Game 5 Recap: Penguins get Stone Cold Steve Austin on the power play because the Caps are STUNNED, Pens win 4-3 in OT
by Hooks Orpik on May 9, 2009 10:51 PM EDT
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PrintBack-to-back games and back-to-back wins for the Penguins. No Sergei Gonchar? No problem tonight.
As Bruce Boudreau said in his press conference (possibly I'm paraphrasing a little): "I thought we had our best game of the series, they still got 42 shots on goal". That's a mark that even when the Caps have been at their best, they couldn't hold the Pens from getting a lot of shots and chances.
In the four regular season meetings, the Capitals out-shot the Penguins every single game. Through five playoff games, Pittsburgh has turned the tables and out-shot Washington every game. I don't think it can be stressed how huge reversal that is and how it speaks to the Pens controlling the puck and keeping it in the Caps zone and not allowing Washington's skill players to do what they want to do for long stretches of time. That's probably the biggest factor about why the Penguins are now up 3-2 in this series.
- Ruslan Fedotenko with 10 shots on goal tonight. He certainly looks like he's gained a lot of confidence from the weak goal he scored in Game 4. 'Tank's goal in the opening minute of the 3rd period -- which tied the game at 2 -- gave the Penguins life. Fedotenko famously scored 12 goals in 22 games to tie for the lead on Tampa Bay Lightning on the way to the Stanley Cup...And with 3 goals in 3 games, old Rusty is starting to heat up and get back to that form.
- As you'd expect, Alex Ovechkin was Alex Ovechkin. He got his first goal when Brooks Orpik backed away from him (not keeping in the tight gap coverage that Rob Scuderi and Hal Gill usually keep on #8) and AO scored the game tying goal on a great pass from Nick Backstrom. As we've preached here, you have to maintain the coverage on Ovechkin at all times, and when it slips, even for a second, that's when he burns you.
- The Penguins 3rd line of Matt Cooke - Jordan Staal - Tyler Kennedy, combined for 2 goals (on 11 shots on goal), 2 assists and a +5. Staal and Cooke scored their first goals of the playoffs. Conversely the Caps regular 3rd line of Matt Bradley - David Steckel - Chris Clark got 0 goals (5 shots), 0 assists and was a combined -2. In a series that's testing depth players, the Pens "lesser lights" were flat out better and more productive than their counter-parts on this night.
- On the Simeon Varlamov watch, he probably stops the Staal and Fedotenko goal a couple of games ago. But, for the second game in a row, he's not been the Iron Wall. Still, Varlamov did his part to make several great saves on "sure" goals to hold the Caps in the game. You can't blame him, but he wasn't good enough to win.
- Marc-Andre Fleury still won't get much appreciation for his efforts, but that's cool. MAF is now 5-0 in post-season overtime games. He didn't really have a chance on either Ovechkin goal, and Backstrom added one on the power-play on a great give and go with Sergei Fedorov. Fleury had a few solid stops of his own, and he also held his team in to give them a chance to win. And win they did.
- The Caps, when pressing for a goal, switched and put Fedorov and Mike Green back on defense. Expect that to happen again next game, especially if the Caps fall behind.
- The game-winner, unfortunately for him, went off of Tom Poti, sliding back to block Malkin's passing lane to Sidney Crosby. Bad luck for sure to see the puck go in on a bad bounce, but if that puck goes through, arguably Crosby buries it. Poti had to take it away, so credit Malkin for taking the puck hard to the net at the end of his nearly 2 minute power-play shift.
Now a day break and a chance for both teams to catch their breaths.
As they say at Japers Rink: win one game. Do it four three two one time. Seriously, do it.
7 wins down, 9 more until Sidney Crosby raises Stanley's Cup.
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Actually, we say win one game, do it four times, etc. (it’s meant as a “take it one game at a time” variant). You can’t really win four games at once, though winning four games four times does get you what you’re after, of course.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
I guess I just take the macro view of winning an entire series, not a game :)
(Hey, I’m not playing them)
Well then your line makes no sense – win four games, do it one time? You haven’t won four games twice yet, much less three times.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
this could get very confusing very fast.
