 |
| POWER
PLAY |
13TH
- 18.3 |
| PENALTY
KILL |
22ND
- 81.0 |
| FORWARDS |
| JASON
SPEZZA |
34-58-92
(+26) |
| DANIEL
ALFREDSSON |
40-49-89
(+15) |
| DANY
HEATLEY |
41-41-82
(+33) |
| DEFENSEMEN |
| WADE
REDDEN |
6-32-38
(+11) |
| ANDREJ
MESZAROS |
9-27-36
(+5) |
| CHRISTOF
SCHUBERT |
8-16-24
(+7) |
| GOALTENDERS |
| MARTIN
GERBER |
30-18-4
(2 SO)
2.72 GA
.910 PCT |
|
| RAY
EMERY |
12-13-4
(0 SO)
3.13 GA
.890 PCT |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
Ottawa
vs Pittsburgh |
|
|
SCHEDULE |
| 1 |
APR.
9 |
OTTAWA
0 - PITTSBURGH 4 |
SEED
7 |
2 |
APR.
11 |
OTTAWA
3 - PITTSBURGH 5 |
SEED
2 |
43-31-8
(94) |
3 |
APR.
14 |
PITTSBURGH
4 - OTTAWA 1 |
47-27-8
(102) |
| |
4 |
APR.
16 |
PITTSBURGH
3 - OTTAWA 1 |
|
| |
5 |
APR.
19 |
OTTAWA
at PITTSBURGH |
|
| |
6 |
APR.
20 |
PITTSBURGH
at OTTAWA |
|
| |
7 |
APR.
22 |
OTTAWA
at PITTSBURGH |
|
|
Pittsburgh
Wins Series 4-0 |
|
SERIES
PREVIEW |
| |
The Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators are two similar teams. They are highly-skilled, but there are questions about their respective grit and goaltending. The Senators seemed to have turned a corner last year when they won the Eastern Conference championship, but backslid into seventh place in the conference this season. Pittsburgh has been in the playoffs the past two years, but have proven nothing.
While some predict this to be a fast series history portends differently. With the exception of last year a seventh-seeded team has knocked out a second-seed in six of the last ten years. Closer to this series is the fact the Senators handled the Pens with relative ease winning three of the four games played during the 2007-8 regular season.
Forwards: Sydney Crosby (53 games, 24-48-72) is
the face of not only the Penguins but the NHL so when
he went down to injury it appeared the Penguins would
be in trouble. But the lesser proclaimed Evgeni Malkin
(47-59-106) stepped up with 46 points in the 28 games
Crosby missed and has led the entire NHL in scoring since
January 1st with 65 points. Not that you will see the
unsung Malkin on a cover Crosby could grace, but one might
argue the Senators need to stop Malkin and consider Crosby
the secondary threat in this series. In addition to the
two young stars the talent goes deep up front for the
Penguins. Ottawa needs to be concerned about old Senator
Marian Hossa (29 goals), Ryan Malone (27-24-51), Petr
Sykora (28 goals) and youngster Jordan Staal. The Penguins
did give up some grit and talent to acquire Hossa from
Atlanta, but the team still has Maxime Talbot, Pascal
Dupuis, playoff warhorse Gary Roberts (12 lifetime playoff
goals against Ottawa), Georges Laracque and Jarkko Ruutu
available.
Normally the Senators could match the Penguins pretty much goal-for-goal, but key forwards Mike Fisher, Chris Kelly and team captain Daniel Alfredsson (40-49-89) will miss at least part of, if not the entire series. There is no need to shed tears for the club which finished second in the NHL in goals scored, as they still will be able to dress Jason Spezza (34-58-92), Dany Heatley (41-41-82), Cory Stillman (24-41-65) and the underrated Antoine Vermette (24 goals). Ottawa can also dress hard to play against players such as Chris Neil and Martin Lapointe along with solid role-players like Dean McCammond, Randy Robitaille (a candidate to play with Spezza and Heatley) and Shean Donovan.
