Things looked bleak for a second straight game as the Penguins had another chance to close out their first round series against Ottawa after staking out a three games to one lead. After leading in game five on Thursday the Senators tied up the game and won in three over times to force a game six behind Leclair who replaced Elliott as their starting goal tender. Leclair and a plethora of blocked shots were the only reasons the Penguins did not win that game.

Game six looked bad as well for the Penguins as Leclair found ways to keep the Penguins out of the net. Even when he didn’t and with the help of on ice and league officials. With the Senators up 1-0 at 7:20 of the first period Mike Rupp pushed a puck to the net which was called no goal by on ice officials even with Leclair clearly in the net. Replays showed clearly that the puck was also in the net and well behind the goal line. However even league officials in Toronto refused to call it a good goal which just goes to show you that even instant replay cannot correct people unwilling to see the truth. Later in the game the officials would also call off a good goal scored after Malkin was tripped up into the goal tender claiming he interfered with Leclair’s ability to play the puck. Remarkably however there was no penalty on Malkin showing that the refs really knew that they blew the call.

The bad call on the Rupp goal swung momentum away from a surging Penguins team and by midway through the second Ottawa had expanded their lead to 3-0.

But the Penguins began to answer and Marc-Andre Fluery began to lock down the Senators and hold the fort in a manner reminiscent of last year’s series against Philadelphia. Pittsburgh was also down 3-0 in a deciding game in that series too before storming back to win.  Matt Cooke scored at 10:56 of the second to cut the lead to 3-1. Then at 7:03 of the third Billy Guerin fired a shot into the net from the circle as Leclair was playing without his goalie stick. Matt Cooke scored his second of the game at 12:24 of the third to tie it all up and Ottawa looked like they were just getting beat all over by a better team.

As time wound down and this game also headed to overtime there was no doubt that both teams hope for less than the previous three over time affair. And with up and down action it did not. There were saves at both ends made but it was Pascal Dupuis that beat Leclair for the winning goal less than half way through the extra period after being set up by Jordan Staal who brought the puck out from behind the Ottawa net.

The victory means a chance at either Buffalo or Boston in the second round and a couple of days to rest and heal after a hard fought series.

Notes:

The Penguins top line was pretty much neutralized in game six.  Crosby, Guerin and Kunitz were a combined -8 and Guerin’s PP goal was their only point.

The Senators tried to play it safe with a 3-1 lead in the third and learned that you don’t win games against Pittsburgh that way.  The Penguins out shot Ottawa 18-4 in the third and out scored the Senators 2-0.

The mood at the Igloo last night went from energetic to disappointment to frustration to jubilation to tense and back to jubilation over the course of sixty minutes of hockey in which the Penguins outlasted the North East Division leading Boston Bruins. Mark Letestu, who will probably be a permanent fixture for the Penguins at some point in the future baring a trade, which I think would be foolish, opened the scoring just 0:47 into the game as the Penguins stormed into the Bruins end on an odd man break. Tyler Kennedy fed the puck across the ice and to Letestu who buried a wristed over Miller and into the net for his first goal of the season.

There was energy that could be felt.

But all that changed at 5:15 of the first when the Penguins let in a power play tally by Derek Roy (12) to tie it and then an even strength goal at 6:03 by Thomas Vanek (17) to fall behind 2-1. Disappoint settled in and got worse as at 7:32 of the second Tim Kennedy (6) put the Bruins up 3-1.

Then came the show.

Three and a half minutes later after the Bruins staked a two goal lead on the defending Stanley Cup Champs it was Sidney Crosby (35) snapping a shot in behind Miller on the power play to cut the deficit to 3-2. Three minutes after that it was Jordan Staal (14) who buried the game tying goal. Three and a half minutes after that it was Crosby (36) again who beat Miller to give the Penguins the lead back on an unassisted goal.
Done? Ha! Not by a long shot! A minute and a half later Sidney Crosby (37) found the net for the third time in the period and for the hat trick giving the Penguins a 5-3 lead that had the Bruins reeling.

Pittsburgh and Buffalo played in each other’s end for much of the third period raking up 13 and 11 shots respectively. But the Penguins were holding until near the end. A power play goal with three minutes remaining by Jason Pominville (15) after a Sergei Gonchar tripping penalty made it a one goal game. Then the most bogus of penalties was called on Brooks Orpik at 17:56 of the final frame.

Orpik was nudging his man in down low with his free hand in the lower back and doing so both repeatedly and legally when all of a sudden the referee’s hand goes up, he points to Orpik calls a holding penalty on the defenseman leaving the Penguins to kill one final power play.

With Miller pulled and a six on four however the Penguins held the line and even got a face off down at the Bruins end of the ice at the end of it all to take the pressure off thanks to a puck played by a Bruins high stick.

Fleury played well enough to win the game despite a couple soft goals stopping 30 of 34 shots. The win was another important one for the Penguins who had to prove they could come from behind against a good team and a great goal tender and just one day after a grueling shoot out win against a struggling but still dangerous Detroit Red Wings squad. Pittsburgh (35-21-1, 71 pts) trails New Jersey by just a point in the Atlantic Division but the Devils have three games in hand over the champs.

Now it is a long layoff for Pittsburgh before playing on Saturday against the Montreal Canadians (25-25-6, 56 pts) who are 10th in the East and then a Sunday showdown in Washington against the best in the East Capitals (37-12-6 80 pts).

As snow fell heavily all over the east coast, a Fleury fell in Buffalo – a Marc-Andre Fleury. And it was mightier than any snow storm. Stopping 31 of 32 saves in 65 minutes of regulation plus over time, the Penguins net minder added two more in the shoot out to earn his 21st win of the season the hard way. Yeah, his saves were not always pretty and a handful were just down right lucky but Fleury put himself in that possition to be lucky all night long as the Sabres peppered him with shots and crashed the net regularly.

If Fleury has not secured his spot on Team Canada for the Olympics as at least the back up then something is oh so very wrong.

Despite a face paced second and third period with Pittsburgh and Buffalo each traded rushes up the ice it was the first period where both teams scored their lone regulation goals. Jason Pominville (8) buried a rebound off Fluery’s pad at 15:05 and Chris Kunitz (4) wristed a shot past Lalime with less than a minute to go.

In the shootout Kris Letang buried his chance to put the Penguins up 1-0 after Fleury stood tall at the other end of the ice. Then, a little controversy as on Crosby’s shot, Lalime went nearly entirely into the net with the puck somewhere on or under his body. The Buffalo goal tender shimmied quickly out of the the net and the puck dropped outside the line. No review was called or needed as Fleury stopped both the prior shot and the shot afterwards to end the game.

Buffalo, who leads the Northeast Division, was a good test for the Penguins who had just come off two bruising victories against the lowly Philadelphia Flyers. The Penguins are now 25-10-1 (51 pts) and just behind the New Jersey Devils, also 51 pts but who have two games in hand in the Atlantic. Both teams will square off Monday night in Pittsburgh for a showdown.

Notes:
The Penguins power play, which had shown signs of life lately, was 0-5 despite some good chances.

With the win in Buffalo, Pittsburgh is currently riding a 5 game winning streak after starting the month 1-1-1.

The Philadelphia Flyers are living up to expectations of many, myself included, that paid attention to how they built their team for this season. A floundering team that has lost a coach, the Flyers are in disarray without leadership and lacking too much in the talent department and are obviously living in denial. This isn’t the 1970’s and the whole Broad Street Bullies act doesn’t cut it today’s NHL.

Last night at the Igloo, the Flyers played a brand of amateurish hockey the likes of which has not been seen since the movie Slap Shot. After falling behind 1-0 on a Sidney Crosby (dare I say it?) power play goal, his 21st goal of the season, at just 3:30 of the first it was time for the goons to come out of their shells. First Arron Asham got a beat down from Mike Rupp. While both were still warming their seats in the sin bin, six seconds late off the ensuing face off Riley Cote tangled with Eric Goddard and could not do anything decisive in the scrap. Then, ten seconds after that Carcillo and Adams went for a dance. At the end of it all, and with the Flyers having successfully taken the Penguins entire fourth line to the penalty box, all the Flyers had to show for this childish display was nothing.

The penalty boxes overflowing, Bill Guerin (8) scored to put the Penguins up 2-0. The shot from Sidney Crosby squirted through Boucher’s pads and was laying behind him in the crease and Guerin just scooped it up and placed it into the cage with the blade of his stick.

The only sign of life that the Flyers exhibited was a goal midway through the first by Carcillo on the power play. The nail in the coffin however was delivered by Jordan Staal (9) who scored short handed three minutes later.

Staal added his second goal of the night (10th of the season) with 15 seconds left in the second beating Boucher with a wrist shot.

Ruslan Fedotenko (6) got out a shovel and finished burying Philadelphia with a third period goal at 12:17 and Evgeni Maklin (10) laid the wreath at 18:39 with a short handed goal.

Marc-Andre Fleury earned the win despite appearing shaky at several key moments during last night’s game and not having played in nearly a week. He ended the night stopping 26 of 27 shots and made some big saves as the Penguins improved to 23-10-1 (47 pts) and back into first place in the Atlantic ahead of New Jersey although the Devils have three games in hand.

Philadelphia fell to 15-16-1 and will host the Penguins Thursday night before the Penguins head off to Buffalo and then return home to host New Jersey.

Notes:

Scott Hartnell didn’t bit anyone during last night’s game.

The Penguins are 4-1-1 so far in December.

Despite their attempts to be tough guys, the Flyers at best netted only a draw in three fights last night while clearly loosing two of them. Oh and they got their rears kicked when they actually tried to play hockey too.

Judging by the way they are playing, the Flyers are trying to see if they can get a second coach fired before 2009 comes to a close.