-David
sixminutecynic.blogspot.com
www.piratesmix.com.
by pascaldupweevil on May 10, 2009 5:33 PM EDT up reply actions
Congratulations!
From the Left Coast Sharks land!! Here is hoping you guys can end it all in Game 6, and send AO to the golf course.
I am obscenely stoked by this victory for someone who is only supposed to be a bandwagon-er. The Penguins became my second favourite team during last season’s playoffs and now, without the Devils around to distract me, the line between my first favourite team and second favourite team is starting to blur. Oh noes! I should probably put on that ’03 Stanley Cup championship video or watch that clip of David Puddy on YouTube repeatedly. Oh well. Go Pens!
This is how real fans are born, Kelly. :)
Pittsburgh Black And Gold -- So new, it still smells like paint!
If I were to write a song...
It would be an ode to Varlamov’s glove. I think I would also incorporate the verse, “leaky as a tea bag” as described by Daryl Reaugh in the pregame.
I’m loving the secondary scoring, the Staal line was huge, Fedotenko’s on fire and showing why he’s clutch. Such a transformation from earlier in the series. Crosby no points no problem, no Gonchar no problem. I hope Gonch can come back tho, without him its best for the pens to be 5 on 5
Phili B
3rd lines
Steckel may be dominating at faceoffs, but I’d rather have Staal centering the third line any day
Not sure if this should be a new string...
…and not to be a downer, but in case you didn’t see it TSN is reporting that Gonchar will be out for “weeks and possibly the entire playoffs”.
by BringBackRobBrown on May 10, 2009 12:20 AM EDT reply actions
I saw the Darren Dreger report, too. It’s here: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=278120
It doesn’t sound like too thorough of a report, though. And besides, there’s no way of knowing the severity of Gonch’s injury until the swelling goes down if I’m not mistaken. It’d be a logical guess to say that he’d be out for “weeks” with the hit Gonch absorbed. But who knows? We won’t find out for sure until the Pens are eliminated, or win the Cup. My preference is the latter.
Sadly that was the same case with his shoulder. They didn’t know what was wrong until the swelling went down. Something tells me if it’s going to take another day or two to go down the end result will not be a favorable one.
Follow the Penguins on SBN @ Pensburgh.com and twitter.
It doesn’t sound good for Gonchar, almost like he knows he’s done for this year….Look at this from Puck Daddy:
“With Ovechkin, that was something where I had talked to Gonch sometime after breakfast. He’s just disappointed. He was out most of the year with a shoulder injury. He battled so hard to get back,” said Orpik. “He told us this morning to just go out and play. The best way to get back at them is just to beat them in this series. Hearing it from the guy who can’t play, I thought it was a pretty good message.”
I don’t think we can count on Sarge back this playoffs……Can the Pens do it without him? Well we’re gonna see.
Well, not to knock Gonch but in some ways his absence might actually help the Pens’ PP. But that comes along with the logic that anything might help the Pens’ PP. They’ve been woeful in the post-season. Forcing a major overhaul of how the PP operates because Gonch isn’t there could have much better results than trying to tweak a PP that is clicking at roughly 16%. The Pens have gone from having one of the best PP’s in the league last year to being frustratingly pedestrian.
game 5
You have to think all the experience the PENS gained last season is showing up in this series, I think Emrick said, only Federov has a cup on the caps, we have Feds, Guerin, Kunitz, and almost everyone else has played in the 6 games in last yrs finals, so
way to go boys, 1 more & some much needed rest, plus the baby pens won also tonight beating Hershey ( caps minor league team) to also take a 3-2 games lead…..
Mario Lopez
I hear you on the Pens’ experience showing through. The Penguins have had a much higher level of commitment throughout their roster than the Caps have had, both at home and on the road. The Pens have been able to win on good nights, and bad nights too. They’ve been downright methodical whether they have been on the road or at home. Except for Game 3 against the Flyers, the Pens’ losses have only been by one goal, empty netters aside.
