Keep the Faith

In honor of tradition/superstition, we don't recap playoff games until the Pens have won one game in the series.

That being said, Games 1 and 2 of this series belonged to the Red Wings, but if you feel like the Pens are done, you haven't been here before.

Last season, the Pens were physically, emotionally, and mentally dominated in each of the first two games of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

This year, they've fallen victim to some bad bounces and missed opportunities.

Detroit scored one legitimate goal in Game 1.

Letang rung a puck off the post in Game 1. Crosby and Guerin each rung a puck off the post tonight.

Justin Abdelkader has scored two goals that Fleury should probably have stopped. Those two goals have been the difference in the series so far.

If you're looking for something to pin your hope on, Evgeni Malkin supplied it for you by engaging in a round of fisticuffs with Henrik Zetterberg.

The game was over. The Pens were broken. Malkin's spirit was not.

Don't think that things like that don't go a long way in motivating the group of men looking on from the bench.

The Wings should be anything but comfortable with their two game lead in this series.

They are arguably the best team of the past decade, so chances are, they aren't comfortable.

Good teams know how to keep the pedal to the metal and finish off a weaker opponent.

The trouble is, the Penguins haven't been a weaker opponent thus far.

With the Penguins trailing two games to none, Old Lady Mellon awaits.

Remember the feeling you had last year when you had to watch the Red Wings parade the Stanley Cup around the Mellon Arena ice?

Each and every player on the Penguins' roster who was there remembers that feeling too.

The old cliche says that a team isn't out of a playoff series until they lose a game on home ice.

The Pens will put that theory to the test on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

Keep the faith, and don't stop believin'...

Let's Go Pens

BELIEVE

Thanks to Chris Benson for the solid YouTube. If that doesn't get you amped up, nothing will.

New playoff-edition episode of Yinz Luv Da Guins. Always a solid job there by Jim Shearer.



Wings with 21 shots on the Hawks in the first period tonight. No goals. Could be interesting.

Let's Go Pens.

Pens-Canes Game 4: RBSweep Center

Before the Eastern Conference Finals got under way about a week ago, there was a lot of talk.

People talked about how Eric Staal would prove to be an uncontainable force for the Pittsburgh Penguins' defense. He responded by registering two points (1G, 1A) in the series.

People talked about how Cam Ward was an elite NHL goaltender. He responded by surrendering more than five goals twice in four games.

People talked about how the Carolina Hurricanes boasted so much depth on their roster, depth that simply couldn't be matched by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Canes role players responded by remaining in Boston at the conclusion of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, well except for Jalen Rose, who made an appearance in Game Four to stick check Jordan Staal in the back of the knee right in front of an official in the third period with his team trailing by two goals.

People talked about how the RBC Center was such a loud and tough building to play in. Old Lady Mellon responded by farting in the RBC Center's general direction.

No words to even describe this.

People even questioned whether or not Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin could continue their assault of the NHL's playoff scoring race beyond the first two rounds. They responded by proving why they are the most lethal combination of players in the league.

After Bill Cowher took his metaphorical dump on the city of Pittsburgh before Game Four got under way, the Canes began their predictable push to score first.

Eric Staal made his first appearance of the series by swooping around the back of the net and sneaking a puck past Marc-Andre Fleury just over a minute and a half into the first period.

Caniacs were going nuts. The spit projecting from Cowher's chin probably soaked people 12 rows in front of him.

In the visitor's luxury box, Mario Lemieux looked on, knowing full well what his team had to do. And they did it.

Max Talbot made a great play along the right wing boards to direct the puck to Phillippe Boucher at the Canes' blue line.

Boucher fired a shot pass toward the net, where Ruslan Fedotenko directed the puck in behind Cam Ward who was more out of position than Cowher's red zone offense.

Ten minutes later, Cam Ward fell apart.

Talbot gained the offensive zone and created some space to the left of a Canes' defenseman.

Mad Max, who was at the end of his shift, threw the puck toward the net, most likely looking for a stoppage in play or a chance to get to the bench.

The puck hung in the air and Ward admired it like a Kordell Stewart Hail Mary. The difference was, this time, it wasn't intercepted. Whooooooooooo.

The puck glided over the glove of Ward and in to the back of the net to make it 2-1 Pens.

The Canes would push hard for the next 20 minutes, but Fleury would have none of it.

After a few unreal shifts by Malkin where he set up everyone on the ice in vain, Sidney Crosby and Billy Guerin decided to play a little game of two-man breakout.

