Pen's Tee Times Delayed...

If you are like me, I thought the Pens were dead in this series.  All of the strengths from the regular season started failing the Pens at the same time in the postseason ('cept scoring).  A team that boasted the 3rd best PK in the NHL, and a goalie that won the 2nd most games, lost the first three games of the series in a variety of ways.  Most of the reasons ultimately came back to team defense, special teams, and goaltending.

It seemed as though the Pens thought, "We have Sidney Crosby back in the lineup....now we don't have to play defense, and we will surely outscore all of our opponents...."  As most of you know, it looked like this series was going to work that way.  The Pens came out to an early 3-0 lead, and looked like they were going to cruise into the 2nd round.  Unfortunately, they started playing like they were going to cruise into the 2nd round, and the Flyers have the horses, a nice mix of young talent and veteran leadership, to skate with these high-flying Pens.  The first three games are history, and you know the results.

Glimpses of the meltdowns that occurred in the first three games started to show toward the end of the year.  After the Pen's 11-game winning streak was snapped by none other than the Flyers on March 18, the Pens rebounded with an 8-4 win over the Winnipeg Jets.  Only to follow that a few games later with an 8-4 loss to the Ottawa Senators.  Sound familiar to anyone?  The first three games of this series were a dreaded combination of poor PK, poor team defense, a lack of discipline, and a goalie in Marc-Andre Fleury, losing confidence because of the three prior points.  At many other times in the regular season, our mediocre defense was bailed out by some sparkling saves from the now veteran netminder.  Those same saves were absent in the first three games of this series.

Which leads me to last night's game where much of the same figured to happen.  The first period featured 7 goals, with the Penguins clinging to a 4-3 lead.  (Much of the same)  The Flyer's three goals sounded familiar as well.  All three were PP goals setup by a lack of focus and discipline from the Pens.  Two of them should have been stopped by Fleury, and it looked as though we were in for deja vu all over again.  Any Penguin's fan that felt good about being up 4-3 probably did not watch any of the series, as it seemed like any lead would not be safe. 

However, let's give our guys a bit of credit.  They are a proud bunch that have gone through tremendous adversity over the past couple of seasons.  They came out in the second and third periods and played 'their' game.  They cycled the puck.  They got to the net.  They agitated and irritated the Flyers.  They got on the PP and scored 4 goals, and kept their own emotions in check.  Fleury gained confidence each save he made, and finished the game with two shutout periods (his only other being Game 1, Period 1).  They capitalized on shoddy defense and turnovers.  Sound familiar?  It should to most Pen's fans because it has been the Flyer's calling card for the first three games of the series.

If only for one game, the Pens looked like the Pens we all expected, and the Flyers looked like the Flyers we all expected.  So, the series continues as fans wonder if this was an anomaly, or the beginning to something magical.  The only two things for sure are that the team put their summer on hold for one more game, and with each goal, save, successful penalty-kill, and win, the team and their fanbase start believing in the ultimate goal that seemed so distant on Sunday afternoon....