However, it seems like the Caps have only shown themselves to be a dangerous team at home where it was easy for OV to draw off the emotions of the crowd in this series. And I’m wondering if the Caps struggled so much with a woeful Rangers team because it wasn’t a big enough matchup for OV to get up for? Semin and Backstrom, for all their hype and grandeur, have been no-shows this series, too. Varlamov has been good for sure, but he’s let in too many soft goals. And Green? Completely invisible, and a defensive liability. Those are not traits of a playoff team, or at least one that advances past the second round.
It took the Pens awhile to learn how to play playoff hockey and to assemble the right pieces. The Pens are seeing that payoff in this series, for sure.
Backstrom has been far from invisible, by the way.
I really hope Semin show up. Green has been more so recently, but hasn’t been as smart as he should be about pinching.
by red army line on May 10, 2009 2:22 PM EDT up reply actions
i dont think you can pin your defensive woes on one guy. the entire caps defense has not been able to withstand the forecheck of the pens for long periods of time. add in their failures to clear out the front of the net and things go from bad to worse
by oldtimehockey09 on May 10, 2009 2:27 PM EDT up reply actions
I know this is a strange comparison, but this Penguins team reminds me a little bit of ‘99-’00 New Jersey Devils – after claiming both the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference titles for three consecutive seasons (‘97, ’98 & ’99), the Devils struggled throughout the ’99-’00 and would finish the regular season ranked fourth in the conference, a considerable step down from where they had been used to finishing in the past. Right before the start of the playoffs, Lou ‘Coach Killer’ Lamoriello fired Robbie Ftorek (he of the infamous bench throwing incident) and promoted assitant coach Larry Robinson to the head coaching poisition. They change appeared to work wonders, because the the Devils played with a whole new life, battling their way through playoff adversity that included overcoming a 3-1 series deficit to beat the Flyers in the Eastern Conference Final and advance on to the Cup round. There are a few similarities between that team and the ‘08-’09 Penguins, who struggled badly throughout much of the regular season to the surprise of many after the team had thrived in the past few years, managing to clinch the Atlantic Division and going all the way to the Cup Final. A coaching change, however, appeared to breathe new life into the Pens and they went on an awesome run over the final twenty games of the regular season that has continued on into the playoffs.
Mad Max will lead the way!
I will count on an unlikely hero for game 6..Mad Max Talbot!!!!
by BlackandGoldSSgt on May 10, 2009 2:52 AM EDT reply actions
Lately it’s not all that unlikely. He’s playing like he wants it.
Follow the Penguins on SBN @ Pensburgh.com and twitter.
like i said after game 4
our wingers have joined the party. this playoff run is about to get intresting….
by oldtimehockey09 on May 10, 2009 3:16 AM EDT up reply actions
I’m really angry about Sergei Gonchar. But…the league doesn’t need to suspend OV. I personally hope they don’t. I want him to have the ice level view of his team’s defeat. Plus if he is suspended for game 6 and the Pens win it, it will be reduced in value in the eyes of the media. He’ll pay for his insolence with humiliating defeat.
-David
sixminutecynic.blogspot.com
www.piratesmix.com.
by pascaldupweevil on May 10, 2009 8:05 AM EDT reply actions
One positive thing about Ovechkin not being suspended: no excuses for the Caps. It would be so annoying turning on PTI and listening to Wilbon going on about how the game would have been different.
At least we still have injuries to Semin and Green and Erskine
by red army line on May 10, 2009 2:23 PM EDT up reply actions
we lost gooch, green is still able to play, advatage caps
sykora and semin are even split
by oldtimehockey09 on May 10, 2009 2:25 PM EDT up reply actions
Just kidding. Only team with an excuse I believe is Dallas, losing basically their 4 best players.
