a capable guy,” continued Bylsma. “He can play on the power play (and)penalty kill, he has a physical presence. You’re not adding a guy (without) experience and he’s been ready, stayed ready, worked hard, and tonight he didn’t get a lot of minutes, but he cashed in, and had a goal and an assist.”
Carolina was given one more chance to get into the game when Pittsburgh defenseman Brooks Orpik was called for an elbowing penalty. As soon as Carolina secured the puck in their offensive zone Carolina coach Paul Maurice summoned Ward to the bench and sent out an extra attacker. Carolina capitalized on the opportunity and pulled to within a goal when Joe Corvo’s slap shot avoided Fleury. The never-say-die Hurricanes had a chance to tie the game, but were unable to when Staal missed his golden ticket with just seconds left.
The loss marked the third consecutive Game 1 loss for the Hurricanes and at some point if they want to win the series they are going to have to win in Pittsburgh.
“There were some good things in the game, we know we can play a little bit better than we did,” said Maurice. “I think in the first two games we were, we forced ourselves into a lot of mistakes. I thought tonight they did a pretty good job. They were patient and disciplined. And I don’t think we made quite…we didn’t handle the puck as well as I’d like to. I thought there were just some pucks that came out to our forwards that we didn’t handle it. We were slow moving it from our backhand.”
Notes
It appears bad blood remains between Orpik and Cole. In 2006 Cole broke two vertebrae in his neck when Orpik checked the winger from behind, drawing a suspension in the process. The next time the two faced each other they fought and in Game 1 they traded hits. It appears the battle could go on all series. However, Cole was injured when he collided leg-to-leg with Cooke late in the game. The news was not good for Hurricanes on the injury front as in addition to Cole, Ruutu was knocked out of the game. Those players will be evaluated tomorrow…The fact Carolina needed seven games to win their first two series does not bode well for them. No team in NHL history has won a third round after needing 14 games to get through the second round…The Staal brothers took the series’ opening face-off…Sergei Gonchar was able to play in the game and the Penguins dressed seven defenseman instead of six in case he was unable to make it through the contest…Rod Brind’Amour played for the Hurricanes after he missed the final portion of Game 7 against Boston after getting struck by a puck while sitting on the team’s bench. Brind’Amour needed eight stitches above his eye to close the cut and is currently sporting a shiner…Coming in the game Marc-Andre Fleury was 4-0 in Game 1’s played on home ice, he is 0-3 when starting a series on the road. The Penguins netminder posted a 3.01 goals against average and a .878 save percentage in the series against Washington…Pittsburgh became the first team in the Eastern Conference to appear in back-to-back conference finals since the New Jersey Devils turned the trick in 2000 and 2001.
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