"We're not at all surprised that it's going 7"
Matt Bodenschatz | Pittsburgh Penguins
May 12, 10:57 AM | Hype this story!
This is not the feeling I wanted to have when I woke up this morning.
It’s not so much that the Penguins lost, but rather how they lost.
Their inability to “make hay when the sun shines,” as Paul Steigerwald said during last night’s game telecast on FSN Pittsburgh, is a bit disturbing.
During the first period, the Penguins came out flying. The Capitals? Well, they looked like a team just waiting to be eliminated.
But the Penguins scored just once. Eighteen shots and just one goal.
“We have to work on our killer instinct,” right winger Bill Guerin said, according to the Post-Gazette.
And that opened the door for the Capitals.
Their first period survival was all they needed to get motivated.
Now, we’re staring at Game Seven. Do or die, as the old adage goes.
It’s an uncomfortable feeling, for sure.
“Our backs are against the wall,” left winger Matt Cooke said.
But just one week ago, the Penguins were down two games to none, and many fans and media members alike had declared the season was over.
At that point, if a psychic had said, “This series is going to seven games,” I think most people would have been happy.
The Penguins took their two losses and cultivated them into motivation, desperation and, eventually, three consecutive wins, thus shifting the pressure from Pittsburgh to Washington.
Yet the Capitals responded well (after an initial lull) and won the first true “must win” game of the series.
And soon we’ll witness a must win game for both teams.
This is what the NHL and its fans had hoped for when arguably the league’s two most exciting teams were slated to meet in the second round of the playoffs.
“There was a lot of [hype] before the series, and it’s been everything it was made out to be,” Penguins center Sidney Crosby said. “Let’s just say, we’re not at all surprised that it’s going seven.”
There is no question that the Capitals felt this series would be a short one after winning the first two games. In fact, Alexander Ovechkin all but guaranteed it.
“We want to move forward,” Ovechkin said after Game Two. “After the fourth game, there’ll be a little celebration, but right now, nothing.”
As legendary Penguin goalie Tom Barrasso once said (and I paraphrase), “This is a game they didn’t want to play, but we knew if we were going to win the series, we would need seven games.”
Do the Capitals have it in them to play and win their second Game Seven in as many series?
Only time will tell.
As for the Penguins, it’s important to remember that every team faces obstacles.
When they were counted out early in the season, they started strong. When they were again counted out in early February, they put together an unprecedented stretch drive to finish with home ice advantage. And when they dropped the first two games of this series, they quickly rebounded with three wins.
Now is not the time for fans to give up.
I know the Penguins won’t.
Comments
Two Sheds
May 12, 12:15 PM
It’s really been a great series, viewed abstractly. I’m sure I’ve never seen of a series in which every game is so close. Of the 360+ minutes played so far, for how many of them has one team been ahead by two goals? Some of Game 4 would be it, I think. All the overtime games could have easily gone the other way as evidenced by barely missed shots by the losing team prior to the winning shot. The stars of the teams have been great. It’s hard to believe it’s only Round 2.
All that said, Varlamov is the biggest difference maker in the series as he’s been playing a level above Fleury. Fleury has been in the good-to-very good range all series, while Varlamov (other than game 4) has been in the very good-to-outstanding range. With more time at the high end of that. I think the Penguins’ 18 skaters have played better than the Capitals’ 18, but the goaltending has balanced that.
Tomorrow would be a great time for Fleury to have his best game of the playoffs, maybe steal one like he did against Philadelphia. The Penguins will score a few — Crosby has that look in his eye.
Dan
May 12, 12:49 PM
Coming from a true supporter of Fleury, it’s hard for me to write this, but facts are facts. A 3.33 Goals against average and .87 save percentage in this series aren’t numbers for a premier goaltender. Quite frankly, on most teams, those numbers usually have you sitting on the bench versus being the guy who everyone counts on. What happened to the performances he was putting on against Philly? Statistically, they would be the more dangerous team than Washington, given that they had 6 players with 30 goals or more this season. It’s just really disheartening to watch these games and cringe every time a decent shot comes his way. It’s even more disappointing knowing how quick a glove hand Fleury has, and to see him getting abused on it over and over again. It just doesn’t seem like he’s real focused right now. I hope he’s able to turn it around…
Two Sheds
May 12, 01:22 PM
It has seemed to me all series that the Penguins have to work a lot harder to get their ~4 goals per game than the Capitals do to get theirs. Most of the Capitals’ goals have been of the skate-in-and-fire variety. None of this prolonged cycling, passing the puck around the zone, very few rebounds that have to be fought for. Fleury hasn’t really let in any easy goals, but there have been a lot of the “Well, that would have been a tough save but…” variety. And really not too many where you think that Fleury had no chance.
So the trick to the Pens winning, if the goalies stay their courses, is probably going to be keeping the Capitals’ scoring down rather than trying to increase their own.
Ray aka WildcatRay
May 12, 03:06 PM
The Caps have had a real ability to break the Pens down on occasion leaving Marc-Andre hung out to dry either one-on-one or forced to move too far to cover the net. (Also, several goals could (should?) have been taken off the board except the refs forgot how to blow their whistles.)
The concern is that this has happened throughout the series; early when the Pens were fresh and now at the end of the grind of the series. Are the bigger Caps wearing the Pens down? They looked tired for significant stretches last night. Can they recoup themselves and return to dominating the way they did earlier like in Games 3 and 4?
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