Crosby gained the zone and downshifted along the left boards, coasting in on Ward.

Guerin drove the net hard down the middle of the ice.

As you can probably guess by now, Billy had no trouble beating the Canes' defenseman to the front of the cage.

Sid feathered a pass through traffic and Guerin tapped it home to make it 3-1 Pens.

After Carolina wasted away two power play opportunities, time began to run out on the Canes' hopes of extending their season. He didn't even have to perform the customary off-switching of his hearing aid, because the RBC Center had been silenced.

Maybe it's just us, but if you need an air horn in your arena to lead your chants, you are a joke.

"Does the Canes bandwagon stop here?"

The Capitals and Hurricanes both seem to enjoy the use of air horns at their games, probably because getting more than 12 people in D.C. or North Carolina to chant a simple phrase at the same time is next to impossible.

Joke Corvo hooked up Crosby at center ice, and the Pens killed two more minutes off of the clock.

Jalen Rose blatantly pickle-stabbed the back of Jordan Staal's knee in front of an official with less than eight minutes remaining in the game.

There's something to be said about winning with dignity, but there's a lot more to be said about losing with it. Chad LaRose has no idea what dignity is. However, he will get a pretty good idea what the word "FORE" means come tomorrow afternoon.

The Pens milked the clock until Paul Maurice had seen enough and decided to pull Ward for the extra attacker.

Talbot chipped the puck out of the Pens' zone to Crosby, who made yet another unselfish play at the opposite blue line by giving the puck up to Craig Adams, who sealed the deal with his second empty net goal of the series.

Alex Ovechkin doesn't give that puck up to a teammate, he tries to shoot it through the approaching defenseman. If you think otherwise, you aren't thinking. That's what separates superstar players from superstar team players.

As the final 90 seconds ticked off the clock, you were waiting for Mario to come out of his box and slap Bill Cowher in the face before leaving the building.

You can spit shine your shoes, 'cause the Pens are goin' dancing with Lord Stanley.

Final Score: Pittsburgh 4 Carolina 1

Series: 4-0 Penguins

- The next time someone tries to tell you Joni Pitkanen or Joe Corvo are quality defensemen, refer them to this series.

- There are rumors that if the Wings get it done against the Hawks tomorrow night, the NHL may consider moving the starting date of the Stanley Cup Finals to May 30 instead of the original June 5 date.

- The Pens became the first team since the 2000-01 New Jersey Devils to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals in consecutive seasons.

- The Pens also became the first runner-up team to make it back to the Finals since the Edmonton Oilers did it in 1983 and 84.

- All the words in the world can't commend Dan Bylsma and his staff for the job they have done in turning around this team. If someone told you the Pens would be back in the Finals when Bylsma took the reigns, you would have kicked them in the teeth.

- How unreal is Max Talbot? Aside from picking up two points in the game, he did so many little things right, things that go unnoticed outside of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That's what Max brings to the table every night. What a player.

- As opposed to last season, when none of the Penguins laid a hand on the Prince of Wales trophy, this year, Sidney Crosby skated the trophy all the way to the Penguins' dressing room after posing for a few pictures on the ice.

- In the coming days, you will hear a lot of talk about last season. That means absolutely nothing. Is there a desire for revenge? Sure. A need for retribution? Absolutely. But keep in mind that last season's crushing defeat to the Red Machine from Joketown happened last season.

This is a new chapter. A new beginning. New stories will be written, new heroes will be born, but all the while, last season will not be erased, nor will it be forgotten.

Who knows, the Hawks might rattle off three straight victories to overtake the Wings and set up a rematch of the 1992 Stanley Cup Finals.

So, until it is set in stone, enjoy this moment, Penguin fans, because in a few short days, war will be waged, and the greatest prize in sports will be on the line.

This is our time. This is the year that we Bring Back the Cup.

Let's Go Pens.

Pens-Canes Game Three- RBC(rosby)

There were many people, us surprisingly included, who felt that Cam Ward would at least push the Penguins to a five, or possibly six game series.

Those people have not been proven wrong yet, but they are on the brink of embarrassment.

There were also many people who felt the RBC Center would provide the Canes with the spark they needed to even up the series before heading back to Pittsburgh for Game Five.

The Pittsburgh Penguins posted five goals on Ward for the second consecutive game and took a commanding three games to none lead in the Eastern Conference Finals.

