In Game 1, the Penguins afforded Bruins center David Krejci (above, pushing a puck past Tomas Vokoun and Kris Letang) quite a bit free space. As a result, Krejci torched them for two goals.
They might want to avoid a repeat of that in Game 2 and beyond. Only one player has scored more postseason points this decade than Krejci.
It almost sounds like a bad spoof of the Dos Equis' "The Most Interesting Man in the World" advertising campaign.
He doesn't always fight, but when he does, he only prefers to do it in the postseason.
Evgeni Malkin has all of three official career fights and all three have occurred in playoff games:
-In Game 2 of the 2009 Stanley Cup final with Red Wings center Henrik Zetterberg. -In Game 4 of this postseason's Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with Islanders defenseman Travis Hamonic. -And in Game 1 of this ongoing Eastern Conference final series with Bruins center Patrice Bergeron.
(Note: The only other fighting major Malkin has received in his career came in a 2010 preseason game with Blue Jackets left winger Rick Nash.)
Malkin's selective nature with his fights has pushed him into a bit of history. Only two other players have recorded more postseason fights for the franchise:
5 - Pat Price, D.
4 - Troy Loney, LW.
3 - Colin Campbell, D; Kim Clackson, D; Paul Coffey, D; Bryan Hextall, C; Kris Letang, D; Evgeni Malkin,C; Tracy Pratt, D; Maxime Talbot, C.
2 - Russ Anderson, D; Matthew Barnaby, LW; Phil Bourque, LW; J.J. Daigneault, D; Jim Johnson, D; Ron Stackhouse, D; Rick Tocchet, RW; Bryan Watson, D; Tyler Wright, C
1 - Craig Adams, RW; Syl Apps, Jr., C; Colby Armstrong, RW; Bob Boughner, D; Michel Briere, C; Randy Boyd, D; Rod Buskas, D; Randy Carlyle, D; Blair Chapman, RW; John Cullen, C; Rene Corbet, LW; Sidney Crosby, C; Joe Dziedzic, LW, Bob Errey, LW; George Ferguson, RW; Bill Guerin, RW; Vic Hadfield, LW; Denis Herron, G; Randy Hillier, D; Pat Hughes, RW; Tyler Kennedy, C; Orest Kindrachuk, C; Georges Laraque, RW; Mario Lemieux, C; Ross Lonsberry, LW; J. Bob Kelly, LW; Chris Kunitz, LW; Gary McAdam, LW; Kevin McClelland, D; Larry Murphy, D; Matt Niskanen, D; Bob Paradise, D; Mark Recchi, RW; Gordie Roberts, D; Miroslav Satan, RW; Glen Sather, LW; Ron Schock, C; Jiri Slegr, D; Kevin Stevens, LW; Alek Stojanov, LW; Peter Taglianetti, D; Bryan Trottier, C; Ken Wregget, G; Zarley Zalapski, D; Sergei Zubov, D.
Additionally, Malkin is the 17th player in franchise history to record multiple official fights in the same postseason:
-Corey Crawford made 29 saves for the Blackhawks in a 4-2 win against the Kings in Game 2. Gibsonia native Brandon Saad and Patrick Sharp each recorded two assists for Chicago which has a 2-0 series lead. Tyler Toffoli led Los Angeles with a goal and an assist.
-Check out the placement on this shot by Chicago's Brent Seabrook:
-Hit of the Night: Kings defenseman and former Penguin Rob Scuderi on Sharp:
-A good look at the hit:
-Fire Ray Shero.
-During a third period scrum, Crawford went after Kings forward Kyle Clifford for jumping Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews:
-Happy 54th birthday to former Penguins goaltender Nick Ricci. A fifth-round pick in 1979, Ricci spent parts of four seasons with the Penguins. Never appearing in more than nine games in a season with the team, "Tricky Nicky's" NHL career amounted to 19 games with the Penguins and a 7-12-0 record. In the 1983 offseason, he was traded to the Maple Leafs along with Pat Graham in exchange for Vincent Tremblay and Rocky Saganiuk.
