FLEURY, PENS INCH CLOSER TO CONFERENCE FINALS

Marc-Andre Fleury raised his lifetime record to 15-5 in games following a playoff loss,  Dan Bylsma raised his to 10-2, Sergei Gonchar and Kris Letang provided the offense, and the Pittsburgh Penguins won a hard-fought 2-1 battle against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night. 

Fleury was clearly the story on Saturday night, following 48 hours of ridicule from the always-fickle Pittsburgh fans after his disappointing performance in Game Four.  But no one can complain about MAF's play in this contest, as he was only a fluky goal in the last minute away from pitching his second 2-0 shutout of the series.

Beyond Fleury, the story was the defense, which also doubled as the Penguins' offense on Saturday. Both goals and four of the six individual points came from the D, which combined with Fleury to create a nearly-impenetrable atmosphere for the Canadiens, whose only offense came from a Mike Cammalleri goal with 31 seconds left in regulation. 

As far as the offense went, Evgeni Malkin played a great all-around game, but had only an assist to show for it. Sidney Crosby was limited to one shot on goal, as his goalless streak continued in the series. Max Talbot, Jordan Staal, and Bill Guerin were all held without shots. And we can't even point the finger at chronic underperformers Alexei Ponikarovsky or Ruslan Fedotenko, who were both scratched. If this team wants to go even further into the playoffs, this is a unit that simply has to provide more production.

But the aftermath of a win is never a time for criticism. This was an extremely challenging game that took every ounce of effort from the Pens, and they pulled it out. I have a hard time nitpicking about much of anything. Fleury played better, Letang redeemed himself, and Guerin and Mike Rupp provided a presence in front of the net that had clearly been lacking. Because of that, the Pens sit just 60 minutes away from a third consecutive trip to the conference finals on Monday night, and there's no good reason to complain about that.

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IT'S A THREE-GAME SERIES

The Pittsburgh Penguins blew a 2-1 lead that they held for 36 minutes, self-combusting over a 1:33 span in the third period in dropping a 3-2 decision to the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night.

The Pens were all over the Habs early, quickly digging out of an early 1-0 hole with first-period goals from Max Talbot and Chris Kunitz, the first for each in this series. After two periods, Pittsburgh had a ridiculous 25-9 edge in shots, and a 3-1 series lead looked like a distinct possibility that was 20 minutes away. But things went sideways in the third period, when Maxim Lapierre scored a wraparound goal at the 2:07 mark and a Brian Gionta pass went off Kris Letang's skate and past Marc-Andre Fleury a little more than a minute and a half later. The Canadiens snagged a 3-2 lead that they would not surrender the rest of the game, and the series now shortens to a three-game variety.

The Penguins threw everything they had at Jaroslav Halak, but the tough Canadiens goalie responded by stopping each of the 20 shots he saw over the last two periods for the game's first-star honors. In all, the Montreal netminder made 33 stops, including more than a few of the brilliant variety. 

Conversely, Marc-Andre Fleury gave up an admittedly soft goal to start the game, one I'm sure he'd love to have back, and a deflection off a teammate's skate to account for two of the three goals allowed. But as I state all too often, you win as a team, you lose as a team. Whether Fleury is brilliant or average from game to game, the fact remains that Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have combined for just one goal in this series, a number that simply boggles the mind. The Pens are facing an opponent playing with house money and absolutely nothing to lose, mostly because no one expected them to get out of the first round. I think the Penguins will still win the series, but it's certainly going to take everything they've got.

As far as the injured Flightless Birds, Jordan Staal somehow ended up in the lineup and was a -1 with two shots on goal. Bill Guerin and Mike Rupp were both scratched due to injuries, a fact that no doubt had an effect on the lack of traffic in front of the Montreal net. But I strongly hesitate to blame this loss in any way on the guys who were banged up or absent from the lineup. This win was in the palm of the Penguins' hands, and they let it slip away. As a result, a rejuvenated Montreal team will come calling to Mellon Arena on Saturday night in a critical Game Five, and how the Penguins will respond could very well define the way this series will conclude.

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STAAL, RUPP, GUERIN UNCERTAIN FOR GAME FOUR

A bit of bad news for the Pens has just been released, as Jordan Staal, Bill Guerin, and Mike Rupp could all potentially miss tonight's pivotal Game Four matchup with the Canadiens.

 

Per the Pens' website, Staal is a gametime decision, Rupp is questionable due to undisclosed reasons, and Guerin is probably out and will likely return on Saturday for Game 5. Staal has not played since a tendon injury last Friday night in Game Two, and Guerin missed Game Three with an ailment.

For the Habs, Sergei Kostitsyn and Andrei Markov both missed the morning skate; Jaroslav Spacek did skate but his status for the game is still unknown; and Andrei Kostitsyn skated on a line with Scott Gomez and Mike Cammalleri.

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FEDOTENKO SCRATCHED, RUPP TO DRESS

Disco Dan is shuffling the deck for Game Two tonight, sending Ruslan Fedotenko to the pines, to be replaced by Pascal Dupuis on the second line and Mike Rupp on the roster. It's not a huge surprise, but it's pretty obvious that someone not named Fleury was going to be the sacrificial lamb for the tean's performance on Wednesday night, and Fedotenko fit the bill. It's also worth noting that Fedotenko scored seven goals in last year's Cup run and is a decorated playoff veteran; this was not your run-of-the-mill benching.

Rob Rossi compared the move to last year's benching of Petr Sykora, a onetime-teammate of Bylsma's in Anaheim, and suggests that the punishment could be subject to any forward not named Crosby, Malkin, or Staal. But whatever the case, Bylsma had to to something, because tonight is a crucial game by anyone's account, even if we're only one game deep into the series.

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PENGUIN NEWS AND NOTES

Doing what the Steelers couldn't, the Penguins managed to win the first two games of their post-championship campaign this weekend with victories over both New York teams. On Saturday, highly-touted rookie John Tavares had a goal and an assist for the Islanders, but Sidney Crosby reminded the world that he's Sidney Crosby and won it for the Penguins in a shootout. Enjoy the belated highlights (above) and fights (below) responsibly.

Mike Rupp vs. Tim Jackman

Jay McKee vs. Brendan Witt

More Pens news:

--Here's Dave Molinari's list of the top dozen regular-season games in Mellon Arena history. Kinda hard to pick 12 when you've got so many to choose from. [PG]

--Alex Goligoski lands on Scott Burnside's "10 rookies/sophomores to watch this season" list. [ESPN]

--Rob Rossi says the Cup hasn't dulled Crosby's edge. Hopefully that means no cries of "Cup Hangover" at any point this season. [Trib]

--A lengthy preview on the 2009-10 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins can be found right here. [Hockey's Future]

--Pens SuperFan Steve Mazefsky got to meet Lord Stanley and shares his experiences from this season ticket-holder's event. [Mazmania]

--And finally, here's a list that will generate many a-click: Five Reasons PensTV's Alyonka Larionov Loves Hockey. [Puck Daddy]

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PENGUINS SIGN MIKE RUPP

Meet your newest Penguin, 2003 Stanley Cup hero Mike Rupp. The Champs just signed the 6'5", 230-pound center to a two-year deal for $1.65 million.

Rupp had three goals and six assists in 72 games with New Jersey last season, so he'll be ticketed for a lower-level line. He's not much of a scorer, with 35 goals and 36 assists in 335 career games. But he does have 412 penalty minutes to look forward to. Curious signing by Mr. Shero, but it's beyond me to question his expertise at this point.

TSN Free Agent Tracker [TSN.ca]

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