Penguins VS. Canadians Game 3: THe Flower Blooms

Last night was definitely a nail biter. However, Flower played flawlessly. He carried the team on his shoulders. The first period, the Penguins started slowly. The Habs were hounding their net again and again. If it weren't for Flower's amazing saves, the Pens would have been in deep poop. The period ended with a socre of 0-0. The second period started and it was a total reversal. The Pens were hounding Halak...and he stood them up as well. The second period ended 0-0. Then, in the beginning of the third, our boy Gino Malkin scored at the point! His favorite spot! It was now 1-0. The Pens fought and fought, and with some AMAZING saves by Flower and an open netter, the Pens won 2-0. Flower now has 4 shout-outs in the play-offs...two away from Barrasso.

“We played a patient game,” Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. “We weren’t trying to score with every rush ... That’s what you need and how you need to play in the playoffs, to play that way in a tight game.”

Pen Vs. Sens: VICTORY!

The Pens started the game playing like minor-leagers. They were sloppy, couldn't finish a pass, and couldn't shoot on the net.

Cullen, Neil, and Alfredsson scored in the first and second periods. When it became 3-0, I thought it was over. If they were playing their game, I would've believed that they would make it. But they were playing crappy. What was wrong with the PEns? Well, Jordy said that they needed a killer instinct.

"We need to find that better and really finish them when they're down. We didn't do that," Jordan said. "But I just love the character in this room and the way we can bounce back from things and forget about things and work for the next shift and the next game."

Then, a banger around the net was shoved in by Cookie. Hope arose out of the icy bleakness.

Poni scored...or so we thought...by they refs called "goalie interference" on Gino. However, it was a Sens who shoved Malkin down. It was a bad call. There were many crazy calls in the game...no, make that the series!
However, Billy G made up for it and scored on the power-play.
Then, a lucky shot by Cookie went in! Cookie was a hero! We now had a chance! A few amazing plays by Flower were enough to send us to overtime...again.

Then, Duper scored 9:56 into the 1rst overtime! We had won!

With guys other than Sid and Gino scoring, it rpoved that the Pens really are a team of talant.

"It says a lot," said Crosby, who recorded 14 points through the first five games. "We're going to do our best to create things, but there are going to be nights where it's tougher than others.
"Some nights it may not go in, or whatever the case is, but we've still got to do things out there. We've still got to be productive, whether it's not on the score sheet. We've got to be responsible out there and find ways to help, but certainly there are other guys who can step up and score those goals like we saw tonight."

And they did step up...will they do it again? I think so. 

Penguins VS. Senators: Battle Weary, But Not Broken

The Pens played hard hockey last night, but the ""hockey gods" decided that the Sens win instead.
Mike Fisher and Jarkko Ruutu scored first and we all thought...what are the Pe.ns doing? A timely time-out by Couch Bylsma. Got the Pens back on their feet. Kris Letang scored on a power-play...finally!

In the second period, Malkin fed an awesome play to Sid. Sid scored in the net while falling onto his back..it was one of the most awesome Sid Goals I have ever seen! But then Peter Regin scored tying it up again. 3-3.

There were some crazy calls this game. Some no goals, almost-goals, goals called back, goals almost called back! Ugg! There were some crappy calls too. Like the one on Jordy. 

It was a crazy game! The Pens went through overtime and double overtime-still no goals on either end. Flower made AWESOME plays! However, in the third overtime, one of the Sens screened Flower, Matt Karkner slap-shot the puck, and it  hit off of Cookie into the goal. The Pens were exhausted and crestfallen..but they're not defeated. I think they played very well towards the end and am proud of my boys.

Penguins Vs. Senators Game 4: Winners Never Quit

Tuesday night was some good hockey! The Pens won 7-4! Malkin scored the only goal in the first peroid on a power-play again! Then, Sid scored early in the second...and 12 seconds later Cooke scored by an awesome pass from Max. Then Sid scored again.

“I feel like I’m creating things,” Crosby said. “That’s what I want to do and the puck’s gone in.”

The Sens pulled their goalie Elliott and replaced him with Leclaire.Then, Neil scored, and then Alfredsson scored....the Pens were getting sloppy...

The Sens were about to make a play when Orpik was smashed into the glass breaking it.