If you doubted Evgeni Malkin before now, all of your hesitance to crown him as an NHL superstar has been put to rest thanks to his performances in Games Two and Three of this series.

Geno once again took the game by the balls and proved the critics who said he disappears after the conclusion of the regular season wrong by toasting Ward for two goals and adding an assist in the Pens' 6-2 romping of the Canes on their home ice.

Matt Cullen, no relation to John Cullen, gave the Canes some false hope when he banged home the first goal of the game just four minutes into regulation.

The Pens responded by rattling off three goals before the end of the first period.

The second period saw both goaltenders stand their ground in an effort to give their respective team a chance to win.

Sergei Samsonov pulled the Canes to within one goal in the opening minutes of the third, but the Pens once again responded with three goals to seal the deal.

Jussi Joke-inen aided the Penguins in their winning effort by winning a faceoff and directing the puck into the open net, giving Craig Adams credit for his second goal of the post season.

A team has rallied from a three game deficit to win the series only twice in the history of the NHL playoffs.

The last time it happened was when the New York Islanders did it in 1975.

The Islanders opponent during that particularly rally... the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Don't get too comfortable, because this series is far from over, however, if you think there is any team in the NHL that can beat the Pittsburgh Penguins four times in a row right now, you are lost.

Let's Go Pens.

Pens-Canes Game 2: From Russia With Hats

The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night to take a two game lead in their Eastern Conference Final series.

In a game that was about as close to a must win as any Game Two can be, the Penguins stars simply shone brighter than those of the Canes, that is, if the Canes actually had any stars capable of shining. Whoooooooooooo.

Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby combined for four goals and six points. Geno registered the first playoff hat trick of his career.

Crosby and Malkin would have beaten any defensive pairing, and goaltender, in any arena, in any era with the way they played tonight.

Carolina simply had no answer for the two-headed monster.

Recapping everything that happened in this game effectively is an unreal task. And by effectively, I don't mean Associated Press-esque, that would be boring, dry, dull, lame, etc., not effective.

After Joe Beninati used the word "frivalous" and Bob Errey promptly threw up all over his television set, it was time for yet another night of hockey on VERSUS.

"That's a bunch of mularkey, Steiggy"

Crosby and Malkin traded goals with the Canes in the first period before the Canes added another marker to take a one goal advantage into the first intermission.

Max Talbot scored early in the second period on a rare breakaway slap shot. It just looked like Max didn't have enough left in the tank to take the puck hard to the net, so he loaded the cannon and fired away on Ward.

Chris Kunitz broke out of a goal scoring slump that had dated back to the end of the regular season, lasting 19 games, by tallying late in the period.

Patrick Maple Leaves scored early in the third for Carolina, and then it was time for Geno to put every crack and crevice in Old Lady Mellon to the test.

His second tally of the game broke the deadlock amidst chants of "Geno, Geno, Geno" from the white clad home crowd.

But it was his hat trick goal four minutes later that shook the rafters of the Igloo and brought tears to the eyes of his onlooking parents, Vladimir and Nikita, who have achieved quite the rock star status since arriving in Pittsburgh a few months ago from their native Russia.

If you're looking for some sort of re-enactment of Geno's third goal, stop now because you won't ever find it.

Well, unless you happen to score some time alone on the ice with Geno or Mr. Crosby sometime in the near future.

Crosby's backhand is the best in the world. Tonight, Malkin scored the second unreal backhand goal of his career, proving that his flip side ain't too shabby either. The other one is on YouTube, you can find it.

Tyler Kennedy... Kennedy added an empty netter to seal the deal on the Canes' hopes of stealing a game on the road to begin the series.

Neither goaltender looked particularly sharp tonight, but neither defensive corps did much in the way of consistently helping out their respect net minders either.

Say what you want about Jordan Staal not putting the puck in the net on a regular basis in the post season. Talk about how the Penguins need goal production from their third line to be successful.

Staal, Kennedy, and Matt Cooke have just shut down three of the best players in the National Hockey League over the past few weeks.

In round one it was Philadelphia's Jeff Carter who was eliminated from being a factor thanks in large part to Staal and company, with a little help from Marc-Andre Fleury's right toe here and there.

In round two, Alex "What's so special about Sidney Crosby" Semin disappeared from the Washington Capitals' lineup. Who matched up against Semin on a fairly regular basis? The Penguins' third line.