-Happy 30th birthday to former Penguins forward Chris Thorburn. Claimed off waivers from the Sabres prior to the 2006-07 season, Thorburn appeared in appeared in 39 games and recorded five points and 69 penalty minutes for the Penguins that campaign. In the 2007 offseason, Thorburn was traded to the Thrashers in exchange for a draft pick. He is currently with the Jets.
-Happy 59th birthday to former Penguins defenseman Wally Weir. Claimed off waivers from the Whalers late in the 1984-85 season, Weir ended his six-year NHL career by appearing in 14 games and recordeding three assists for the Penguins that campaign. He was released in the 1985 offseason.
(Photos:Cooke/McQuaid-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images;Kings/Blackhawks-Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press, Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images and Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press)
-Dave Molinari's recap from last night's game. "We have to do a lot of the same things. If anything, just eliminate a couple of mistakes and make sure our focus is in the right place. But I thought we did a lot of good things out there." - Sidney Crosby.
-The Associated Press' recap. ''They were a little bit frustrated and we just wanted to put the pressure on them. Good things happen when we do that." - Bruins forward Nathan Horton.
-Highlights:
-Matt Cooke hitting Boston's Adam McQuaid from behind:
-A good look at the hit:
-Boston's Brad Marchand boarding James Neal:
-Evgeni Malkin versus Boston' Patrice Bergeron at the end of the second period:
-A good look at the fight:
-Vokoun had issues with this puck:
-Crosby wasn't buying this call:
-Jussi Jokinen and Boston's Dennis Seidenberg went at it hard for this puck:
-Jaromir Jagr just being Jaromir Jagr:
-Boston goaltender Tuuka Rask wanted nothing to do with this scrum:
-Boston captain Zdeno Chara is tall:
-Malkin was hooked up here by Bergeron while trying to score on Rask:
-Hey, remember that game called ice hockey? We haven't seen much it actually being played here in a long time. They haven't played a game in Pittsburgh since last month technically.
-Consider this. Twenty-one years ago tonight, the Penguins won their second Stanley Cup title in Chicago. It was the first time in NHL history a season had extended into June. Tonight, the Penguins are opening a conference final on the first day of June.
-The fact that this series took a week to start is disgusting. Yes, they had to wait until the Western Conference final was squared away as both semifinal series in that conference went seven games. But there's no reason the league could not have started the Eastern Conference final on Thursday or Friday. The only reason they are starting it tonight is television.
-The league's decision to allow NBC (and CBC to a lesser degree) to dictate such a late start to this series shows a complete disregard to the players, fans and other folks who make their living through the sport such as team support staff, media and arena employees. The league only cares about placating its television partners. We understand that's the norm for all sports leagues. The NFL bends over backwards for the benefit of its television partners. But unlike the NFL, the NHL relies so much more on gate receipts for its income. The league should consider the interests of it's paying customers a little bit more when making a schedule.
-Even more outrageous is the decision to schedule Games 6 and 7 on back to back nights. That shows a complete disgregard for the well being of the players and the state of play.
-Speaking of outrageous ....
-That would be the one-time captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins showing off his unique playoff beard through his Facebook page. Either that or he's really jacked for the upcoming "Wolverine" movie and he cut his beard in tribute.
-JaromirJagr only has four assists in 12 postseason games this spring. He simply hasn't had the same connection with linemates Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand that he had in Philadelphia last season with Scott Hartnell and Claude Giroux. He's still a dangerous player and he always seems to produced against the Penguins. But he's also 41 and he just went through a meat-grinder of a 48-game season in 99 days. Where is he physically?
-Whatever his state is physically, it hasn't prevented him from his legendary workout routine. He took a twirl on the ice early this afternoon well after his teammates had wrapped up their morning skate:
-The key to this series will be how the Bruins' defensemen handle the Penguins' forwards. The Bruins have probably benefitted more from the long break between series than the Penguins in that their blue line was banged up from the quarterfinal round against Maple Leafs. They relied on some young players such as Matt Bartkowski and Torey Krug against the offensively-challenged Rangers in the semifinal round. The likes of Andrew Ference and Dennis Seidenberg needed a few days to rest up from some injuries which have kept them out the lineup. Ference is still questionable to return to the lineup tonight but Seidenberg appears set to be part of a shutdown pairing with captain Zdeno Chara. The Bruins will need Seidenberg at his best if they have a hope in this series.
