PENGUINS 3
SENATORS 1
Thankfully, the Pittsburgh Penguins finally put the Ottawa Senators out of their miserable existence with a series-ending, 3-1 victory on Canadian soil last night. It was another dominant performance by the young Pens, who outshot the Senators 34-22 despite just four shots in the third period.
Of those 34 shots, Marian Hossa had nine of them, yet somehow managed to not score a goal. Despite his 0 goal, 0 assist performance, Hossa was awarded the third star, indicative of the strong all-around game that he played in Game Four.
But the real story of the night was the amazing Jarkko Ruutu goal at 15:28 of the second period, one of the "jump out of your seat" variety. It put the Penguins ahead for good, and was later supplemented by a Sidney Crosby empty netter with eight seconds to go.
The game featured another strong performance by Marc-Andre Fleury, who's really come of age in this year's postseason, stopping 21 of 22 shots.
This series was an important stepping stone in the progression of this young nucleus, but I was glad to hear that Sidney Crosby reminded everyone of the bigger picture. Obviously Sidney was never a member of the Pitt Panthers basketball team; he has his eyes fixated on the ultimate prize and that's about it.
The second round will be undoubtedly be tougher than the first, regardless of who the opponent will be. I'm pretty sure the unknown victim-to-be will also play like they give a crap (unlike Ottawa) which will make a much more entertaining series. The Senators were plagued by numerous injuries, poor morale, and one of the dumbest executive decisions made in the history of pro sports (the mural and decision to keep it). They can now begin their offseason tour of the world's finest golf courses, which was their true destination from the beginning of this series.
Notes:
--Gary Roberts missed his second consecutive game due to a groin injury.
--The Penguins will play either Washington, the New York Rangers, New Jersey or Boston in the next round.
--Who else was impressed at the eagle eye of Bob Errey calling the kick-in by Antoine Vermette?
--Since 1996, only one Stanley Cup loser has won a playoff series the next year.
--The sweep was the Penguins' first since they defeated Chicago in the 1992 Stanley Cup final.
--Ottawa went 10 minutes, 12 seconds without a shot.
--The Senators led the series for a total of 4:28 and were outshot 161-112. The final score of the series was 16-5.
--FSN is working on the demand for more HD.
--Was that Cotton Eyed Joe I heard last night? Somewhere, A.J. was smiling.--The PG's Empty Netters had a great crowd shot from outside Mellon Arena:
