Clincher: Pens eliminate the Flyers 5-3, win the series 4-2

“Max Talbot turned the tide by standing up for himself against Daniel Carcillo. Even though Talbot got the worst in the fight he fired up his teammates and down 3-0, Fedotenko would score a goal 14 seconds later. Talbot put a finger to his lips to quiet the fans down. By the end of the game, the fans would be quiet.”

How about the crowd being quieted after the Fedotenko goal for good? They really didn’t show any life then, nor for the rest of the game. It was really all downhill for the Flyers faithful at that point. 5 unanswered goals pretty much does that.

I don’t have anything to add (other than congrats to Pens fans), but I wanted to wish you a happy birthday, Hooks

It was a great series. And the cross division chat made it more fun. Are you going to try that for the next series Frank? But just when I though the game was finished and I was in my 5 beer the Pens came alive and gave me hope. By far on of the best comebacks in recent history for the Pens. Almost as satisfying as the third period comeback against the Oilers 2 years back in Edmonton, where they were down 4-0 and came back with 5 straight goals.

I actually tend to agree with the national-media folks who kept saying that Talbot challenging Carcillo was a critical turning point in the game. Aside from the fact that Guerin basically said as much after the game, I think that fans can only imagine what goes on inside an NHL locker room through the course of a season. Between the sheer length of the season and the physical nature of the sport, it must be a “band of brothers” bonding experience like no other. I think the Pens were in danger of quitting on that game until Talbot did that; in challenging the Flyers’ toughest player to a fight he was almost certain to lose badly, Talbot was saying “we’re not afraid of you and we’re not going to stop trying to win this game”. And the team really seemed to get the message: if Max wasn’t quitting on them they owed it to him to not quit either. So Malkin turned into a beast to set up that first goal, and was a nightmare to defend the rest of the game; Crosby started diving into the corners and at the net harder than ever; and the defense locked it down. I’m not a huge fan of hockey fights, but it was a great veteran move by Max.

Hard to believe that, not too long ago, the Flyers were a team that Pittsburgh could not beat in big games. Way to go, boys. And a quick note to Sid and Geno: moving forward, try not to forget that you’re both capable of completely dominating a game if you put your minds to it.

What a comeback, what a game! The change in that building from the first period to the third was something else.

And to top it off, the announcers saying, “Crosby is able to catch that pass because he already had his stick on the ice” helped drill that basic hockey tenet (“stick on the ice!”) into the head of my seven-year-old nephew, who doesn’t listen to his father or uncle but will listen if they say it about Sid or Ovechkin.

Good luck in the next round (and the round after that, and…), Pens fans, and thanks for making the Guerin pick a 3rd-rounder (whew!).

a titanic battle to watch. great effort all 6 games by both teams. although at oints the pens came out flat they still fought with what they had. i’m not as worried about boston as most are. they demolished a habs team that just got plain awefull, backing into the playoffs on a 5 game loosing streak if im not mistaken. ofcourse the boston fans are saying they are deeper then the penguins, wich is probably true. but the flyers were the deepest team in the playoffs as far as goal scoring goes. on the philly faithfull, tough luck. it wasnt just caricllo that cost you guys the game, it was the timing of the fight, tank’s goal and eatons. all that in the span of about 5 minutes if i remember right. thats called ripping moment away with authoritah. good job pens. wither its the bruins, canes, or devils im not as worried today as i was yesterday at this time. well fought philly, just didnt have “it” this year