Defensemen: Ottawa has put together a solid defensive
crew in Chris Phillips, Wade Redden, Andrej Meszaros,
Anton Volchenkov and playoff cult-hero Mike Commodore.
Brian Lee has done well in a limited tryout but might
get forced to the sideline. Volchenkov can be highly-maddening
to play against as he finished second in the NHL in blocked
shots this season after finishing first in the category
last year.
After a bit of a down season last year Sergei Gonchar (12-53-65) played extremely well this season. Ryan Whitney (12-28-40), Hal Gill, Rob Scuderi, Darryl Sydor and Brooks Orpik, who finished fifth in the NHL in hits this season, round out the crew.
Goaltending: Marc-Andre Fleury flamed out against
the Senators in a five-game defeat in the first round
of the playoffs last season. Fleury’s play will be key
to the series. If he stumbles the team will not hesitate
to give Ty Conklin a chance. The good news is Fleury might
be the hottest goaltender in the league as he posted a
9-1-1 record with a 1.44 goals against average in March.
Ottawa is in a bigger pickle in goal than the Penguins are. Martin Gerber had an up-and-down year and has not been good in recent playoffs. On the other hand Ray Emery (4-1, 2.01 GAA) was excellent in the playoffs against Pittsburgh last year but has been a stinker in many ways this year. Coach Bryan Murray could find himself playing the goalie shuffle in this series.
What to expect: if the injury situation in Ottawa was better there would be a good chance they could take the series despite their goaltending situation. But losing Alfredsson was a major blow and there are few number two centers in the league who are better than Fisher is. Ottawa can still hang in this series if they take the play to Pittsburgh and guys like Vermette and Stillman step up.
If the Penguins get even decent netminding from Fleury they should be able to handle the wounded Senators. Ottawa will have to decide whether they can handle Crosby or Malkin, but they probably will not be able to shut down both, if they can even shut down one of them. Pittsburgh’s defense is going to have to play well against the Spezza-Heatley combination and make secondary players score for Ottawa. |
|
| Game
1 |
Ottawa
0 - Pittsburgh 4 |
|
by Tom Schettino - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Pittsburgh
Leads Series 1-0 |
Pittsburgh,
PA - Wile E. Cote has the Roadrunner, the Joker has Batman and the Ottawa Senators have Gary Roberts.
Roberts ended the evening’s suspense early when he slid a soft backhander behind Ottawa netminder Martin Gerber just 68 seconds into the game. Roberts’ first of the night completed a tone-setting shift by the line of Maxime Talbot, Georges Laracque and Roberts as they pounded the Senators top defensive pairing to set up the score.
While Roberts’ goal was a great start a two-on-one break by Evgeni Malkin and Petr Sykora ended all hope for the defending Eastern Conference champion Senators.
The game was broken open when Ottawa defender Mike Commodore tried to pinch the puck in the Pittsburgh zone with three of his forwards on the attack. Malkin tipped the puck behind Commodore and was off to the races on a two-on-one. The NHL’s second-leading scorer drew Gerber’s attention and then slid the puck to Sykora who one-timed a bullet past the stunned Swiss netminder.
It was a tough defeat for the Senators who are riddled by injuries. The Senators, with the exception of Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley, had trouble manufacturing offense during even strength situations and it appeared Pittsburgh would win going away.
After a lull in the scoring Pittsburgh’s youth and lack of playoff experience nearly cost them the game as they started to give the Senators power play after power play opportunities. An over exuberance of energy by Talbot earned him an extra minor for roughing when he jumped Martin Lapointe in the goal crease. Talbot’s penalty came with teammate Ryan Whitney already in the box for holding.
It was at this point Marc-Andre Fleury began to impress. After an easy first half of the game Fleury made several strong saves to keep Ottawa from capitalizing on Pittsburgh’s undisciplined play.