-Faceoffs will also be key. The Bruins are a dominant faceoff team which has two left-handed (Gregory Campbell and Chris Kelly) and two right-handed (Patrice Bergeron and Rich Peverly) faceoff specialists they can use in any situation in any dot. They have an advantage in this area against the Penguins and they need to exploit it.
-Part of the Bruins' idenity is a strong forecheck. All four of their lines are aggressive in this area. That said, we're not sure they want to get into a wide open game with the Penguins which could expose their defensemen to the Penguins' forecheck. They might be better served in sitting back and allowing the Penguins bring the attack to them. They need to bog this series down.
-Simply put, Tuukka Rask needs to steal goals and games for Boston to have a chance. He has been okay most of these playoffs but he needs to be spectacular for his team to win. Rask has made key saves throughout this team's postseason run but he needs to nearly perfect.
-David Krejci leads the postseason in scoring but you probably couldn't pick his face out of a lineup. He has been one of the NHL's most consistent postseason scorers this decade. Since 2010, he is one of four players to score 50 or more posteason points. Despite that, he's never gets nearly enough attention. The hockey world will get to see him head-to-head against two former Hart Trophy winners this series.
-There are tons of story lines in this series. Jagr and the Penguins. Matt Cooke and the Bruins. JaromeIginla and the Bruins. Hopefully for their sake, both teams can ignore all that hype and just play some hard-hitting energetic hockey.
-With the Squirrel Hill Tunnel shutdown both ways this weekend, we decided to stay in town the entire day. We took a walk up to Duquesne's campus and took in the magestic view of the South Side from The Bluff:
-Cy Clark, AKA Malkinmania, is ready for Marchand:
-We don't even know how to comprehend this:
-Ken Wregget:
-The last man to score a playoff hat trick against the Bruins, Kevin Stevens:
-Jagr still has a few fans on hand:
-And some non-fans:
-Another former Czech Penguins/Bruins player, JiriSlegr:
-Jerseys of the Night: Since it is his 52nd birthday, we have to go with former Penguins/Bruins defenseman Paul Coffey:
-Warm ups:
-The Penguins' starters are Sidney Crosby, Pascal Dupuis, Chris Kunitz, Mark Eaton, Kris Letang and Tomas Vokoun.
-Their scratches are Beau Bennett, Robert Bortuzzo, Simon Despres, DerykEngelland, Tanner Glass, Dustin Jeffrey and the great Joe Vitale.
-The Bruins' starters are Patrice Bergeron, JaromirJagr, Brad Marchand, Johnny Boychuk, Zdeno Chara and TuukkaRask.
-Their scratches are Matt Bartkowski, Chris Bourque, Carter Camper, Jordan Caron, Kaspar Daugavins, Dougie Hamilton, Aaron Johnson, Jay Pandolfo, Wade Redden, Carl Soderberg and NiklasSvedberg.
-Jeff Jimerosn didn't need any time off:
FIRST PERIOD
19:36: Collecting a blocked puck off Boychuk from the left of the cage, Kunitz snaps off a backhander on net. Rask keeps it out.
19:15: Off a little pass from below the goal line by Dupuis, Kunitz has a chance in the slot but fans on the shot.
19:11: A tired Marchand tries to push the puck up the right wing but is stood up on a big hit by Letang. Marchand gets the puck out of the zone but pays a price.
18:43: Playing a puck from behind behind the net, James Neal braces for the on-rushing Milan Lucic. Both players are sent sprawling to the ice from the collision.
18:04: Chris Kelly lifts a wrister from the right wing. Vokoun kicks iout.
17:52:Krug snaps off a wrister from the left point. Letang blocks it. The rebound slides out to Adam McQuaid at the right point. He booms a one-timer wide to the far side.
16:57: Leading a three-on-one rush up the left wing, Jagr lures Eaton in and flings a pass to Bergeron on the back door. The timing is off and Bergeron can't connect with the puck.