by red army line on May 10, 2009 4:11 PM EDT up reply actions
on the injury note
you bring up a valid point on injuries however that i think needs adressed. did dallas get hammered by the injury bug? darn skippy. however i would argue that blaming injuries is a easy way to cover up poor managment from the gm to the coach. We were crushed by the injury bug also (most notably gonchar) he was out of commision untill feb 14 (ironic). the following day therian gets fired. prior to that point the pens record was 27-25-5. not bad considering this is widley regarded as the penguins suck fest period. This was a period in time also when we would call up guys from the ahl with a bit of regularity. the list of transactions is way to long to copy and paste, lets just say there were a plethora of call-ups most notably alex gologoski. IMO those guys played extremly well given the circumstances and thier age/abilities. yes there were some flubs but not everyone comes to the bigs and gets 1g 2a every night. I’m not a big fan of using injuries as an excuse but there are some exceptions. say for instance if AO went down, that would be a series changer simply because there is no one out there that can replace his style and shooting capabilities. However when gooch went down i tihnk we were all pissed over here but we also knew that we had two very capable replacements in the shed in the forms of gologoski and boucher. to develop a great orginization, you have to have depth all the way down to the minors…
" I AM CAPATIN CHAOS, and this is my trusty Sidekick cato. Say hello Cato"
Dom Deluise 1933-2009, Cannonball run
by oldtimehockey09 on May 10, 2009 5:00 PM EDT up reply actions
Yes. But any team left has plenty of depth, and has to have its non-stars step it up when an important guy gets injured. Only at the highest level (aka the Finals) can any team left use injuries as an excuse. Well, besides Detroit, that is.
by red army line on May 10, 2009 7:16 PM EDT up reply actions
Good point on Ovie
They need to constantly pressure him, his two goals yesterday were when they backed off and let him set up his shots. Put Cooke or Hal Gill on him and just bully him, where is Big George Laraque when you need him? That’s just what they had Ruutu do last year, just agitate the crap out of the other team’s star.
by BlackandGoldSSgt on May 10, 2009 10:48 AM EDT reply actions
They’re fine when he’s matched up against Gill and Scuderi. Remember, we get the last change in Game 6, so all should be good on that count.
Pittsburgh Black And Gold -- So new, it still smells like paint!
Scuderi’s absolute cancellation of OV’s 1 on 1 was beautiful. OV must have been confused about where he was, though. I think he was trying to pull out a move he learned in ice dancing class.
I too was incredibly pleased by that. Scudzy has really ratcheted his play up for this series. I’ve always been a fan of his hard work but he’s having his coming out party now.
-David
sixminutecynic.blogspot.com
www.piratesmix.com.
by pascaldupweevil on May 10, 2009 5:27 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree. Scuderi has really shown himself to be a great defenseman this series. In the past it was rare that I even noticed he was on the ice (not necessarily a bad thing when you consider the fact that one of the easiest ways for a defensive defenseman to get noticed is to get beat). He was solid, but nothing special. Now he is forcing people to take notice of his shutdown abilities.
I really don’t think Laraque would be able to keep up with him. Maybe Ruutu could shadow him all game and pester him into retaliating but Laraque isn’t exactly know for being light on his feet.
Follow the Penguins on SBN @ Pensburgh.com and twitter.
Craig Adams would actually be a better option as a shadow for Ovechkin. He’s quick, physical, and plays well defensively – the prototypical shut down forward. Adams definitely has a little John ‘Maddog’ Madden (as in the center for the Devils, not the senile football guy) in him. It could work.
The Penguins also need to seize this next game in Pittsburgh to end this thing, because on home ice they’ll have the last line change and will be able to get the match-up they want between Ovechkin’s line and the Hal Gill-Rob Scuderi defensive pairing (which they took a ‘too many men’ penalty on trying to get Gill out on the ice last night in Washington).
Washington’s power play is still an area of concern as far as my thinking goes. I didn’t want to think it but when the Pens took that bench minor for the Gill penalty you mentioned I thought to myself, “Well, here comes a goal.” They are very efficient with the man advantage and scary with their set-up passes. I’m happy to see Pitt is playing a more disciplined game this series (as opposed to the Philly one) but even that too many men on the ice call yesterday wound up hurting.