Pittsburgh gave the Senators another five-one-three early in the third period when Jordan Staal carelessly high-sticked Ottawa defender Andrej Meszaros with Ryan Malone already serving a minor. Once again Fleury stopped the Senators in their tracks and continued to hold Ottawa off the board.
In addition to Roberts strong effort the game was a coming out party for Malkin who finished with a goal and two assists. Malkin for all intents and purposes finished off the Senators with a goal of his own and he set up Roberts second of the evening as Pittsburgh tacked on a pair of goals in the final period to finish the scoring.
The game ended in an ugly fashion. Whitney and Wade Redden fought after Redden and Sydney Crosby went after each other after a scoring chance by Crosby. The game nearly got out of hand with just seconds remaining after Roberts drilled Ottawa forward Cody Bass into the boards. Several of Bass’s teammates tried to stick up for the rookie forward but the officiating crew separated the two clubs before the situation went totally out of control.
The contest also saw a scary situation when Ottawa defender Anton Volchenkov was struck in the head by a Malkin slap shot. Volchenkov had falled over a Pittsburgh skater and was hit by Malkin's slap shot which caused a significant cut on Volchenkov’s forehead. According to reports from Ottawa's medical staff Volchenkov was okay after being stitched up, but the swelling was bad enough to keep the defender from putting his helmet back on and returning to the game.
|
|
| Game
2 |
Ottawa
3 - Pittsburgh 5 |
|
by Tom Schettino - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Pittsburgh
Leads Series 2-0 |
Pittsburgh,
PA - When Petr Sykora scored his second goal of the game to give Pittsburgh a 3-0 lead the Ottawa Senators were down for the count. They were dead, buried and were about to be pilloried by the vicious press in Canada's capitol for choking away a season that started oh-so wonderfully just a few short months ago.
Just when it appeared the team was done in the midst of being out shot by a 40-19 margin in the first two periods the Ottawa Senators put on a rally. It was a tremendous rally at that as the Senators answered each of the Penguins goals. If only the story would end that way for the defending Eastern Conference champions.
But it was not to be as the Senators, fueled by some scrappy scoring and kept in the game by beleaguered netminder Martin Gerber, ultimately fell short when Ryan Malone scored a power play goal with just over a minute left in regulation.
Ironically it would be Martin Lapointe, a player acquired by the Sens for his playoff experience, who would take the late penalty which set up the winner. Lapointe was whistled for high-sticking Jarkko Ruutu when he inadvertently caught the Pittsburgh pest in the face with just 1:14 left in the game. Malone would make Lapointe and the Senators pay just 12 seconds later.
Evgeni Malkin led the Penguins to the lead as he assisted on the game's first three goals. Sergei Gonchar picked up the first goal when he ripped a laser past Gerber with the Penguins on a five-on-three power play. The next two goals came off Sykora's stick the second of which was set up by Malkin when he scooped up an errant puck and set Sykora up for a one-timer.
At this point Ottawa rallied. Shean Donovan started things off for the Senators when he jammed home a puck thrown at the crease by Chris Neil. Cory Stillman picked up a power play on the back end of a give and go with Dany Heatley and rookie Cody Bass had two whacks at a puck laying just outside the crease to knot the matter up.
However, just when it appeared the game would head into overtime Malone stepped in and picked up his scores. Pittsburgh's offensive prowess was highlighted by a team-record 54 shots on goal. In addition to Malkin, who picked up three assists, Sydney Crosby had four helpers and Malone picked up an assist on Sykora's second goal to finish with three points on the night.
The two clubs will resume the series in Ottawa where the Senators will face a crucial test in game three. Should they lose that game, based on the way the Penguins are playing, the series will be too far gone. |
|
| Game
3 |
Pittsburgh
4 - Ottawa 1 |
| PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Pittsburgh
Leads Series 3-0 |
Ottawa - Ottawa was all set for a win. They had a huge, enthusiastic crowd cheering them on, their captain Daniel Alfredsson was a surprise return to the lineup and the club played better than they had at the start of the series in the last half of game two. Nick Foligno rode the wave of emotion and pushed the Senators to victory with his score 1:11 into the second period.
