Hello Yinzers,
After today's loss, there are a great deal of things to talk about. Today was a win for the Habs not only on the scoresheet, but in the eyes of how this series will play out. Luckily for us, we are 2-3 at home this playoff year, and 3-0 on the road. For players like Marc Andre Fleury, Pascal Dupuis, and Max Talbot, it will be a homecoming in Montreal. We were in this scenario going into Ottawa, but at the same time, it's frustrating when you outshoot your opponent the entire game, but the scoreboard says different. Playoffs, thy name is frustration.
Let's be honest with ourselves today. This loss was not about chances, we had them. This game was not about Jordan Staal, we could have won without him. This game was not about our penalty kill, sometimes the bounces don't go your way. No, this game had everything to do with undisciplined hockey.
For example, Sidney Crosby had a tie up with a Habs defensiveman in the 2nd period. He became angry that he was interfered with and proceeded to bash his stick into the post breaking it. Now, normally frustration can be a fueled to a positive outcome. However, Sid did not look nearly as capable and poised as he did in the first. He even made a costly turnover in the neutral zone late in the game. Sid passed to Geno, it was intercepted, and it made for an easy breakaway goal to give the Habs the final blow.
Goalies will be good. Halak was as good as he was when he played the Capitals single handedly. It is incredibly frustrating when the Pens outshoot the Habs by 10-15 shots in the 2nd and 3rd periods, and yet Montreal gets the two goals. However, this is an issue that needs to be addressed. In game 1 of this series we fell behind early. We stayed calm and were able to take the lead back and go 4-4 on the Powerplay. Halak did not stand a chance. Plays were made, not forced, and that was the difference between Games 1 and 2.
Lastly, 3-1 is an incredibly difficult lead to overcome, but it makes it 10 times worse when our heart and soul Craig Adams clobbered Marc Andre Bergeron into the boards. No one questioned the severity of the hit, and the proper call was made. That hit is inexcusable in general, but to do it when your down 3-1 with 2 minutes left just shows how frustrated the Pens truly were.
Bottom line is that this kind of play has to subside. When the Pens play their game and enjoy their game, they are unstoppable. However you cannot lose composure when the bounces just do not go your way. Erase it from your memory banks, let Bill Guerin tell a few jokes in the next practice, get loose, and give it all you got on Tuesday.
Go Pens.
2 comments:
was it just me, or did it seem like our power play shooters like kris letang, alex goligoski, geno, gonchar and even normal screen players like billy guerin and chirs kunitz were passing up opportunities to get a shot on net, and possibly a rebound, in favor of an attempt at a slap-pass and one-timer? that was one of the most frustrating parts of the game in my opinion.
I concur B Brog. It looked like the powerplay days of old (regular season) we passed the puck at the point instead of just shooting it. We gave Halak way too much credit when we really should of been setting up screens in front of the net and had shots from the point...Worked in game 1...
-Zen
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