Adams is a pretty good suggestion. He’s effective on the PK, a solid fourth liner and as seen in last night’s game he can take a hit and shake it right off. Putting him on Ovechkin might not be a bad idea but I really think having a big defenseman on him would be just as effective, if not more. Fact is the dude is gonna get his shots no matter what. You see his first goal last night? Pitt more or less gave him nothing to work with and yet he STILL found a way to score.
Follow the Penguins on SBN @ Pensburgh.com and twitter.
I, too, winced last night when the Penguins took a penalty for too many men, especially when I found out it was Hal Gill who jumped over the half-boards prematurely, trying to get out onto the ice to defend against Ovechkin’s line – I mean, unless the Penguins are playing against Zdeno Chara and the Boston Bruins, Gill is probably the tallest guy out on the ice. There’s no way the refs can not call that. But I kind of had a feeling when it happened that the Penguins had just handed the Capitals a goal. They have a good power play, and while Ovechkin lacks some of the finesse with the puck possessed by players like Crosby, Malkin and Semin, who often make it look like they have the puck on the string, he makes up for it with speed, size and strength. It wouldn’t be impossible to hold him to only a handful of points over the course of a seven game series, but even then it could probably only be done a team who plays it Red Army style, a highly disciplined five-man defensive unit who would literally smother his production. But the Penguins don’t play that way, not that that’s a bad thing.
scuds has been doing a fantastic job against him. i must say i am highly impressed with his play. theres only one ovie, we get through this and i dont think they will have much trouble handling carolina’s scorers (staal and jokinen) or the bruins team should boston actually wake up this series
by oldtimehockey09 on May 10, 2009 2:47 PM EDT up reply actions
What a game we had last night! A few inches from being down the dreadful 3 games to 2. Hopefully Gonchar comes back very soon, but I thought Goligoski had a good game filling in; A few hard shots, good D when needed it and best of all, not a single mistake!
Lets hope that we can close this thing off tomorrow, after two overtimes I don’t know if I can take a game 7.
Go Pens!!! And don’t forget to with your mom’s a happy mothers day!!!
I like how Miro Satan has been playing since getting called up, that pass to set up the one timer for Crosby’s goal in Game 4 was beautiful..
by BlackandGoldSSgt on May 10, 2009 12:06 PM EDT reply actions
That’s another good point. Satan has hung with it and been good.
He’s not a 30 goal scorer any more, but he’s at least trying out there.
by Hooks Orpik on May 10, 2009 12:09 PM EDT up reply actions
Agreed. And let’s not forget that he adds playoff experience as well; he was one of the leaders of that ’99 Buffalo team that came within 2 games of winning a Cup.
P is for Latrobe.
by holiday park on May 10, 2009 12:46 PM EDT up reply actions
Shero is so good at getting these guys with playoff experience: Guerin, Kunitz, Fedotenko, and even Hossa last year…I am thinking Marc Andre is going to have a huge game on Monday night.
by BlackandGoldSSgt on May 10, 2009 2:47 PM EDT up reply actions
Three Cheers for Satan
He’s been a champ for sure this season. Who knows what he still is capable of as a player, but he’s been the consummate professional. He took his demotion to the Baby Pens without too much grief, and was ready to pop back in the Pens’ lineup when he was called upon.
i think his demotion acutally woke him up a bit. he has finally learned to play some seblance of d as well as playing away from the puck
by oldtimehockey09 on May 10, 2009 2:44 PM EDT up reply actions
When they demoted the guy I mentioned it may have been salary related I considered the notion that he may be back on board by the playoffs where the cap isn’t an issue. Happy to see he not only fulfilled that idea but also is making the most of his playing time. That pass to Sid in G4 was just about as perfect a play as you can ask for from a guy who has had more hits against his career self-esteem this season than he deserves.