Pittsburgh answered. The Penguins shook off everything stacked against them and four different players scored unanswered goals to place a three games to none choke-hold on the series.
Maxime Talbot responded to Foligno's goal and the two clubs played a tight 1-1 game through 40 minutes. The third period was all Pittsburgh as Sidney Crosby, Jordan Staal and Marian Hossa broke the game and the series wide open.
Pittsburgh's win sets up revenge for the Penguins who were knocked off by the Senators in five games in the first round last year. If Ottawa wants to see even a fifth game this year they will need to post a victory on Wednesday night. |
|
| Game
4 |
Pittsburgh
3 - Ottawa 1 |
|
by Tom Schettino - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Pittsburgh
Wins Series 4-0 |
Ottawa
- The Pittsburgh Penguins scored twice in the second period and an empty-net goal in the third as they became the first team in the NHL to advance into the second round.
Pittsburgh’s sweep was their first since the 1992 Stanley Cup Finals and upped their all-time playoff series record to 21-20.
Despite the fact Ottawa needed to win this game for their season to continue they came out sluggish and were outshot by the Penguins by a 14-5 margin. Fortunately for the Senators netminder Martin Gerber was playing well and he kept the contest even through the first period.
Unfortunately for the Senators Gerber was unable to maintain his shutout pace. Evgeni Malkin opened the scoring at the 1:40 mark of the second period when he converted a beautiful cross-ice feed from Sidney Crosby with the Penguins on the power play. Malkin scored on his second attempt after Gerber had made the initial stop on his effort. The goal held for nearly 10 minutes of game time when Ottawa’s Cory Stillman tapped the puck past Marc-Andre Fleury to tie the contest. The goal was the fifth of the series for the Senators and it would be their last of the 2007-08 season.
The game-winner for the Penguins came from an unlikely source. Pittburgh’s Tyler Kennedy picked up a loose puck and broke away with Jarkko Ruttu on a two-on-one. Kennedy got the puck to Ruttu, who scored six times during the regular season, performed a spin-o-rama move on Ottawa defenseman Brian Lee and Gerber before backhanding the puck past the stunned netminder.
Ottawa’s Antoine Vermette apparently scored against Fleury late in the second period but the goal would be overturned by video review when it was discovered Vermette had kicked the puck past the goaltender. The score reverted back to 2-1 in favor of Pittsburgh after the review and stood all the way through most of the third period.
With their season within twenty minutes from being over the Senators outshot the Penguins by a 9-4 margin in the final frame, but were unable to come up with the equalizer. Crosby put the game completely out of reach when he bagged an empty net goal with just seven seconds left in the game.
The Penguins will have some time to rest before they even find out who they will play in the second round. If all the Eastern Conference series were to finish where they stand at this time the Penguins would face the New York Rangers in the next round. |
|
|
 |
|
 |
| POWER
PLAY |
3RD
- 20.4 |
| PENALTY
KILL |
22ND
- 81.0 |
| FORWARDS |
| EVGENI
MALKIIN |
47-59-106
(+16) |
| SIDNEY
CROSBY |
24-48-72
(+18) |
| MARIAN
HOSSA |
29-37-66
(-14) |
| DEFENSEMEN |
| SERGEI
GONCHAR |
12-53-65
(+13) |
| RYAN
WHITNEY |
12-28-40
(-2) |
| HAL
GILL |
3-21-24
(+6) |
| GOALTENDERS |
| MARC-ANDRE
FLEURY |
19-10-2
(4 SO)
2.33 GA
.921 PCT |
|
| TY
CONKLIN |
18-8-5
(2 SO)
2.51 GA
.923 PCT |
|
|
|
