Game 4 Was a "Must-Win," But Game 5 Really Means It This Time

I've been struggling to write a piece on game 5 tonight, but its kinda hard today. After finding every possible way to lose in games 1, 3 and 4, its hard to find legitimate reasons to keep watching. Blowouts hurt, because early deficits lead to stuff getting thrown at the t.v. Close games hurt, because afterwards, its like, "why did I get so excited and worked up? I just got so disappointed." Still, the black and gold blood flows through my veins, so games 1, 3 and 4 mean nothing to me. They are in the past, exactly opposite of where Lord Stanley sits. In honor of the future, and the slim possibility that the Pens make it out of the series alive, I will focus on all the positives that the Pens need to take into game 5.

So the game will be in Ottawa tonight. The Pens won their only game in the series in Ottawa, so that's a plus. I have never been a true disciple of "home field advantage" and the "effect of the crowd" on a game (unless said game is in Pittsburgh), but there is something special about going to another team's home, and really sticking it to their fans. Trust me, with all the sticking-to that Pittsburgh has gotten from the Sens, I can't say I'd mind really blowing out Ottawa tonight. While the Pens only had 24 shots last game, they still made it seem like there were more biscuits put on Emery. The Pens were able to keep momentum in the offensive zone, but Emery did a great job of stopping (nearly) everything the Pens threw at him.

Another positive: the sign at the top of this post. What is Bryan Murray's deal? Does he honestly have to dislike everything? I feel like if I was hanging out with Mr. Murray (which would never happen, mostly because of his weird lisp) and I offered him free money or something, the dude would probably find some reason to get mad at the Pens for it. His current bitch is that Gary Roberts is playing too physical. Except Murray would say that Roberts has been too "phythical."

Laraque's playing time has been real shady. I mentioned that he needed to play in game 4. I stand by that opinion, and feel that he should be in game 5 as well. This is like if the Steelers picked up, I don't know, Duce Staley, and didn't use him for 3 seasons (Oh wait...). The Pens played Nils Ekman, who played 2 out of the Pens' final 29 games, and he already mentioned that he will be ready for game 5. Uh, remember the way the Pens excelled down the playoff stretch? Didn't they mature to the point where they were actually competing for the Atlantic division lead (which they held, momentarily) and the #2 overall seed in the East? Was Nils Ekman in the lineup? No. Georges Laraque was in the lineup.

This game 5 analysis has started to shift from positive to negative real quick. So I'm gonna watch game 5, and support my team like it was any other game. The Pens have rallied from a 3-1 deficit before. And the coach pf the team they're playing this time has a lisp. So even in a 3-1 pit, there's still some hope for our Pens.

Something must be done about the recent 0 for 9 Power Play drought. With the talent on this Pens team, 0 for 9 is inexcusable.

Fleury, Rest Of Pens, Have Rough Playoff Debut

wow. that was a tough game to watch. the pens got dominated in every aspect of the game, and fell to ottawa 6-3. that score doesnt even do the senators any justice. ottawa did lead 6-1, before gonchar and crosby added "confidence-booster" goals in the waning moments. therrien and the team had been quick to brush off the teams youth and inexperience, but had to face the music after this one was over. therrien accepted that his team was tight, and crosby felt the team was watching rather than setting the early tone. both were understatements. the senators clearly came out with more passion, and were able to leave their mark on the game from the drop of the puck. andrej meszaros scored 1:37 into the game, and chris kelly added a goal only 5 minutes later.

despite giving up 6 goals, i cant place the blame solely on maf. mark eaton tipped a shot that was easily picked up by ottawa for an easy goal. laraque's intended drop pass to ruutu lead to a senators breakaway that resulted in an easy goal. the defense couldnt get the puck out of their own zone. the ottawa forwards were more physical than the pittsburgh defense. the pens couldnt handle simple passes and stick-handling maneuvers. daniel alfredsson was allowed to take hack after hack at the net, and the score would have been 10-3 if the ottawa captain quit missing the cage. ryan whitney struggled to a -2 rating. in case you dont get the point, i can keep going on about why the pens lost. maf looked nervous at the beginning, settled down for a bit, then imploded upon himself. as frustrated as i was, though, there were plenty more reasons for this loss rather than just the poor play of maf.

"apparent kicking motion." remember those words. any chance of the penguins swinging game momentum last night was crushed by the "war room" in toronto, who disallowed sidney crosby's goal in the opening moments of the 2nd period, which would have closed the ottawa lead to 4-2, after dany heatley scored only 15 seconds prior. colby armstrong crashed the net, and sid put the rebound past emery, thus revitalizing the pittsburgh bench. after talking to the "war room," the refs disallowed the goal, because crosby's sliding foot touched the puck before it scooted past emery. crosby took a legitimate shot with his stick, and was falling to his knees like he has done in the past. however, last night, crosby was right in front of emery, and wasnt trying to break his body in half as he crashed the net. he went from his knee to his butt, and the puck tipped the heel of his stick, hit his sliding foot, and went in. the thing that gets me, is we dont know if the "war room" has any bias against the kid. sid is legendary in the league for his lower body strength, and has been known to use his skates like 2 additional sticks. ive never seen a player protect a puck like crosby can, by passing the puck between his skates and his stick with such ease. if anyone in the "war room" (i cant stand that they call it that) has watched any of crosby in his first 2 seasons, they would know the kid's abilities. i seriously hope that the geniuses in toronto didnt hold this against crosby while making their decision to disallow the goal. i understand "apparent kicking motion," but sid actually took the shot with his stick, and as he was falling into the cage, his eyes were still focused on where the shot from his stick was supposed to go. "apparent kicking motion" is supposed to deter players from kicking pucks into the goal, not for overanalyzing a guy falling down while trying to make a legitimate shot. the pens beat the sens back in march after falling down 4-1, and crosby's goal could have sparked the turnaround in this 4-1 game. instead, any momentum was gone once the ref waved the goal off (to steigy and errey's surprise), and maf allowed 2 more goals before being benched for t-bo.

this is, in no way, critical of ottawa. they clearly won the game. they exerted their influence, and flat-out beat sid and company. hopefully the team can build off of the failures in game 1, and come out with more purpose on saturday.