Penguins can't dig out of early Game 7 hole
It had come down to this — one game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens for the right to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
And somehow, for a team that had every reason to be confident — they were reigning Stanley Cup champions, after all, with the experience of two Game 7s en route to the Cup last year and this one on their home ice — the Penguins spent the first half of the contest looking inexplicably tentative.
Captain Sidney Crosby, so thoroughly frustrated by the Canadiens' suffocating defense throughout the series, took a penalty for boarding just 10 seconds in. And the Habs did what they do best — waited for an opportunity and pounced. Defenseman Sergei Gonchar was a step behind in getting to a loose puck and, before goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury knew what was happening, Brian Gionta's deflection was trickling slowly over the goal line.
Just 32 seconds in, on its first shot of the game, Montreal had grabbed the lead. And it didn't get any easier for Pittsburgh, as forward Matt Cooke took a high-sticking penalty on the play and put his team right back on the penalty kill.
"As a coach, you anticipate playing in different scenarios, and I can safely say this is one I didn't anticipate," said Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma. "The way the game started, going on the penalty kill two times in the first two minutes of the game, it was not how I thought the game would play itself out."
And the nightmare just kept on coming for the Penguins. Later in the first, Montreal's Dominic Moore took advantage of Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik getting tangled up with Maxim Lapierre behind the net to cash in with the Habs' second goal. Orpik got back into position just in time to screen Fleury on the shot.
Early in the second, Montreal's Jaroslav Spacek, Tomas Plekanec and Mike Cammalleri played tic-tac-toe with the puck, with the Penguins putting up little in the way of defense, and Cammalleri fired his 12th of the playoffs behind Fleury. Less than two minutes later, the Pittsburgh power play — so good earlier in the series — lapsed and gave winger Travis Moen a break down the side boards, where he blasted a sharp-angle shot past the Penguins netminder.
Just 5:14 into the second period, on just 13 shots, the Habs were up 4-0. And Bylsma had seen enough of his Stanley Cup-winning goaltender to know that this just wasn't Fleury's night. In came backup goalie Brent Johnson. And, with nothing left to lose, it wasn't long after that the Penguins' offense finally showed up.
In an eight-minute span of the second, Pittsburgh's Chris Kunitz and Jordan Staal got on the board, closing the gap to 4-2. The Penguins started to play aggressively, crashing the net, creating shooting lanes, pressuring the Canadiens. They forced Montreal into penalties, including a cross-checking minor on shutdown defenseman Josh Gorges to end the period.
Suddenly, a Penguins comeback didn't seem out of the question, especially if they could score on the power play to start the third. But the Habs' team defense came through once again — and again, and again.
Pittsburgh swarmed around the Montreal net in the third, outshooting the Habs, 18-3, in the frame. But the Canadiens — led by blueliners Gorges, P.K. Subban and Hal Gill — blocked a total of 26 shots on the night to Pittsburgh's three. They collapsed in front of the net, limiting the Penguins' quality chances. And goaltender Jaroslav Halak continued his incredible playoff run, stopping 37 of the 39 shots he faced.
"We were feeling good, no question. We were feeling like we had an opportunity to take the game," said Staal. "And, again, they just kept smothering us and they did a great job. Our power play had a lot of great chances, and there were a lot of great saves, a lot of great defensive plays by them. It just wasn't enough."
"I think we all believed we could get back in that game," Crosby said. "Down two in the third, starting with the power play, it wasn't an ideal situation, but one that we didn't think was impossible. And I think our play showed it. As bad as we started, we did dig in in the second half of the game and really emptied the tank. It was a little too little too late, but we had our chances to get back in the hockey game."
At the start of this second-round series, it was tough to imagine the Canadiens finding a way to shut down Pittsburgh's top two world-class centers, Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the way they did to Alex Ovechkin in ousting the Washington Capitals in the first round. But that's exactly what Montreal accomplished, limiting Crosby to one goal and Malkin to two in the series.
"I really believe that it was a great team effort. Not only certain players; I think our defense did a tremendous, enormous job, but also our centers," said Canadiens head coach Jacques Martin. "When you face a team with Crosby, Malkin and Staal, it was a big challenge for our centermen and our forwards to try to shut these individuals down. I think it was done by a real great team effort, and that's the only way you can be successful."
And it didn't help the Penguins that — after playing a lot of hockey over the past three seasons, with two trips to the Stanley Cup Final and several players participating in the 2010 Winter Olympics — they also looked very much like a team that had finally run out of gas.
"I'm not going to sit here complaining about playing Stanley Cup Finals and Olympic gold medal games; that's a good problem to have and you've got to deal with it," Crosby said. "There are times when it's a grind, that's for sure, but by no means is that an excuse for anything. Those are great things to be a part of, and you've got to find a way to produce and be successful."
The Penguins will get at least a month's worth of rest this offseason that they haven't gotten over the last two years. And, when they reconvene next fall, the historic Igloo will be no more. Game 7 was the last hockey game ever played at Mellon Arena, which is set to be demolished as the team moves across the street to the brand-spanking-new Consol Energy Center.
"A lot of great memories here. This is a great building, always has been," said veteran Bill Guerin. "The [cramped] visiting locker room was a little tough to come into, but always a special night coming into Pittsburgh. Through Mario [Lemieux]'s days and [Jaromir] Jagr's days and Sid, some pretty special players have rolled through this building. I feel pretty lucky to have played here."
As for the Canadiens, after knocking off the NHL's top regular-season team in Washington and the defending Stanley Cup champions in Pittsburgh, the sky would appear to be the limit. No longer can this No. 8 seed be seen as a Cinderella team; as the Penguins can attest, this year's Montreal Canadiens are very much for real.
"In all three games that they won besides this one, we had a lead in every game and they just wouldn't go away," Orpik said. "It's easy to point the finger in this room, but they beat Washington and now they've beaten us. I think it's time to give this team some credit for what they've done."
