Pittsburgh Explodes On Offense–Advances to Eastern Conference Finals
Yesterday’s game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals seemed like it was over before it even began. Washington came out listless and had every aspect of the game taken to them. Pittsburgh played with intensity and a sense of urgency, clearly something that the Capitals lacked. Pittsburgh exploded for six goals and chased Washington goaltender Simeon Varlamov from the game in the 2nd period after Kris Letang made it 4-0. Sidney Crosby scored twice and added an assist to finish the series with eight goals and five assists. He has now scored 12 goals this postseason, the most in the NHL. The Pens did a good job of shutting down Caps super forward Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin scored late in the 2nd period but it was meaningless as it came when Pittsburgh was already up 5-0. His goal was his 11th of the postseason. That made the reigning MVP the first NHL player since 1995 to total 14 points in a single series.
Pittsburgh’s 4-3 series victory after trailing 2-0 moves it closer to a second consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup finals, something the team last did in 1991 and 1992. As for the Capitals, this setback extends some dispiriting trends. They are 2-6 in Game 7s, including 0-3 against the Penguins and they have lost seven of eight playoff series against Pittsburgh — including four times after Washington held a two-game lead.
Pittsburgh will face either the Boston Bruins or Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference finals. They play their second-round Game 7 in Boston on Thursday night.
May 14th, 2009 at 5:48 am
Last night you saw the Pittsburgh Penguins undress and spank the Washington Capitals on the Capitals home ice. There went the home ice advantage. Being at home for the final game Capital players probably spent most of their free time answering phone calls from family and friends for tickets to the final game of the series. What a complete disappointment on how their last game of the season was played.
It seemed like they were in a fog and only went through the motions of playing. Nothing good could be said of their effort especially from rookie goalie Simeon Varlmalov who was mercilessly pull from the net after giving up 4 goals within 22 minuets of play. Pittsburgh well deserved the win by playing fast and hard hockey and finding the back of the net with ease. They played clean hockey without taking any penalties and being successful with the man advantage going 2-4 on the power play.