Senators goaltenders got beat on last night in Ottawa as the Penguins racked up seven goals, four against Elliott and three more against Leclaire.  Elliott was yanked after the score ran up to 4-0 and the sad part for him is that it could have been much worse had he not played as well as he did in the first period while keeping Ottawa in the game.  But even he could not hold back the Penguins attack as once again His Sidness racked up 4 points (2 G, 2 A, +3).  Cris Kunitz and Sarge added 3 points each and Evgeni Malkin added a goal in what could have been a rout had the Penguins not taken their foot off the gas and allowed four Ottawa goals.

They were almost pitty goals and it reminds me of the scene from the Princess Bride where the Fezzik (played by Andre the Giant) is fighting the Man in Black.  Outmatched and frustrated but not totally defeated the Man in Black/Westley/the Dread Pirate Roberts complains, “Look, are you just fiddling around with me or what?”  To which Fezzik responds, “I just want you to feel you’re doing well.”

Fezzik eventually loses because he fiddles around too much but last night the Penguins had an aswer for everything the Sens threw at them getting goals from E. Malkin (PPG, 11:50 – 1st) , S. Crosby (03:47 – 2nd) , M. Cooke (03:59 – 2nd) , S. Crosby (06:12 – 2nd) , M. Talbot (SHG, 12:38 – 2nd) , C. Kunitz (18:11 – 2nd) and J. Staal (PPG, 12:27 – 3rd)

Pittsburgh however needs to learn how to get a little more of a killer instinct as they got sloppy and allowed the Senators two five on three advantages which resulted in goals.

But in the end the final score still read Pittsburgh 7 and Ottawa just 4 with the Pens holding a 3-1 series lead.  Can’t argue too much with that.

Tomorrow I’ll have comments on the crucifixion and six game suspension of Big Ben as the NFL seems determined to make itself into a laughing stock of stupidity and idiots here in Pittsburgh, who are in a minority but really believe they are a majority with all their hearts, are still saying that the punishment is not enough.

Canadians fully expect their Olympic Team to accomplish nothing less than gold in Vancouver. Things could not have gone much further askew from plans so far. After needing a shootout to beat a Swiss team that could not win in regulation, it was time to take on the good old U.S. of A. in a game that if you asked any Canuck what the outcome would be they would have predicted a home team blowout.

When the dust cleared however it was the United States men’s team that put some hurt on the Canadians posting a victory by the final score of 5-3 thanks to an empty net and superb net minding by Ryan Miller who repeatedly stoned a relentless, but mostly ineffectual, Canadian attack. At the other end of the rink Martin Brodeur was pretty much off his game and could not hold down the fort.

Miller stopped 42 of 45 shots. Brodeur had trouble stopping 18 of the 22 he faced.

Sidney Crosby scored late to bring the keepers of the Great White North to within one but it was Ryan Kesler that iced the game in the final minute when the Canadians scrambled desperately for the tie.

The win gave the USA a perfect preliminary round in which they gained a full nine of a potential nine points. The only other team to do such was Sweeden. With tie breakers however the USA earned the top spot in the finals and a first round bye while Canada nestles into sixth and prepares to face Germany in the first round.

The Canadians want a rematch. And all they have to do to earn one is win. And of course so does the United States.

It wasn’t the Stanley Cup Finals but the Penguins and Red Wings engaged in a classic battle that was entertaining if not nail biting. Both teams staked out there game plans and each countered the others best laid plans. For the Penguins it was find Wings netminder Jimmy Howard and throw frozen rubber at him early and often. For the Red Wings, depleted by injuries all season, it was weather the storm and be opportunistic.

There was no doubt that Howard kept the Wings in the game. He faced a withering assault and assortment of scoring attempts of all types from slap shots to wristers to banging in garbage from the doorstep and stopped all but one of the 47 shots he faced in regulation and overtime. That one that he missed was on a Sidney Crosby (34) backhand late in the first. However with the help of some posts and what as at times utter chaos in the Detroit zone that was all the Penguins could muster.

The Red Wings however hung in there and after managing just 11 shots through the first two periods came to life for about five minutes in the third and scored the game tying goal midway through. That is the way the game ended after sixty minutes and despite having to kill a penalty in overtime, the Penguins and Wings moved on to the shootout.

Fleury had already been strong all game long, although he too had a couple fortunate bounces save his bacon, despite nursing a still broken finger on his glove hand stood tall in the one on one session forcing Pavel Datsyuk to miss the net on his shot and making a save on Jason Williams.

In the end it was the dynamic duo for the Penguins that made sure the game went on no longer once Fleury stood tall between the pipes. Kris Letang could not beat Williams but Crosby and Malkin both scored on their chances and it was Malkin’s shot, a soft push into the net after Williams was down and out that brought the crowd at the Igloo to its feet as the final score officially read 2-1 Penguins.

The win was important for the Penguins who are sitting in fourth place in the East and being challenged by surging Ottawa (31-21-4, 66 pts), who just beat the Penguins at the Igloo on Thursday night. The win against the Wings gives the Penguins (34-21-1, 69 pts) a three point lead over the Senators and keeps them just three points behind the New Jersey Devils (35-17-2, 72 pts) who are leading the Atlantic Division but also have two games in hand over Pittsburgh.

Tonight the Penguins though have to turn around again and do it all over as the Buffalo Sabres come into town. Buffalo is leading their division and third in the east at 32-14-7 and 71 points.

Ottawa had the unfortunate privilege of coming into Pittsburgh just two days after the Penguins suffered another humiliating defeat at the hands of the New Jersey Devils. After a game in which the Penguins literally handed Martin Brodeur his record setting shutout, the Senators had to know they were walking into the lion’s den.

Although it might all have ended differently if not for Marc-Andre Fleury. In the first period alone Flower had to face 24 shots and allowing just one goal. Leclaire, returning from injury for the Senators, faced just nine but also allowed a goal to Evgeni Malkin (11) on the power play to end the period tied at 1-1.

While it looked like a hockey game was afoot, what was about to happen is so horrific that young children, women and people with heart conditions are advised to look away. As the second period started a murder started to took place. The victims were the Ottawa Senator.

The period went like this:
1:03 Billy Guerin (10) – PPG and 2-1 Pens
7:35 Ruslan Fedotenko (7) and 3-1 Pens
11:25 Chris Kunitz (5) and 4-1 Pens
13:57 Billy Guerin (11) – PPG and 5-1 Pens
18:27 Evgeni Malkin (12) and 6-1 Pens

The bloody and beaten carcass of the Senators though still had life matching the Penguins 15 shots with 15 of their own but nothing to show for it due to a brick wall in net for the Penguins.

In the third the Penguins put the Senators of out their misery as Sergei Gonchar (5) added a seventh goal and Evgeni Malkin (13) capped off the hat trick for an 8-1 lead. Ottawa, in its death throws, added a late goal to make the final score 8-2 but died a short while after.

The crowd was ruckus late in the third repeatedly cheering for Billy Guerin to get more ice time in search of his own hat trick. After failing to finish on a couple opportunities however it was not meant to be.

Fleury finished the night with a massive 45 saves as the Penguins improved to 26-11-1 (53 pts) ahead of a Sunday match up with Toronto, one of the worst teams in the East at 13-17-8. Currently the Penguins sit in 4th place in the East in large part due to their inability to beat New Jersey who is in first place and also with 53 points.

Notes:
Craig Adams (-1) was the only Penguin to finish the game in the red when it comes to +/- rating.

Kunitz (1G, 3A) and Guerin (2G, 2A) both paced the Penguins with four points on the night.