16:06: The Penguins get the first power play. Pushing the puck up out of his own zone, Malkin is hooked up by Krejci at his own blue line. Krejci's stick poked out Malkin's left skate. That's two minutes. Crosby, Neal, Kunitz, Malkin and Letang take the ice.
15:33: Pushing the puck up the left wing, Crosy tries to force a cross ice pass Neal. Chara is able to block the pass but fails to control the rebound. Crosby sneaks behind him and jabs the puck on net. Rask keeps it out.
15:04: Off some perimeter passing, Letang chops a one-timer from above the left circle. Rask eats it up. Kunitz pokes at Rask for a rebound. Seidenberg takes offense and shoves Kunitz into the net.
14:35: Moving up the right wing, Malkin puts a wrister on net. Rask fends it off. Crosby swipes at the rebound but puts it wide.
14:15: The Penguins keep attacking. Malkin flies into the offensive zone and slips four defenders. He veers to the right circle and lifts a backhander on net. Rask fight sit off. The rebound hopts to Crosby int he right cricle. Crosby whacks it on net with a one-timer. Rask squares up and eats up the puck. Rask has been bit strong far.
14:04: As the power play expires, Paul Martin snaps off wrister from the right point which hits a body in front and deflects wide to the far side.
13:43: Off a drop pass from Lucic, Nathan Horton unleashes a heavy one-timer from above the right circle. It missed the net.
13:29: Off a drop pass from Krejci, Krug cranks a one-timer from above the left circle. Vokoun boots it out.
12:38: Settling a puck at the right point, Letang snaps off a wrister which bounces wide to the far side.
12:02:Lucic snaps off a pass from deep on the right wing for Krejci who can't get a clean handle on the puck and fails to get a shot off.
11:54: Fighting off a check, Neal deals a pass from the left circle to Iginla driving to the crease. The puck hits a stick and bounces away
11:46: Neal slams Seidenberg into the end boards.
11:37: The Bruins strike first. Ference pushes the puck into the offensive zone and deals a pass to Horton at the right point. Horton holds the puck and locates Krejci in the slot. Krejci takes the pass and cranks a slapper which squeaks through the five hole of Vokoun and trickles into the net. That may have glanced off Martin who was laying down in the slot for block. Not a good goal for anyone in a black jersey to allow. How you leave the leading scorer in the postseason that wide open? Horton and Ference get assists. Fire Craig Patrick Bruins 1-0.
10:39: The Bruins get their first power play. Bergeron pushes the puck up the right wing and flings it into the offensive zone on a dump in. Crosby waits a few seconds and stick his hip into Bergeorn who crashes into the boards in front of the Penguins' bench. Officials decide Crosby waited too long after Bergeron released the puck to make the hit and call him for interference. Martin, Brooks Orpik, Matt Cooke and Dupuis take the ice.
9:14: Brandon Sutter steals a puck off Krejci and pokes it down ice for a big clear.
8:45:Krug chips a puck in deep on the left wing. Before Lucic can get to it, Orpik reaches the puck and pokes it up the boards. Cooke is there and fling sit down ice for a clear to kill the rest of Crosby's minor. That was a big kill for the Penguins.
8:24: Getting loose on the right wing, Crosby chops a shot over the cage.
8:18: Martin takes a pass on the left point. he has a year to shoot and booms a slapper on net from above the left circle. Rask eats it up.
8:08:Marchand battles his way up the right wing an dlifts a wrister on net which Vokounfihts off.
7:37: Off a feed from Iginla, Malkin has a chance in the but he's hooked up by Bergeron while driving to the net. That's the second penalty Malkin has drawn tonight. This time he sends the Bruins' best defense forward to the penalty box. With the second line being a little gassed, the Penguins send out Maritn, Letang, Crosby, Jokinen and Kunitz.
6:55: Taking a pass at center point, Martin blast a slapper which is off the mark.
6:45:Letang rips a wrister from above the left circle which is blocked.
6:13: Niskanen rips a wrister from the left point. Rask kicks it out. Gregory Campbell clears the rebound down ice.
5:37: The Marchand minor is killed with little of a sustained threat by the Penguins.