Kunie scored from a feed by Sid, and then MAX SCORED! Finally he got his dues! Max plays like a man on a mission...he was fed by none other than Adams! 

“They were pushing and pressing and they’re a team that never stops working,” Talbot said. “They’re in their building and they obviously wanted to come back so that was a big momentum goal for us, and these are the goals that we’ve been able to come and get.”

The Sens drew it in 5-3 when Cullen shot one past Flower.  Jordan scored too making the win 7-4.

“I still think we can improve and I think the second period was a good example of that,” Crosby said. “We did a lot of good things early on in the second. We kind of let them back into it and sat back and you can’t afford to do that at any point, no matter what the score is. So you try to learn from that but I think we did a lot of good things that allowed us to get that lead so we want to build off of that.” 

Game 3: Pens Win Again 4-2!

The game was only 1:17 in, when Poni hesitated for a minute and then slap-shot an innocent looking play at Elliott. It went through the five-hole and right to the back of the net...goal! Poni scored his first play-off goal this season! Later in the first period, it seemed as if Peter Regin scored on Flower, but on further review, it was rightly determined that it was kicked it...so it didn't count. 
Then, in the second peroid, Mike Fisher took a pass from Peter Regin and blasted it past Flower only 1:53 into the period.  About four minutes later, Max  passed to Gino Malkin and he slammed an easy goal right past Elliott. Right before the end of the period, Sid the Kid scored on a power-play, eventually that goal pretty much became the game winner.
Early in the third period Billy G passed a nice one to Kunie and beat n edgy Elliott on a breakaway.
However, Matt Cullen scored on a power-play making it 4-2. But that is as close as the Sens came to the Pens and they won it 4-2. And once again, Max Talbot (AKA The Superstar) has been playing AMAZING! 

The Wake Up Call

"We didn’t come in here expecting to win four straight. It’s going to be a tough series. If anything, last game should motivate us even more. We hadn’t played Ottawa for a long time. We have a history with them in the playoffs, and I don’t think that the element of not liking them was really there enough because of the long period that it has been since we played them. That’s definitely there now," Sidney Crosby said after a tiring loss by Ottawa.
 The Pens loss to the Senators 5-4. The fault was on both the offense and the defense. The Pens misjudged the Senators. the offense was not making plays or shooting on the net enough, and the defense was letting to many pucks in. And last night was not Flower's night. He's amazing at the big plays, but he tends to let the soft ones in...he even admitted so at the Stanley Cup Parade.
Fleury stated, "Thank you guys for supporting me, for as you know, sometimes I let the soft ones in."
However,  Crosby said Fleury's play was the least of his team's worries.
"He's got high expectations of himself," Crosby said. "I'm sure he'll bounce back."
The game was amazing in the first 5-7 minutes of the 1rst period...the Pens were flying down the ice, making plays, and Gino scored a power-play goal. But the Pens (as they tend to do) pulled the reigns in on their intensity and the Sens took over.  Although Gino scored twice, Sid got three assists, Gologoski  scored and (finally) Adams scored, the Pens were not able to tie it up. Hopefully, the Pens will have a short memory of the feeling of their loss, but a long memory of the reasons why they lost....

Pens Win...and then take a hard loss...

The Pens won VS. the Bruins 3-0 this Thursday. It was Fleury's first shut-out of the year. Tensions were high this game. The last time they fought, Matt Cooke accidentally injured Marc Savard.  Shawn Thornton took up his cause and faced-off with cookie 5 seconds into his first shift. No one really won it.
"We expected it to be intense and emotional but we were prepared to play hockey," Sidney Crosby said.
The Penguins scored once in each period - goals by TK,  Poni and Rupper.

Then, on Saturday, they faced Carolina.  Zach Boychuk of the Canes drew first blood.  Then, Jordan Stall met the blow with a nice goal assisted by  Poni and Sid. Then, Gino scored assisted by Fedotenko and...yet again...  Poni. However, Joni Pitkanen of the Canes scored tieing it up. We went into overtime. With only .09 seconds left, we thought...whew! It's going to a shoot-out...nope! Jamie McBain scored his first NHL goal....a crushing loss for our Pens...yet tonight they battle again...hmmm...Detroit....