After getting trounced by the Penguins on Saturday night, the Rangers wanted a little revenge. Pittsburgh put the previous game away with a third period explosion that New York just could not match and the Rangers got a little antsy, taking all sorts of foolish penalties trying to settle scores. Monday night however was their chance.

The Rangers strategy early seemed simple; shoot the puck from any angle on Fleury who was up to the task. But the Penguins had other plans along the lines of not letting the Rangers get even.

After a scoreless back and forth first period in which both Lundqvist and Fleury were on top of their games, the contest moved to the second frame where Marion Gaborik (20) scored early to put the Rangers up. But before the jubilation of the players and their home town fans ended Sidney Crosby (16) answered with a backhand shot and goal just ten seconds later.

Even though the second period ended in a tie with Rupp (6) scoring for the Penguins and Gaborik (21) notching another for the Rangers on a power play, you could see the blood in the water. In the third Pittsburgh needed only eight shots to notch another three goals and put the game away. One of those goals was by His Sidness (17) but the other two were all Michael Rupp (7, 8). It was Rupp’s first career hat trick in the NHL thanks to the empty net.

Rupp has long been known for his physical play and has been used in that role for years. But what is becoming apparent to everyone is that he has a keep nose for the puck and how to score too. He is quickly becoming a utility man for the Penguins playing everywhere and with anyone at various times throughout games.

While he and his fellow fourth liners, Adams and Goddard, have been turning heads with their aggressive play and almost scoring a number of goals making teams play them like they would a #2 or #3 line, Rupp has emerged as the current hot hand and versatile enough to do whatever the Penguins want of him.

The Rangers have struggled this season despite the addition of Gaborik and the loss dumped them to .500 on the season at 13-13-1. The Penguins however improved to 19-9-0 to keep pace with the Washington Capitals in the East. Thursday the Penguins return home to host the Colorado Avalanche who are 15-8-5 and in second place in the Northwest Division (4^th overall in the West).

Last night due to a snafu without our babysitter, I wound up taking my daughter to the Penguins game against the New York Rangers rather than my wife and 2 month old son. She is still toilet training and wearing pull ups which, with about 5 minutes left in the first she proudly told me she had wet through and needed changed. With the score 1-1 we got up at a stoppage in play and went to the bathroom. Just as I was finishing changing her the horn sounded and the crowd erupted letting the few of us in the mens room before the intermission rush that the Penguins had just taken the lead. Barely a minute later as I finished packing up the diaper bag the horn sounded again and the crowd erupted again. It was now obviously 3-1 Pens and as we walked out of the restroom the usher was watching the monitor above the door.

I asked who scored the last two goals and he informed me that it had been Crosby (13) and Talbot (1). I remarked saying it was about time because Valiquette for the Rangers had looked shaky for the 15 minutes of the period that I had a chance to watch. I said that there would be a lot more.

How right I was. Although apparently the hosts of the post game show on 105.9 disagreed with me and thought that Valiquette played well but his team had quit on him, it was obvious to anyone that was watching the game that the Rangers back up goalie was not playing at all well and would be no match for the Penguins now mostly health lineup.

But like the day before against the Islanders, a game which the Penguins let slip away, it was clear that the Rangers were not going to go quietly. Early in the second period Matt Gilroy (4) scored to cut the lead to 3-2. Then with 3/10ths of a second remaining in the period Mark Eaton (3) found the back of the net after the Penguins refused to just dump the puck and concede that a one goal lead headed into the third would be enough.

That was a good thing as just 0:33 into the third period former Penguin Michal Rosival (1) beat Fleury to make it 4-3. That however woke up the sleeping giant as the Penguins poured on the offense for the rest of the game. Sidney Crosby (14, 15) scored twice more for a hat trick on, surprisingly enough, a night where the free giveaway was hats and Dupuis (7) and Missssterrrrrrrrrrrrrr Tyler Kennedy (6) added two more goals for an 8-3 victory.

Marc-Andre Fleury stopped just 22 of 25 shots on a night were despite holding the net well he often looked like he was scrambling and uncertain.

Towards the end however the Rangers gooned up taking any Penguin they could find with them for a scrap. And of course Sean Avery had to get involved taking a solo fighting major, game misconduct and instigator penalty with just over six minutes remaining in the game to put the Penguins on the power play for the remainder of the contest. However the Penguins really did not seem all too interested in racking up more goals and were obviously content to control the puck and run down the clock.

It was all a sad spectacle from the Rangers (13-12-1) considering that they have a chance on Monday night to settle scores as the Penguins (18-9-0) visit them in New York.

Notes:
Chris Bourque was scratched to make room for Tyler (Mister) Kennedy in the starting lineup following his return from injury. Bourque is playing on borrowed time it seems with the Penguins. He plays hard and is aggressive but he has only managed 3 assists in 18 games and is a -4 with the Penguins this year despite playing along side of some of the premier players in the league. How much longer the Penguins keep Bourque on the active roster when there are other talents in the minors making a case for playing time is anyone’s guess.