The Penguins looked really good for part of the first period, especially that SWEET GOAL by Crosby to get the Pens on the scoreboard first!! But then it slowly went downhill when the Caps scored a tying goal then Ovechkin cashed in on the Pens two [careless] penalties giving them a 5-on-3 advantage.
Eaton's goal gave the momentum back to the Pens, but it wasn't long before it swung back to the Caps in the third after they scored the game-winning goal within the first minutes of the third period.
Caps rookie goalie, Varlamov, has now played in more playoff games than regular season games, but still somehow manages to look like a veteran and I'll give him credit - the kid is looking good and making some fabulous saves; however, my feeling is that he's currently on an "adrenaline autopilot" and I'm thinking it'll be catching up to him soon. The key I think is to shoot "up top" on him since most everything that he's stopped was coming at him right on the ice (even the one he made "THE Save" on). The funny part is that the Washington organization and a lot of the writers are referring to the two goals that the Pens did score as "soft goals" and I find this quite amusing -- they're giving the kid way too much credit. I'd like to consider this "rookie luck!"
I honestly thought the Pens kept the pace throughout the game even after momentum had swung the Caps way, so I'm not too concerned for the entire series and I believe the Pens will still take it. However, it won't be easy and now they'll have an uphill climb, but this team CAN / WILL DO IT. The big thing now is that they HAVE TO DO SOMETHING with their power play -- time and time again the power play is their downfall - it's just atrocious and they spent most of the time on power plays chasing after the puck instead of taking shots on net!!
Another factor in this game was the fact that one of our top stars, Malkin, was quiet throughout the game. Yes, he had an assist, but otherwise he was barely visible on the ice. This just can't happen with him especially in the playoffs - he's too important to this team.
I'm pretty confident that Game 2 will be a totally different story and our boys will be coming home with a win under their belts to tie up the series.
As a sidenote, NBC Sports is at an all-time high for the suck-factor as far as I'm concerned (I realize this isn't anything new) and I was almost forced to turn this game off about half-way through as I just cannot tolerate the announcing of the "Double-Douche Twins" (Pierre "Fee-Fee" McGuire and Mike "I Still Resent the Pens" Milbury) -- I just want to throw a brick at the screen, but being the huge hockey / Pens fan that I am, I just couldn't bring myself to do it.
Here are the highlights from Game 1:
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1 comment:
I completely agree with the coverage, as well as a lot of other things, NBC is slowly getting worse, I understand a ton of people may like it, but I believe the fans in Pittsburgh hate them. I think it is a cross between too many ex coaches who still think that they have a thumb on the organization or the love affair with trying their best to make a statement. I.E. Pee Pee McGuire calling Ovary the "great one" during game one replay of that weak goal of his. I guarantee if anyone else scores that easy goal, nothing really gets said.
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