Marc-Andre Fleury on the other hand, has flown relatively low, under the radar of the so-called hockey experts on VERSUS and NBC's version of Dana Carvey's twin brother from that Master of Disguise movie.
Uncanny.
In a series that most people aren't giving the Canes a chance to win, Carolina did little to change any minds in Game One.
Sure they only lost by a goal, but they forgot to come out of the locker room for the first 57 minutes of regulation.
Fleury stopped 23 shots in the winning effort while his counterpart Ward turned aside 28 of 31 Penguin shots.
Both goalies made their share of sensational glove saves, in particular Ward on Guerin and Fleury on some guy who never scored more than 15 goals in a season.
Miroslav Satan opened the scoring by coming out of the penalty box and taking a lead pass from Matt Cooke.
Satan deked Ward, Paul Marice's glasses, two chicks in the front row, and the entire town of Wilkes-Barre before he buried a smooth backhander to make it 1-0 Pens.
If there's one thing you've come to enjoy about the Penguins in recent years, it is their ability to maintain momentum after a big goal, and often put another one on the board relatively quickly.
Evgeni Malkin fulfilled your red light fantasies by taking a pass from Bobby Boucher and sailing a crisp backhander past Ward from the slot. 2-0 Pens.
The Penguins have played very few solid second periods this post season. The second period of Game One wasn't much different.
Jalen Rose got the Canes on the board around the 13 minute mark and Ward stone walled the Pens to keep it close heading into the final frame.
About halfway through the third period, Matt Cullen headed to the box and the Pens' power play hit the ice.
After almost a full two minutes of struggling to maintain possession in the offensive zone, the Pens finally settled things down.
Malkin to Crosby to Boucher. 3-1 Pens.
Gaaaaatoooooraaaadeeee.
With around two minutes showing on the clock, the Canes remembered they were down by two in the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals and started trying.
Brooks Orpik got an elbow up into the chops of some joke in the corner and gave the Canes the man advantage.
Ward left the net and it was six on four. Joe Corvo found the back of the net after his shot trickled through the pads of Fleury. 3-2 Pens.
The Canes kept pushing until Eric Staal made his first appearance of the game with under 30 seconds on the clock.
Staal was posted up outside the Penguins' crease and the puck somehow found its way through the net-front traffic right on to his tape.
Staring a gaping cage in the face, Staal choked.
The VERSUS post game crew had no idea what to talk about after the Penguins took Eric Staal out of the game.
Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has just left the building.
Final Score: Pittsburgh 3 Carolina 2
Series: 1-0 Pittsburgh
- Eric Staal-ed.
- Ward is a big deal. Fleury was a bigger deal in Game One.
- Anyone know the average age of the Canes?
- How rewarding it must have been for Miro Satan to notch his first goal of the playoffs after spending the last two months of the season in the AHL. Unfortunately, barring an injury or a total collapse, that probably means the end of the line for Petr Sykora this post season.
- Game Two: Thursday night, 7:30, the Igloo.
Let's Go Pens
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