5:12:Sutter races his way up the right wing an dlifts a wristeron net. Rasks fights it off and is able to recover the rebound.
3:50: Off a neutral zone turnover by the Penguins, Jagr pushes the puck into the offensive zone and lifts a wrister from above the left circle. Vokoun kicks it out.
3:04: Chara chops a one-timer from the left point. Peverly is in front and re-directs the puck. It hops up and strikes Eaton in the faces. He's hunched over in pain. Play is halted. Eaton takes a few moments to collects himself and appears fine. He heads to the bench squinting but doesn't head to the dressing room.
3:03: Orpik takes a poor penalty. He tries to leep up at the left point of the Boston blue line to keep a puck in. As it clears him, he tries to hold up Kelly at the blue line to prevent him from getting the puck. That's a pretty obvious attempt at interference. He heads to the box for two minutes. Martin, Murray, Adams and Dupuis take the ice.
2:15: Collecting a puck in the left wing corner, Jagr snaps off a pass to Krejci in the right circle. Krejci rips a wrister WEELLLL high of the cage. He has a year to shoot that but missed badly.
1:46:Sutter redirects a puck shot from center point on net. Rask holds it out.
1:09: Horton chops a slapper from center point well wide of the cage. Eaton is able to clear the puck down ice to kill off the rest of Orpik's minor.
0:30:Niskanen flings a wrister from the right point which Daniel Paille blocks.
0:03: Taking a pass at the right point, Niskanen booms a slapper wide on the near side, perhaps intentionally. It hits off the end boards and comes to Malkin on the left side of the cage. Malkin fends off Boychuk and jabs a backhander at the cage. Raski is swimming in his crease and gets juuuust a piece of the puck which trickles oooooh so close to the post and goes wide to the far side. Wow.
0:00: End of period. Bruins 1, Penguins 0.
FIRST INTERMISSION
-TuukkaRask was the story of that period. He saw a lot of quality shots and fended all of them off. He had a few fortunate bounces but he is the reason the Bruins have a 1-0.
-Technically, Krejci is the reason the Bruins have a lead as he scored the only goal. If the Penguins had afforded him any more free space that period, he could have qualified for his own zip code.
-EvgeniMalkin was outstanding that period. He was aggressive and had tons of jump in his skating. He drew two penalties as well.
-There was plenty of hitting in that period but it seems like each team could reach a second level.
-Vokoun can't allow a poor goal like that. Period.
-The Bruins did a good job at keeping the Penguins' power play to the outside. There weren't too many quality scoring chances in tight.
-Chris Kunitz had two good chances in the slot that period and failed to get a decent shot off.
-The Penguins have a 12-7 edge in shots.
-Malkin, Sutter, Marchand and Jagr each lead the game with two shots.
-Fire Craig Patrick.
-Chara leads the game with 11:07 of ice time.
-Letang leads the Penguins with 9:28.
-The Bruins have a 13-18 lead in faceoffs (68 percent).
-Kelly is 5 for 6 (83 percent).
-Jokinen is 2 for 4 (50 percent).
-Chara and Seidenberg each lead the game with two blocked shots.
SECOND PERIOD
19:37:Kunitz swats a one-timer from the right wing on net. Rask steers it away.
18:59: Crosby and d Marchand mix it up in the gate to the Penguins' bench. Crosby slashes Marchand who returns the favor with a cross check. No calls.
18:28: Chipping a puck in deep on on the right win. Cooke races for it with McQuaid and slams him from behind into the end boards. McQuaid appears to strike his head into the glass and falls to the ice in a heap. Play is halted. The Bruisn swarm Cooke. Officials break it up and send him off the ice. McQuaid is attended to by an athletic trainer who escorts him to the dressing room. Cooke gets a five minute major for checking from behind and a game misconduct. Kelly gets a minor for roughing. We'll have four on four for two minutes. Kennedy will serve Cooke's major. That was just a stupid play all around by Cooke.
1737: Neal drops Lucic with a strong sbody check int he right wing corner of the Penguins' zone.
16:28: Kelly's minor expires. The Bruins will have a three minute power play.