Now Eric Staal is quickly becoming the latest victim of his baby brother's unreal defensive presence.

Jordan had dominated in the face off circle, in front of the net, in the defensive zone, in the offensive zone, and has kept his big brother out of the goal column on each of this series' first two score sheets.

The Pens turned the puck over a lot in Game Two, which is somewhat disheartening for the third round of the playoffs.

If I were Dan Bylsma (pronounced BILE-S-MA, not BUY-ELS-MA, thank you Darrel Reaugh) I would sit down either Hal Gill or Philippe Boucher and go back to the 12 forwards, six defensemen lineup for Game Three.

It seems that trying to find ice time for seven defensemen is becoming more of a hindrance than a help, and now that Sergei Gonchar is back to logging his normal amount of minutes, having another forward in the mix (Pascal Dupuis or Petr Sykora) probably wouldn't be a bad idea.

Here's a shocker, however, I'm not Dan Bylsma, so everything I just said could be completely wrong.

The VERSUS studio crew compared Joni Pitkanen to Sergei Gonchar before Game One of this series.

It's evident now that that comparison would be the equivalent of comparing Joe Beninati to someone who is taller than five feet or Brian Engblom to someone who has regular monthly appointments at a barber shop.

Has Pitkanen even played in this series?

With two games in the bag, the red clad crowd at RBC Center awaits the Penguins on Saturday night for Game Three.

If you don't hate the color red after being bombarded with it in Washington for four games, you probably never will.

So until then, remember to keep a level head as a best-of-seven game series was never won after two games.

Let's Go Pens.

Pens-Canes Game 1: Eric Staal-ed

Cam Ward's ass is probably sore from all of the kisses it received before the opening game of the Eastern Conference Finals.

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

Eastern Conference Finals Preview

The Eastern Conference Finals are set to kick off on Monday night when the Carolina Hurricanes take the ice at the Mellon Arena to square off against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Needless to say, but if you want to hear about it, just ask any Caniac and they will tell you, the Canes are the underdogs coming into this series.

They were the underdogs against the Devils and Bruins in the last two rounds.

They've played the underdog card more times than Janet Gretzky hit on a 15 at the Blackjack tables.

Snore.

In case you haven't heard, Jordan Staal has a brother, and he plays for the Carolina Hurricanes.

The hype surrounding the Eric vs. Jordan Staal Brother match up is quickly becoming one of the most overused topics on every sports website on the web.

No one knows for sure how Dan Bylsma will opt to roll his lines, but if the Staals are on the ice at the same time, you will hear about it.

And by the end of Game One, you will be tired of hearing about it.

So, as Penguin fans, what can we find to dislike about the Hurricanes?

They did knock off the hated Atlantic Division rival New Jersey Devils and their dad/uncle goaltender in the first round. Cheers.

Then they did away with the top seeded Boston Bruins in the East Semifinals in dramatic fashion. Cheers.

Recently, Canes forward Scott Walker announced publicly that his wife is battling cancer. No matter who you are, or who you root for, cancer is something that affects or has affected everyone in the world in one way or another.

From the Pittsburgh Penguins community and the city of Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas, our deepest sympathies go out to Scott and his family during this time of hardship.

Weren't we trying to find ways to dislike the Canes?

Well, they are based in a Southern market, where ice is about as common as an empty pantry at the Bruce Boudreau residence.

They do have some savvy veterans on their roster that have been around the block before and know what it takes to win, and lose, in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Rod the Bod Brind'Amour wins face offs.

If someone is trying to tell you his value goes beyond the face off circle, tell them to shut up.

Sure, he is probably a great guy to have around the locker room, but on the ice, he should be a non factor.

Tuomo Ruutu, Matt Cullen, Eric Staal, and Jussi Jokinen make up the bulk of the Canes' offensive threat.

Cam Ward has blossomed into one of the hottest goaltenders in the National Hockey League since the All-Star break, and this series, like many others, will probably come down to whichever goaltender is playing at the top of their game with the greatest regularity.

By now, people know what Marc-Andre Fleury is capable of.

Say what you want about momentum and the ebb and flow of a playoff season. Each round in the Stanley Cup playoffs starts with a clean slate.

Momentum is established in Game One, not in Game Seven of the previous round. That's just the way it goes.

So don't be fooled by Caniacs claiming that they have everything going for them because they are coming off of such a dramatic win against a team that nobody was giving them a chance to beat.

That's old news.

