After Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series with the Ottawa Senators, it was suggested that the Pittsburgh Penguins were lacking in focus, lacking the mentality needed to get to their game and, perhaps, lacking a certain amount of a healthy dislike for their opponents.
"If we didn't have that hatred and desperation, we should have it right now, with them beating us in our building, with the way they played against us," said Penguins coach Dan Bylsma.
With Friday's 2-1 win, Pittsburgh not only tied the series at a game apiece — they looked a lot like the Penguins again. After the Senators scored just 18 seconds into the contest, Pittsburgh shook it off and went on to dictate the tone of most of the rest of the game.
"Just because you score that early doesn't necessarily mean anything; in fact, sometimes it's a false sense of security for the team that scores it," said Senators head coach Cory Clouston. "But I don't think that was the case. I just think that they were ready to come."
And the Penguins did come at the Senators, getting the offensive-zone time around which their game is built and outshooting Ottawa 31-20. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury rebounded from his disappointing performance in Game 1 with a solid effort — no surprise, as he entered the game with a track record of going 8-3, with a 2.10 GAA and .931 save percentage, after a loss in the last two playoff years. They wore the Senators down with a hard-hitting contest, throwing a season-high 52 hits to Ottawa's 31; defenseman Brooks Orpik led the way with nine.
"We were third in the league in hits this year, so that's our game," said forward Mike Rupp, back in the lineup to provide some sandpaper after being a healthy scratch in Game 1. "They have physical players, big D and physical forwards, and I'm sure they were up there [in hits], too. So, it's two physical teams trying to get to their games, and that's being physical. If we could throw 50 hits every game in this series and wear them down, we'd be happy with that."
Pittsburgh also got nothing short of a spectacular performance at both ends of the ice from its captain, Sidney Crosby, who got his team on the board midway through the first period, danced behind the net on a late-game shift that ended in him setting up defenseman Kris Letang for the game-winner, and even played a little goal, diving to sweep out a shot by Senators defenseman Anton Volchenkov that was just about to cross the goal line midway through the third.
"It could've been anybody else; I was just kind of sitting there, waiting to see where the puck ended up, and it kind of sneaked through," Crosby said. "Luckily, Flower didn't try to move back or anything.
"I just tried to poke it through, and there was enough room to push it through the other side. It's split second, but 8,000 things are going through your mind."
"We knew he was going to have some success against us; it's impossible to stop him, especially every night," Clouston said about the Penguins' captain. "I thought he was the best player on the ice tonight and he showed what he's able to do. When they needed a goal, he made a big play. He obviously stopped one from going across the goal line. He was real good tonight."
The Penguins shut down Ottawa's biggest offensive threats, Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza, holding them to assists on young center Peter Regin's early goal. And, in a key moment in the game, Pittsburgh also managed to keep its composure after a crushing hit late in the first by Senators defenseman Andy Sutton on Penguins defenseman Jordan Leopold. Although no penalty was called on the play, it left Leopold immobile for several minutes and he did not return to the game.
"Obviously you don't want to see that happen. I don't like the play, none of us liked the play, but there's a fine line to walk in playoff time," Rupp said. "It's a long series and we've got a lot of games to play against these guys. Our main objective was to get the win."
And that's exactly what the Penguins did, outworking the Senators after being outworked themselves two nights before.
"I thought they had more urgency than we did," said Clouston. "I thought that they got pucks in deep and put some pressure on us. We didn't skate quite as well as we did the other night. I just thought they played with a little more urgency and intensity."
Now, as the series shifts to Ottawa for two games at Scotiabank Place, Crosby thinks the Penguins can benefit by simplifying their game even more for the road.
"It's two teams that want to play the exact same way. They want to get their D involved in the rush, they want to be quick, they want to be physical, both teams really want to control the puck," Crosby said. "So, it's a matchup of two teams looking for the exact same thing, and it's going to come down to who does it better."
