Saturday, April 26th, 2008 by Adam Wagner
Penguins earn trademark win to take lead in series
The hype was all about a former superstar, but with 101 seconds to go in one of the most hectic and fluky NHL games this season, the puck was right where it needed to be. On the blade of Sidney Crosby, the face of the NHL, who had drawn the penalty on ex-Pen Marty Straka that put the Penguins on a power play. Crosby, however, did something unexpected with the puck, avoiding the sharp dekes and fancy footwork that usually end up in a goal for one of his teammates. No, this time Crosby just shot the puck and, a split second later and a bounce off of Evgeni Malkin later, that puck was behind Henrik Lundqvist, giving the Penguins a 5-4 lead in the game and, a couple of scary moments later, a 1-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semi-final series.
The return of ex-Penguin Jaromir Jagr was supposed to be the story of this game as the ex-captain’s relationship with the city of Pittsburgh can be described as strained at best, particularly considering that his immature behavior and ridiculous antics resulted in his being traded to the Washington Capitals for three worthless prospects, effectively killing the last Penguin playoff team. Jagr, Straka and fellow ex-Penguin Michael Rozsival each picked up points on Friday night, but the current generation of stars assured everyone that the night would be remembered not for the past but for the present as the Penguins came back from three goals down to win.
Until about midway through the second period, Penguin fans couldn’t do anything but be extremely worried. Brandon Dubinsky scored the first goal in the first period, putting the Rangers up 1-0 by poking a puck past Marc-Andre Fleury from right in front of the net. Chris Drury then increased the Rangers’ lead on a shot that came from somewhere around the shoulder level of Fleury and that was very close to being a high stick. Just as Penguin fans thought it couldn’t really get worse, though, Sean Avery, the same one who forced the NHL to change the rules in the middle of the playoffs, came down the right wing boards on a breakaway and beat Fleury through the five-hole, putting the Penguins in the unenviable position of having to come back from a 3-0 deficit.
As has been the case so many times this season, however, the Penguins were able to receive a spark of energy from their fourth line players when Jarko Ruutu attempted to center a pass to Tyler Kennedy. The pass somehow bounced off of the skate of Rozsival and into the net, though, decreasing the deficit to 3-1. Next to score, fourteen seconds later, was cult hero Pascal Dupuis who was fed the puck near the left circle on a nifty backhand pass from Crosby, who was battling behind the net. All Dupuis had to do was snap the puck by Lundqvist, which was easier said than done on a night where the Rangers’ goalie was undoubtedly at the top of his game.
The Penguins benefited from another deflection after the second intermission as a pass from Marian Hossa to Crosby along the goal line bounced off of Scott Gomez’s skate and past Lundqvist, tying the game at three. The next goal was much prettier, however, as Malkin picked the puck up streaking down the left wing and dribbled it around in front of the net for a couple of seconds before flicking it to Petr Sykora, who had been robbed by the crossbar in the second period. The posts would not be able to prevent Sykora from scoring this time, however, as he just flicked the puck into the goal, putting the Penguins ahead for the first time all night, 4-3.
Gomez managed to redeem himself for deflecting the Hossa goal by picking up a pass from Jagr and firing it past Fleury to tie the game up at four. That was where the improbable ending comes in, as Crosby, who normally sets up goals, did the unexpected and took the one-timer, watching the puck deflect off of Malkin and behind Lundqvist for the final lead change. Fleury still managed to almost surrender the game, though, as he needed an assist from his right-hand post and a Ranger rebound to go over the net instead of in it in order to preserve the lead in the game-ending flurry (no pun intended) of action.
On Friday night, the Penguins showed that they have the skill, the toughness and the competitiveness necessary to win in the playoffs, staging one of the most impressive comebacks in the NHL this season. There can be no more question, now, even amongst all of the doubters who thought that the Senators were just a pushover. The Penguins are, officially, a legitimate contender for the Stanley Cup and they announced it to the whole entire world in a huge way tonight, taking attention off of the distraction that is Jaromir Jagr (or Sean Avery) and foisting themselves into the limelight in the best way possible.
Winning.
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