This series, and everything that goes along with it, begins on Monday night.

The fact that Sidney Crosby has put on an epic performance thus far in the post season is irrelevant beginning at 7:40 PM on Monday night when the puck is dropped for Game One.

The VERSUS crew will try to dazzle you with predictions and "(Team Name) will win if's", but none of that really matters.

All that matters is the race to four... again.

Four wins gets you to the Finals, where it all starts anew.

It's important to keep a level head between series in the playoffs, but it's also important to never underestimate the opposition.

That being said, if someone would have told you the Pens would be facing the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals this past March, you would have laughed.

First because you would have told that person that the Canes would never make it out of the first round alive.

Secondly because you probably didn't think the Penguins would even make the playoffs.

An Eastern Conference Finals match up against the Carolina Hurricanes looks like quite a blessing for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Looks can be deceiving.

If you're expecting the Pens to come out and run over the Canes, sweeping the series in four games and resting up for the Finals, you have no idea what's going on.

Could it happen? Definitely. Will it happen? Most likely not.

Your gut tells you that there is no way that the Canes can beat the Pens in a best-of-seven game series.

Cam Ward tells you they can.

Keep a level head, hang on for the ride, and remember, Hurricanes don't blow... they suck.

Let's Go Pens.

Pens-Caps Game 7: The Red... Got Rocked

Firstly, whooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

Now that that's out of the way...

It has been said that Game 7's are where heroes are made. Well what happens if you were a hero before Game 7?

In our preview of this game, we made the statement that some Pens' fans were basing their playoff hopes on the fact that Sidney Crosby just would not let his team lose.

That might have been the first and only intelligent comment we've ever made.

The majority of people who planned on watching this game tonight thought they were in for a nail biting, grind it out, thrown down battle to the final buzzer, and rightfully so.

Instead, the swamp of Red, rivaled only by the rash on a two-year-old's ass, at the Bells and Whistles Center in Washington was taken out of the game in less than 13 minutes.

At the end of a series, people like to talk about series changing moments. This series had very few of those moments.

Not because it wasn't some of the best hockey in recent playoff history, but because the two teams were so evenly matched through the first six games.

Each team had won three games apiece, five games had been decided by one goal, three of them in overtime.

Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin had lived up to, and even exceeded the hype surrounding them in the media and amongst fans.

Simeon Varlamov came out of nowhere and looked like a seasoned veteran at most times, with the occasional shakiness of a rookie, and was getting the job done against the defending Eastern Conference Champions.

But in a series that includes so much talent, involves so much hype, and had played out so evenly, something had to give, right?

One moment, one player, one play would have to make a difference.

That moment came on Alexander Ovechkin's first shift of this hockey game.

AO got a breakout pass and was able to split Scuderi and Gill and waltz in 1-on-1 against Marc-Andre Fleury.

AO waited, deked, and went to the spot where he had beaten Fleury multiple times in the series, but this time, Fleury flashed the leather and robbed the Big Red Joke of a goal.

If that puck goes in the net, the bells and sirens and whistles and air horns and whale mating calls from Bruce Boudreau's wife in the press box all start going off at the same time.

The fans go nuts, the Caps' bench goes nuts, AO rockets himself into the glass before getting some celebratory Semin in his face.

Instead, silence.

Instead, it was the Pittsburgh Penguins' bench that was energized.

It summoned the feeling that every athlete who has ever been a part of a team has felt before. It is almost indescribable, but it's that feeling to reward your teammate, or back him up, for putting himself out there on a limb, or flashing some sort of brilliance that resulted in an awe-inspiring play. Everyone has their own definition of it, but you know the feeling.

MAF invoked that feeling in the guts of every one of his teammates.

After the big save, the game continued at a break neck pace. The Pens' third line got some looks at the net, Semin fired 24 shots off the glass behind Fleury.

After a Shaoaooaaooane (no one can spell his name right) Morrisonn slashing penalty, the Pens' power play hit the ice for the first time in the game.

You want to talk about playoff warriors, you talk about Sergei Gonchar, unless you're from Washington, then you just boo one of the league's top three defensemen right out of town.

Gonchar was not 100% tonight after missing two games due to the knee-to-knee hit by Ovechkin in Game Four. The fact that he was even on the ice shows you what he is all about.

Gonch took the puck at the point on the power play, and as he has so many times, lined up for a shot. Shifting all of his weight to his left leg, Gonch fired the puck toward the side of the cage. Boo that, jokes.

