James Neal (3, 4) scored two goals, one with time running down in he third to tie the game, but in the end the Penguins lost last nights match against the Washington Capitals 3-2 in overtime. Neal has been proving that last year’s poor numbers after being obtained by the Penguins in a trade were perhaps just a fluke. Neal had been a 20 goal scorer for Dallas but put up only 2 goal in over 20 games for the Penguins last year. He has four goals in five games to start the 2011-12 campaign.
The Penguins avoided taking a penalty that lead to a Capital’s power play until the overtime frame. At that time it was Jordan Staal who got caught for tripping which lead to the winning goal for Washington. The Penguins with 41 shots on net for the game could not get any more than two pucks behind Vokoun. Then Penguins held the Capitals to just 19 shots and Brent Johnson made 16 saves.
The OT loss pushes the Penguins to 3-0-2 on the season headed into Saturday’s matchup with Buffalo.
There are a lot of idiots out there who think they know things about hockey. A lot of them came out of the woodwork after the Penguins and Islanders last met in what was a disgusting display of thuggery endorsed, clearly, by the Islanders organization. During that game everyone expected the “code” to be upheld and someone had to fight to avenge what Johnson did to DiPietro in the previous matchup (breaking his face in a fight and all). No one expected the debacle that occurred though.
Mario Lemieux, normally withdrawn from league matters, had some harsh words for the league after the league pathetically suspended Islander goon Trevor Gillies for a mere nine games after he deliberately hunted down Eric Tangradi, knocked him silly and then pounded on him while he was on the ice.
Here is a video of all all the “action” that night on the Island in case you forgot. At about 6:10 is where you see Gillies skate all the way across the ice to hunt down Tangradi:
During this scrum, the Islanders’ Haley then skates down the ice to confront Penguin’s goalie Brent Johnson to which Eric Goddard reacts by jumping off the bench to defend his netminder. Out of this entire incident THIS is what Islanders fans emailed me the most about and griped over; about how Goddard is such a “goon” that he came off the bench to defend his goalie against a player that skated all the way down the ice to seek him out.
Of course the fighting was not over. But it was enough for anyone that knows anything about hockey, which I will not accuse your typical Islanders fan of being such a person, that the behavior of the team from New York was pathetic.
Goddard, for jumping off the bench and defending his goalie got an automatic ten games suspension. The league decided that Gillies only warranted a nine game suspension for his actions. Islanders fans justified this whole sham of a game as revenge for what Johnson did to DiPietro, a man who as of right now gets hurt just looking at a hockey rink it seems.
Well then what is the excuse for Gillies last night then? Yes, fresh off his suspension for beating Tangradi in the back of the head, Gillies was back to head hunting against Minnesota’s Cal Clutterbuck? There wasn’t a Penguin to be found anywhere near the rink. Matt Cooke wasn’t even in the same state. But here is Gillies acting like a thug again.
What’s the excuse this time I ask again? Did Clutterbuck lace his skates in a way that drove Gillies into a fit of rage?
Fifty games. That was Gillies deserves. We’re not talking about a “repeat offender” here who plays on the edge and throws a questionable hit every 15 or 20 games. We are talking about a goon who, fresh off a nine game suspension for gooning it up on the ice, rushes back out on to the ice in his first game back to do it all over again. And while we’re at it, maybe the league should fine Garth Snow a cool million too since it is clear he is the mastermind behind this latest pathetic performance on Long Island.
There have been bad bounces a plenty for the Penguins as they now find themselves in a Game 7, winner take all match up with the Montreal Canadiens. Whether it is shots by Penguins players deflecting wide of Halak or clanging off the post, sticks missing pucks by a country mile with a yawning net waiting for the shot or pucks shot by Habs that seem to always find the net things have certainly not bounced the Penguins way. Which is why we are where we are. Forget the “mythical” Jaroslav Halak people keep talking about. The Penguins are beating themselves. Halak is not.
Halak’s weaknesses are well known by now. They are rebounds and the five hole. He is mortal. He bleeds. He can be killed. Get to the rebounds, shoot for the five hole and get a little offense from the defense and the Penguins win. Well, that is if Fleury shows up for Game 7.
Marc-Andre Fleury has played, well, good but not Fleury like in this second round matchup. Yes, most of the goals he has given up have been ones he should have stopped or have been fluke bounces but when push comes to shove tonight on the ice at the Igloo Fleury will have to find a way to end those all too frequent of occurrences. No excuses.
The defense can help by thinking about where they are throwing the puck in the defensive zone and making sure pucks get up ice onto the sticks of other Penguins. The offense can help out by not turning the puck over in the neutral zone and not pussyfooting pucks weakly around the offensive boards and ending any chance of sustained pressure. But in the end Fleury must rise to the occasion and get those flippers and his glove hand working in sync with his brain.
Fleury, and the whole team, must guard the cage he stands in front of like Spartans at the battle of Battle of Thermopylae in the movie 300. Although hopefully, I admit, with a slightly better outcome for the heroes tonight than death at the hands of the ravenous and barbaric enemy from the Great White North.
Fleury must be King Leonidas. He must hold the line. He must make the stand. He must declare that while he lives and breathes that no pucks shall pass. No one else will save this team from an all too early exit from the playoffs. Not Sid. Not Geno. Not even Mad Max Talbot. Not even the legion of 17,132 that will be sitting at the Igloo cheering the Penguins on.
Time to rise up Fleury. Time to be great. Time to become a legend.
Three games ago the Capitals were in command of their series against the Montreal Canadiens leading three games to one. Tonight they are thinking about what tee times they would like to start setting as they lose to the eighth seed in the east four games to three. Jaroslav Halak shut down Alexander Ovechkin and Washington while shining in net behind a Montreal defense that blocked shot after shot.
Both teams had goals waved off. For Washington a potential goal that would have tied the game at one was ruled no good after Halak was interfered with. For Montreal a goal that would have made it 2-0 was called back. But in the end the long and short of it is that Washington could not find ways to score needing only one win to close out the series and the Capitals folded earning them a new nickname in my book – the Washington Collapsibles. The team with the best record simply could not finish off an underpowered Montreal squad that limped into the playoffs.
Despite being out shot 42-16 the Canadiens netted the only two goals of the game as Marc-Andre Bergeron (1) and Dominic Moore (2) scored. The win sets up a second round match up versus the Pittsburgh Penguins and bringing up questions about whether or not Montreal can shut down a Penguins team much deeper than Washington. Ottawa proved that they could do it sporadically but not over the course of a full series.
Game 1 between the Penguins and Habs will be Friday night and a quick turn around for Montreal while Pittsburgh has been off since last Saturday. Whether or not Montreal can be giant killers yet again remains to be seen.