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it was cap related. they couldnt bring in guerin, kunitz, and boucher without sneding him down. shero has got ice water in his veins. great gamble that paid off
by oldtimehockey09 on May 10, 2009 2:48 PM EDT up reply actions
Food for thought: if the Miroslav Satan continues to play well and produce results on offense for as long as the Penguins playoff run continues, do the Pens re-sign him over the summer? The contracts of Petr Sykora, Ruslan Fedotenko and Bill Guerin (who has kept up with Crosby quite well in spite of his ‘advanced’ age) also will expire on July 1, which begs the question, who is the odd man out? The impending free agency of his top-line wingers is just one of many issues facing Ray Shero this off-season, as many of his defensemen are set to hit the open market as well. Rob Scuderi, Hal Gill and Phillipe Boucher will become unrestricted free agents, and unless I’m mistaken, I believe Alex Goligoski will become a restricted free agent as well. I have no idea where the Penguins stand as far as the salary cap goes with all the players who are currently under contract, but it’s safe too say number may prevent the Pens from bringing back some of their free agents (particularly Scuderi, whose skill as a shut down defenseman most likely has not gone unnoticed by the league’s 29 other general managers).
based on performance i would be suprised if tank, goes. also i believe that max is up for free agency also, course could be mistaken on that one. i think sykora is gone personally. i also doubt that they will resign satan. if they do it will be a lower salary. GOGO is a shoe in to stay, they are looking at him as sarge junior. the pens are actually over the cap now since the recall of satan, cap does not come into effect during the post season. ray has got his work cut out for him i tihnk because of all the defenseman coming up on contracts. i think scuds stays, boucher and gill i think are gone…. could be worng about gill though
" I AM CAPATIN CHAOS, and this is my trusty Sidekick cato. Say hello Cato"
Dom Deluise 1933-2009, Cannonball run
by oldtimehockey09 on May 10, 2009 6:29 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree with the other comments that the Pens’ postseason experience is really making a difference in this series. Between last year’s Finals and the ups and downs of the regular season this year, I think this group has learned how to keep their heads and work through adversity. While Sarge is a big loss to the lineup, I don’t think the current group of guys is going to start feeling sorry for themselves or quit on anything because of it. It’s an interesting contrast to this year’s Bruins, a very talented but inexperienced team, who have been scrambling and losing their focus and discipline against a tough opponent that’s giving them all they can handle.
That said, the Pens NEED to close this one out on Monday night. The Caps are going to come out desperate, and Pittsburgh needs to play the same way. They do not want to have to go back to Washington, where they’ve lost twice in this series and where Ovechkin is a different player. Just keep your feet moving, keep that forecheck going, keep getting pucks to the net (particularly to the high glove side), keep a defender stuck to Ovechkin like flypaper, and keep hitting. And send that black-and-gold crowd home happy.
P is for Latrobe.
If Alexander Semin comes to play and proves that he is the Caps’ Malkin…See you Wednesday night.
by red army line on May 10, 2009 7:18 PM EDT up reply actions
thats a big if bubba. i havent heard one peep from semin other then the ubiquitos comments from announcers that semin has been largly vacant from this seires. i would agree with ferh that hes probably got something going on injury wise
" I AM CAPATIN CHAOS, and this is my trusty Sidekick cato. Say hello Cato"
Dom Deluise 1933-2009, Cannonball run
by oldtimehockey09 on May 10, 2009 7:20 PM EDT up reply actions
I know, but it’s not the only way they can win. But it would certainly help. I mean, if Malkin doesn’t come to play, it’s 3-2 Caps right now, not the other way around. So one good game could change the series.
by red army line on May 10, 2009 8:25 PM EDT up reply actions
What’s funny is I don’t think a single Pens fan considered the possibility that Ovechkin wouldn’t come out to play. I’m honestly not trying to sound like a jerk when I say this, but did Caps fans actually expect Malkin to be a non-factor of sorts?
Follow the Penguins on SBN @ Pensburgh.com and twitter.
good point
i think the best coaching move to this point in the playoffs has been moving max up to genos line. yes axing sykora for satan was a good call but it was an obvious one to us fans
" I AM CAPATIN CHAOS, and this is my trusty Sidekick cato. Say hello Cato"
Dom Deluise 1933-2009, Cannonball run
by oldtimehockey09 on May 11, 2009 12:59 AM EDT up reply actions
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