Sidney Crosby was on the door step to receive the shot-pass from the point. Sid directed the puck to his stick using his right skate blade and tapped it in behind Varla-soft to open the scoring. 1-0 Pens.

Before you could wonder if the Pens were going to slack off after getting the early lead, Craig Adams kicked you in the face and told you to shut your mouth.

Ruslan Fedotenko fed a crisp pass across the ice to Adams, who found the five hole on Varla-soft for his first goal in 42 career playoff games. 2-0 Pens.

After the two quick goals, Ojokekin tired to start something. He ran over a Penguin in the offensive zone. He created a turnover, but Rob Scuderi thwarted the attack.

On the next shift, Brooks Orpik ran into Semin along the far boards. Apparently Sergei Fedorov took exception to the hit and cross checked Orpik in the back right in front of the official.

As a veteran player, you just can't make that mistake. You hear people talk about controlling your emotions in big games, well, Fedorov has never heard that statement before.

The Pens rattled off seven shots on the ensuing power play, with their best scoring chance coming from two whacks off the stick of Miroslav Satan at the side of the net, but Varla-soft stood his ground.

After the kill, the Caps generated some momentum in the dying minute of the period.

#52 for the Capitals (does anyone know who that guy is?) whiffed on a chance at a wide open net near the end of the period and the Pens took a two goal advantage into the break.

You had a feeling that the Caps were going to come out strong in the second period. The Pens were going to have to weather the oncoming sto...

Billy Guerin scored to make it 3-0 Pens.

If Mike Green wins the Norris Trophy, the NHL should shoot itself.

Watch the replay on the Guerin goal. Crosby gains the zone and pulls up near the far circle. Green is "defending" Sid on the play.

Rather than getting his stick in a shooting/passing lane, stepping up on Crosby to pressure him, or even bodying up on the puck carrier, Green is caught admiring the action. Guess you can't really blame him for admiring Sidney Crosby when he has the puck on his stick, can you?

Crosby had more time than the Boudreau family at a Continental Breakfast and found Guerin coming late. Guerin also went undefended in the slot and fired a shot past Varla-soft to make it 3-0 Pens.

Less than two minutes later, Varla-soft's season came to a screeching halt.

Evgeni Malkin was somehow allowed to come to a full stop with the puck on the offensive side of the red line (Mike Green was on the ice) and sail a perfect pass the entire width of the ice to Kris Letang.

Letang skated into the zone and released a shot that would make the Beltway sniper take a second look.

Varla-soft never saw it. Neither did 99% of the people watching the game.

Letang knew it was in. 4-0 Pens. Goodnight, Simeon.

Jose Theodore hopped over the boards and took over between the pipes for the Caps.

Eight minutes into Theo's tenure as the Caps' goaltender, Crosby set up Satan in front of the net. Miro waited with the patience of Job, but fired a shot over the net.

Satan redeemed himself on his next shift when he made a sick play behind the net and fed a nifty pass to the oak tree that is Jordan Staal in front of the net.

Staal buried it for his second goal of the playoffs and extended the lead to five goals.

Brooks Laich got his stick into the face of Brooks Orpik, but nothing was called. Big break for the Caps.

With less than two minutes to go in the second period, Fleury misplayed a soft dump-in behind the net and AO took advantage by snatching up the loose puck and using his big toe-curve to whip it into the gaping cage.

5-1 Pens heading into the final 20 minutes of play.

A four goal lead in the third period might have you feeling pretty secure during a game in mid-November. But this is the Stanley Cup Playoffs. No lead is safe.

That is, unless Brooks Laich is on your roster.

Laich once again lost control of his stick just 26 seconds into the third period and headed to the box for four minutes after it caught Crosby in the chops.

The Caps tried to get something going shorthanded, but the Pens would have none of it.

Ojokekin tried to go one against the world, but had his pocket picked by Sidney Crosby.

Crosby took off all alone down the ice, deked Theodore out of his jock and went five hole to put the icing on the Capitals' cake.

6-1 Pens

Laich tried to redeem himself by scoring a meaningless goal a couple of minutes later. Fail.

Semin was dishing out cross checks at every opportunity he had in the final half of the period.

This is the same guy who asked "what's so special about Sidney Crosby? I don't see anything special there" at the beginning of the regular season.

Crosby shrugged off the comment, finished third in the NHL scoring race, led the league in playoff goals through the first two rounds, and led his team to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second season in a row.

