Admit it - when the Penguins headed into the third period up 4-2 you looked at the clock more than the play. I know I was giving it its fair share of attention; and why not? Next to the Carolina game two weeks ago, the third period hasn't been the best of times for the Penguins this season (see also games against Capitals, Rangers). The faster it goes by with the less damage done the better for everyone.
Your heart may have skipped a beat even when the Blues' Patrick Berglund netted one in the third to make it 4-3. But no worries. Max Talbot, back from a banged up foot, was sure to open up the lead again with a rocket past Chris Mason to put the Pens up again by two.
The Blues pulled Mason with just over two minutes remaining in the game. Amazingly they kept the pressure on well enough to avoid an empty-net goal. That is, until Jordan Staal netted one with 20 seconds left to put the final at 6-3.
It may be far fetched to say, but the Blues played a dirty game tonight. Two slashes - one on Kris Letang and the other on Rob Scudeiri - went unnoticed by the referee even when it was more than evident that the players were in bad shape from it. Fortunately the injuries weren't serious enough to warrant a trip to the locker room, but I can't imagine both guys will have the best of days tomorrow. In the end though, at least the Blues' tomahawk chops were outdone by Pittsburgh's goals. So much for that - better luck next time.
Great backcheck by the Pens. I'm looking at Miroslav Satan and Sidney Crosby in particular. The best way to make chances for your team is to get that puck at center ice and turn momentum the other way. There were a couple of instances like that tonight and it definitely helped in the third period.
And how bout them shots? For all the recent recaps where I've picked on the Pens for not putting the puck on net, they did outshoot the Blues tonight 28-22. Definitely an improvement from the lackluster efforts in the previous game against the Coyotes.
The good: The Penguins held the Blues' number one power play scoreless tonight on three chances.
The bad: David Koci, because he's not a good enough player to crack the lineup every night. I really wanted to see Godard smash.
The ugly: Those St. Louis uncalled slashing penalties. Even though Scuds and Letang aren't injured (thankfully) I still think the NHL should look at those missed calls, especially the tomahawk hit on Letang.