Game 22: 11/22/07: Penguins 6 - Senators 5 SO

After a day of giving feasting and giving thanks with close friends and family in America, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators put on a show in Ontario. Collectively they put up 10 goals, swapping the lead back and forth, and ending on the backhand of a very unlikely stick, that of Penguins agitator Jarko Ruutu.

Marc-Andre Fleury was in the net again for the Penguins after a dissappointing 2-1 loss to New Jersey the previous night. But the Senators scorers got to Fleury and the Penguins early, scoring twice on their first 9 shots, resulting in Michel Therrien pulling Fleury in favor of back-up tender Dany Sabourin.

Later in the first the Penguins recovered, getting goals from Evgeni Malkin and Ryan Malone, only 18 seconds apart, taking the game into the intermission tied up at 2.

In the 2nd the Penguins took the lead when Tyler Kennedy's turn around wrister surprised Senators goalie Martin Gerber.

But back came the Senators scorers, putting up another pair of goals in the 2nd period, from Heatley and Spezza, regaining the lead, 4-3. Early off in the 3rd the Senators added to their lead with a Christoph Schubert tally.

Once again down by 2, the Penguins offense fired back. Malone's second of the game put the Penguins within one. And after being knocked to his knees, Colby Armstrong found Sergei Gonchar stepping up from the blue line, who tied the game up at 5.

After a scoreless overtime the teams went to the shootout. Jason Spezza lead off the shootout for the Senators, and beat Sabourin to put the Sens up 1-0.

Erik Christensen was apparently stopped by Ray Emery, but a video review revealed that the puck had trickled across the line, tying the shootout at one a piece.

Fleury stopped Heatley, Vermette, and Fisher. Crosby and Petr Sykora were stopped by Gerber, and the game came down to the Penguins fourth shooter. To the face-off circle skated Penguins basher Jarko Ruutu.

Skating down the ice, Ruutu's deke opened Gerber's 5-hole, and Ruutu backhanded the puck into the net, completing the Penguins comeback against the NHL best Ottawa Senators.

Although the night ended on a high note for Ruutu, it is apparent that he has become a target of the NHL's officials, as he was called for 2 diving calls in the game.

Colby Armstrong, who has often found himself a healthy scratch this season, gave head coach Michel Therrien a couple big reasons to keep him in the lineup, mainly, 2 huge assists. The Penguins are always a better team with #20 on the ice, and he's a hard-woring forward who is badly needed with the absence of Maxime Talbot.

The Penguins (9-11-2) take on the Atlanta Thrashers on Saturday, and then will have a 5 day break before getting back into action at home against the Dallas Stars.

NHL Stanley Cup Final

It's taken a month and a half, but the Eastern and Western Conferences have dwindled themselves down to one representative for this years NHL Stanley Cup Final.

From the East, the Ottawa Senators. Lead by the deadly line of Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, and Danny Heatley, the Senators took down the best of the competition in the East and barely broke a sweat. None of the three series (Penguins, Devils, Sabres) went more than 5 games. They have played solid and smart in front of goaltender Ray Emery, who in turn has made the big save when needed.


Coming out of the West, the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks fought through the West, downing the Wild, Canucks, and Red Wings. Offensively, they have seen a consistent contribution from the all the members of the top 3 lines. In between the pipes, Giguere has played strong since returning late in the first round, posting a .930 Save Percentage.

The series should be a hard fought matchup. Both teams are play very smart hockey on both sides of the ice and have faired well on special teams. Of the two, the Ducks are by-far the more physical, which could become a factor. The Senators haven't run into a team as physical as the Ducks in the playoffs. Also working against the Senators is their reliance on the first line for scoring. If the Ducks could shut down Ottawa's top line, they could tilt the ice in their favor.

This should be a great Stanley Cup series and I'm picking the boys from Anaheim in 6.

Buffal Sabres (1) vs. Ottawa Senators (4)

The Senators have been the most exciting team in the Eastern Conference, handling both the offensive powerhouse of the Pittsburgh Penguins and the topnotch defense of the New Jersey Devils. And all with only dropping 2 games. Perhaps it's a few weeks early to be mentioning the Conn Smythe, but Daniel Alfredsson is certainly making a case. Spezza and Heatley are also playing well, and combined they have been the most potent line in the post season.

Buffalo came into the playoffs with the first spot, and heavily favored to represent the East in the Stanley Cup. And while they have advanced to the Conference finals, it has not been the post season the Sabres wished for. They've only played as well as they've had to, and instead of making quick work of the Islanders and Rangers, they dropped games and played far below potential. The Sabres need Chris Drury, Maxim Afinogenov, and Daniel Briere to step up and put goals on the board.

The bright side in Buffalo has been the consistent play of young starting goaltender Ryan Miller. He's played strong and kept them in games that he should not have had to. Ray Emery has also played well, but thanks to the Senators play he hasn't been tested, and if the Sabres can take the puck to the net hard, they may be able to crack him.

This is a great series, but I don't see it going past a game 5. Buffalo has underachieved, and as a result have had to play more games then Ottawa. Ottawa is playing great, and has been resting. The Sabres have the talented to beat the Senators, but I haven't seen it thus far this season. This may be Buffalo's best shot at a Cup, as in the off season they will face losing players to free agency, but I don't believe it's in the cards. Ottawa in five games.

Ottawa Senators (4) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (5)

In what maybe the biggest match up of the first round of the playoffs, the Pittsburgh Penguins, lead by league leading scorer, 19-year old Sidney Crosby, will face of with the impressive Ottawa Senators.

Both teams have the big guns. Ottawa is second in the league in goals, the Penguins are fourth. Danny Heatley finished second in the league in goals, and is a constant goal-threat every shift he's on the ice. The Penguin's don't have a pure goal scorer to match Heatley, but with the puck on Crosby's stick, his teammates become so much more potent.

In only his second year as a starting goaltender, Ray Emery has posted a .918 save percentage with a 2.44 goals against average. At the other end of the ice Marc Andre Fleury has been somewhat inconsistent this season. The Penguins don't have a very dominant defense, they'll need Fleury to step up in this series.

The Penguin's lack playoff experience, but they also don't have the pressure on them the Senators do. Canadian hockey teams are always going to be held to a higher standard by their media. On the other hand, the Penguins came into this year after finishing 29th in the league. At best, they were considered a bubble team.

There is a very good chance that, if this series get's ugly, Chris Neil and either Jarko Ruutu or Georges Laraque will drop the gloves.

I can't pick against the Penguins, my strict upbringing won't allow it. I've got the Pens in 6.