Semin was invisible in this series. He fired more shots off of the glass than the rest of the Capitals' team combined. He also has a 3:00 tee time next Monday morning. Whoooooooooooooo.

The Pens were able to rest their big guns down the stretch and ultimately coasted to victory.

Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has just left Washington D.C.

Final Score: Pittsburgh 6 Washington 2

Series: Pittsburgh 4 Washington 3

As the series draws to a close, the Washington Capitals have a number of things to worry about.

Firstly, someone needs to contact Madison Square Garden to see if Mike Green ever left after Game Six of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. What a choke artist.

Secondly, the Caps' P.A. announcer should be getting a head start on his hunt for a summer job. Perhaps Mean Gene Okerland can hook him up with the WWE, or maybe the guys at PBR (Professional Bull Riding) are looking for some help.

Third, the Caps' national anthem singer needs to decide how he is going to put 18,000 people to sleep with his stunning rendition of the Star Spangled Banner now that hockey season is over.

Ted Leonsis might have some problems hitching a ride back to Baghdad, considering that the U.S. presence in Iraq has been on a bit of a decline recently.

Bruce Boudreau is scheduled to sign autographs outside of the Denny's in downtown Washington next week at 6:45 AM. A breakfast/lunch/brunch/dinner/midnight snack buffet will follow, but there won't be anything left after 7:00 AM.

Alexander Ovechkin is a hell of a hockey player. That became perhaps more evident in this series than ever before. It's just too bad this his integrity level rivals that of Manny Roidmirez of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Simeon Varla-soft might want to learn some English so that he knows what his coach is talking about when he says "stop the puck" in a big-game situation.

Perhaps the greatest sound you've heard all week was the silence that fell over the Bells and Sirens Center after the Pens mounted a five goal lead midway through the second period.

All jokes aside, well except the joke that is the Washington Capitals' franchise (1-7 all-time against the Penguins in the playoffs), this series was one for the ages.

The superstars lived up to their respective billings.

Tempers flared, emotions ran rampant, great goals were scored and spectacular saves were made.

But most importantly, the Red just god ROCKED!

Let's Go Pens.

Game 7: Live (or) Let Die

You woke up this morning knowing that it all could end today.

The losing streaks in December, January, and February, the dressing of almost two full lines of AHL'ers for a month of the season, the pleas to trade Ryan Whitney, the acquisitions of Billy Guerin, Craig Adams, and Chris Kunitz at the trade deadline, all could mean nothing after 60 minutes of hockey tonight in D.C.

Tonight, Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals comes to us from in the midst of all the bells, whistles, sirens, air horns, and cartoon character P.A. announcers of the Verizon Center in Washington.

The Caps were up 2-0 in this series. They had their chance to put it away. They failed.

The Pens erased the two game deficit and polished Washington off in Game 5 to take a 3-2 advantage in the series.

They had their chance to put it away within the confines of the ageless Igloo in Game 6. They failed.

Now, we're back to an even playing field. Both teams will be fighting for their respective playoff lives. Only one teams' head coach, however, will be downing massive amounts of fried foods during the intermissions.

You could wake up tomorrow with a smile on your face, wondering which team is next on the road to Lord Stanley.

Or, you could wake up and have to shave your playoff beard.

You might wake up with a few bruises you got while in a celebratory dog pile after the final buzzer tonight, but you won't mind, because your golf clubs can remain nestled neatly in the corner of your garage for at least another week or so.

Or, you might gaze at yourself in your bathroom mirror, you might even take a cold shower and then unknowingly walk out of your house and into your workplace stark naked.

Whatever is going to happen tomorrow, it all starts tonight.

If you're a Caps fan, you might be hinging your playoff hopes on the illegally curved blade of Alex Ojokekin.

Or perhaps you feel that Simeon Varlamov will work some more of his rookie magic and steal another game.

If you're a Pens' fan, maybe you're basing your hope on the fact that Sidney Crosby simply will not settle for a loss tonight. You talk about fierce competitors, you talk about Sidney Crosby.

Maybe you're aware of Varla-soft's play in the series, but you realize that Marc-Andre Fleury is well overdue to "steal a game".

Maybe you like to remind people of that Evgeni Malkin guy who has once again fallen relatively silent on the score sheet since dominating the ice in Game 3.

Whatever you're banking on, whatever you're hoping for, tonight's game, and this series, can only end in one of two ways.

