The Confluence
Penguins hit Sutton where it hurts, in the Loss column, take Game Three
by Tony on 04/19/10 at 09:05 AM ET
Comments (7)
It’s certainly not the first time in recent memory that the Penguins have made a defenseman look foolish in a playoff series.
After all, they exploited the defensive liability that is Caps’ D-man Mike Green throughout their seven game series last season.
Last night, it was Andy Sutton’s turn. The Penguins didn’t exact their revenge for Sutton’s crushing hit on Jordan Leopold Friday night just yet. But what they did do is take advantage of Sutton’s shortcomings on three of their four goals in the Penguins’ 4-2 win in Ottawa.
Easily the most complete game for the Penguins, who regained home-ice advantage with the win. It was a pretty impressive combination of puck possession in the Sens’ zone and keeping the Sens from generating that many good scoring chances in their own end.
But back to Sutton, shall we?
It started quickly for the Pens, as Alex Ponikarovsky brought the puck down the right boards, locked, loaded, and basically could’ve had a hot dog and a beer while Sutton just stood there. That allowed Ponikarovsky to fire a hard wrister that Sens’ goalie Brian Elliott couldn’t stop for the early Pens’ lead.
Midway through the game Evgeni Malkin brought the puck over the Sens’ blue line directly at Sutton. Sutton did a fantastic matador impression in not checking Malkin but allowing him to continue to push the puck towards the goal, where Elliott gave up a juicy rebound that Malkin easily tapped into the goal and a 2-1 lead.
Not to be outdone, as the second period wound down Sidney Crosby applied a nice forecheck on Sutton and positioned his body to shield Sutton from the puck. Crosby quickly grabbed the puck, blew past Sutton and patiently waited until he was able to lift the puck to the top shelf over Elliott and into the net.
Of course, this series is far from being over. For as well as the Penguins played in winning Game Three, a Senators win in Game Four knots this thing back up and makes it a best-of-three series.
Some other notes:
- Nice to see Poni get that goal. I don’t think he’s played as badly as some have portrayed, but still it was great to see him score and give the Penguins that early lead.
- Speaking of nice to see, Jay McKee played quite the solid game himself filling in for Leopold, including a big check on Matt Cullen.
- Other than Crosby’s goal, the Penguins’ powerplay was pretty much ineffective, going 1-for-5. It’s obvious the Sens are focusing in on taking Gonchar’s options away at the point, forcing him to go to his left with Alex Goligoski. Give Gogo credit, he’s made some nice passes from the left point.
- Brooks Orpik blocked six shots last night.
- Has anyone seen Daniel Alfredsson?
Game Four is Tuesday night.
Filed in: | The Confluence | Permalink
Tags: NHL-Hockey, Ottawa+Senators, Pittsburgh+Penguins,
Comments
Has anyone seen Daniel Alfredsson?
I saw him get rocked by Crosby. Then he went all crazy on Orpik. I shouldn’t be surprised, as this is the same player that shot a puck at Niedermayer in the Finals a few years back. So far, the Pens have done a nice job keeping him and Spezza in check. Regin is going nuts. He will be this year’s David Steckel, as I will never forget who he is haha.
Sutton did look useless out there. He was a lazy pilon on Malkin’s goal, then looked like he didn’t want to get hit by Crosby on his goal. Other than Fleury’s bad goal late, there really wasn’t much to be disappointed about. If they can weather the storm in the beginning of Game 4 like they did at the beginning of the 2nd in this game, the Sens will probably tire out again and the Pens can take the game over.
Posted by pens fan in baltimore on 04/19/10 at 09:27 AM ET
Good point re: Regin, that guy is really impressing me….
Posted by Tony from Virginia Beach, VA on 04/19/10 at 09:28 AM ET
Tony, it’s cute and all when you try to get a little swagger, cockiness, and meanness in your threads (ala Chief); but it’s not really you. You’re too nice of a guy.
You should stick to be Tony. It’s a great ying to Chief’s yang.
Anyways, what is up with the Sens big guys? Talk about uninspired. They made the Red Wings look like they actually cared about yesterday’s game.
Posted by Red Winger from Sault Ste Marie on 04/19/10 at 09:41 AM ET
The game last night was the best Penguins performance of the series, and one of the best away games of the season. There’s still room for improvement. The Staal and Malkin lines can do even better, and the special teams play isn’t optimal. Perhaps a little anal to complain about, but it’s also encouraging that you can win convincingly and see areas of potential improvement. Like I’ve written a few times, the Penguins have a ceiling unavailable to the Senators. That being said, the difference in skill isn’t insurmountable if the play becomes sloppy and overly confident. Hopefully, the trajectory of improvement continues.
For obvious national reasons, I’m quite satisfied with the performance of Regin. He’s always had good hands and hockey intelligence, but the question mark was transition to the North American game, especially physically. Due to injuries he’s been able to establish himself on the Ottawa team faster than expected. There’s some playoff experience from the best Swedish league, but I didn’t expect him to overshadow Spezza, Fisher and Alfredsson. And, really, that can’t happen if the Senators want to succeed.
I’m hoping that Pittsburgh defeats Ottawa quickly and sends Regin home for the World Championships. Denmark could certainly use his help.
Posted by Moq from Denmark on 04/19/10 at 10:37 AM ET
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But ARE YOU AN EXPERT Tony ??
I’m Not an exoert, But I know a Terrible Big Orange Road Pylon masquerading as a NHL D Man when I see it !!
Alfie the Last time I saw him he was Kicking & Then Kneeing Orpik when he was down on the ice
Posted by Evilpens on 04/19/10 at 09:22 AM ET