Faceoff Factor

The Pittsburgh Penguins swept the Ottawa Senators in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with a score of 3-1.  This is the first time the Pens have swept a series since their cup runs.

The first period of the game was one that could be expected.  It appeared that the Penguins were trying to set the tone, not let a desperate Senators team gain any momentum playing in front of the crowd, facing a mountain in front of them, down 3 games to 0.  The period ended with a tied 0-0 score, but it was a period full of chances and missed opportunities, and as a spectator, it was obvious that Penguins were going to strike, and strike soon.

The second period started with a bang for the Penguins, when Evgeni Malkin pushed his own rebound in behind Martin Gerber with one hand on his stick as he was moving behind the net.  The period was back and forth, but the Penguins did have plenty of chances, however Gerber, easily their best player in the series, held strong.  Ottawa seemed to have some life, at least on the penalty kill, working to get chance after chance shorthanded on the Penguins.  Marc-Andre Fleury would have none of that, and didn’t let up until the halfway point, when a shot from the point rebounded off him and pin-balled off a few knees, skates, and sticks, before Cory Stillman tapped it in behind a sprawling Fleury.   Jarkko Ruutu scored the other Penguins goal of the period, off a nice pass by Tyler Kennedy.  Ruutu broke towards the goal, was held up, swept the puck on his backhand and it found a seam between Gerber’s pads.  Late in the period, the Senators thought they had tied it up, gained some momentum, had a chance.  But, it was not to be, as the puck was score via a kicking motion and disallowed.  Much to the dislike of plenty of Ottawa fans in the building.

The disallowed goal could have put the final nail in the coffin for a tired and beat up Ottawa team, but they remained true, and pressured on.  Something to be commended, they didn’t roll over and die, despite being severely over-matched in the series. 

The third period of this game four was a thriller.  It was 2-1 and the Senators were starting to come on, throwing shot after shot towards the goal.  But, like most of the series, those shots were blocked or missed the net.  They had plenty of chances but couldn’t convert, and eventually great defense by the Penguins allowed Sidney Crosby to score an empty-netter from just past center ice, sealing the deal for Pittsburgh.