The Penguins or Capitals will advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Not one, or both, or neither. One.

One team. One game. One goal: win.

Pens-Caps Game 5: Varla-soft

This is my first recap in what feels like forever. Let's just say that the end of another semester combined with the big screen outside of Mellon Arena and large amounts of frost brewed beverages have done quite a good job of consuming my game night activities.

For those of you who care, which is undoubtedly a number I could count on less than two hands, I apologize.

For those of you who don't: whoooooooooooooooooooo.

For the second time in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, the Pittsburgh Penguins pulled off a dramatic overtime win against the Washington Capitals.

In Game 3, it was pretty much a do or die situation. Tonight wasn't much different.

The Penguins now have a chance to close out the series at home on Monday night and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second time in as many years.

Alex Ovechkin has been at the forefront of a lot of discussions lately.

Was his hit on Sergei Gonchar in Game 4 a dirty hit? Should he have received a five minute kneeing penalty? Should he have been fined, or suspended? Will GEICO renew his contract for the "So Easy a Caveman Can Do It" commercials after this year?

Alex the Joke once again put the off ice distractions aside and did almost everything he could do to give his team the upperhand in this series.

After the first two games of the series, Penguins' fans who have never experienced the Stanley Cup Playoffs before began to lose hope.

People started believing that Simeon Varlamov was an elite goaltender.

People started believing that Ovechkin was too much for the Penguins to handle.

Then the Pens came home to the Igloo and did what they had to do: win two games.

They headed into the nation's capitol tonight without their best defenseman, but with all the momentum.

A five goal Penguin performance in Game 4 surely was in the back of the mind of Varla-soft tonight.

After 25 minutes of scoreless hockey, Jordan Staal capitalized on the rookie goaltender's rattled psyche by scoring his first goal of the playoffs five minutes in to the second period.

In the series, the team that has scored the first goal had lost every game until tonight.

In the midst of Bruce Boudreau downing his second five dollar footlong in the first two periods of regulation, Ovechkin responded with a goal to tie the game at one.

After a too many men on the ice penalty against Pittsburgh, Nicklas Backstrom netted a power play goal to put the Caps ahead 2-1 heading into the break.

Playing from behind on the road in the playoffs can prove to be quite a daunting task.

That being said, the Pens needed to even things up early in the third period if they were to have a legitimate shot at winning the game.

Ruslan Fedotenko didn't disappoint. Tank notched his fourth goal of the playoffs on a quick snap shot from the top of the left circle that beat Varla-soft to even the game at two.

Six minutes later, Staal drove the net and Tyler Kennedy shot the puck on Varla-soft.

A scramble ensued in front of the flopping goaltender, and former Capital Matt Cooke was able to wrist a slick backhander over the goaltender to give the Pens the lead.

Ovechk... I mean, the Capitals, weren't about to go down quietly.

Ovechkin scored at 15:52 of the third to even the game once again, and we would be headed for overtime.

Neither team looked ready to take any chances early in the overtime period, but superstar players don't wait for the other team to make a mistake, they create their own chances.

Evgeni Malkin did just that and generated a two-on-one rush up the ice.

Geno held the puck on the right wing while Tom Poti was caught in the middle of the two best players in the world.

Geno tried to slide a a pass across the ice to Sidney Crosby, but Poti went down on his stomach to prevent the pass from getting through.

If you've ever played hockey, or if you've been a fan for longer than a couple of weeks, you would know that Poti was responsible for preventing the pass across the ice. He had the right idea, but the hockey gods had other plans.

Geno's pass deflected off of the shaft of Poti's stick and the puck found its way between the pillows of Varla-soft to give the Pens the victory.

Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has just left the building.

Final Score: Pittsburgh 4 Washington 3

Series: 3-2 Pittsburgh

- Sergei Gonchar's absence was extremely evident tonight.

- The Penguins' 6-1 all time record against the Capitals in the playoffs should have been reason enough for Pens fans not to jump ship after Game Two.

- David Steckel had a chance to put the game away in the opening second of overtime. He choked.

- Mark Eaton's picture should be included after the definition of "solid" in Webster's dictionary. I dare you to find the last time this guy made a mistake on the ice.

- For all of the Caps' fans obsessed with the officiating in the series, the penalties were even at four a side tonight, whatever that is worth.

- Bruce Boudreau is a massive human being.

- See you on Monday at the Igloo.

Let's Go Pens.