16:01: Murray eats a puck in the right wing corner. He draws in a few forecheckers and deals a pass to Dupuis in his own slot. Dupuis skates the puck out of danger and chips it down ice for a clear. What a play by Murray.
15:19:Krejci swats a one-timer from the left half wall. Vokoun fights it off.
15:00: Taking a pass on the right half wall, Krecji drives on-timer on net. Vokoun gloves it easily.
14:16: Lucic rips a wrister form the right circle which Murray leands down to block.
14:00:Krejci swats a slapper form the right half wall which Vokoun denies.
13:28: Kennedy returns to play. A huge kill for the Penguins.
12:33: Playing a puck chiped in behind his own net, Ference is run over by Dupuis who sent him to the ice.
12:24: Chasing after a loose puck onthe right wing, Shawn Thornton collects it and lifts a tricky backhander on net. Vokoun fights it off.
12:15: Neal hustles up the right wing, dodges a check by Paille in the neutral zone and lifts a wrister on net while using Seidenberg as a screen from the right circle. Rask eats it up.
11:33: Off a steal by Malkin in his own zone, iinla has a chance in the right cirlce but is tied up by Horton just enough that he pfails to get a shot off.
10:51: Peverly has a wrister form the right wing blocked by Kunitz
10:40:Jokinen leads a rush up the slot and leave a dop pas for Kunitz who lifts a wrister from above the right circle over the cage.
8:56: Another power play for the Penguins. Horton is called for slashing Malkin. Neal, Crosby, Malkin, Letang and Kunitz take the ice.
8:49: Off a faceoff win, Malkin ropes a wrister from the right point. Rask kicks it out. Kunitz is right there for the rebound and flings it off the near post..
7:46: Huge save. After Malkin and make a poor pass at center point, Bergeron is off on a breakaway. Letang tries to chase after him but is held up by Bergeron. Bergeron attackes the net and goes forehand but Vokoun forces him to shoot wide. Vokoun came up big there. Letang sold the interference by Marchand. Not sure how neither play got a penalty there.
6:56: The Horton minor is killed. The Penguins looked flat with that chance.
5:48: Campbell rips a wrister on net from the right half wall. Vokoun fights it off depite a lot of traffic.
4:52: Attendance is announced as 18,628. It is the team's 285th consecutive sellout.
4:22: Martin swats a loose puck at center point at the cage. Rask gloves it.
3:55: Pevelry appears to trip up Niskanen behind the Penguins' net. No call.
3:30: Boychuck drives a slapper from the left point. Vokoun hugs it agains his chest to prevent a rebound.
2:49: Dupuis spins an wips a wrister from the left of the cage off the outside of the near post.
1:42:Krug fligns a wrister from the left point which hits a skate an bounces just wide. Adams is able to settle the puck and play it out of danger.
1:36: The Penguins ice the puck then call a timeout to get a breather.
0:29: The Bruins take their own stupid penalty. Marchand shove Neal from behind into the boards of the Penguins' bench. Neal crashes into the boards head first. Bergeron is called for boarding. The Penguins bench, specifically assistant Tony Granato, is screaming for a larger penalty in the wake of Cooke's major and game misconduct. Malkin, Crosby, Kunitz, Neal and Letang take the ice.
0:18:Malkin hammers a one-timer from center point which hits of the left post. The puck bounces to the left circle where Leatng bachands it off the side of the cage.
0:04: Play is halted after Rask freezes a puck. A scrum develops. Kunitz and Peverly each get unsportsmanlike conduct minors.
0:00: The Bruins win a faceoff and clean the puck down ice to kill the rest of the period. Chara and Crosby jaw at one another after wards. A scrum develop at center ice. Malkin and Bergeron seaprate form the puck and drop the gloves. Wow! The larger Malkin wins the fight on points as he falls on top of Bergeron and throws a few punches afterwards. Neither player appeared to have their jerseys tied down. If that's the case, that should be an automatic ejection. Crosby and Rask chirps each other. A whole mess of penalties are called. End of period. Bruins 1, Penguins 0.
SECOND INTERMISSION
-Okay... that was an interesting period. Outside of a goal, just about everything happened. The Penguins seemed to be a little rattled that period mentally.
-Aside from being Matt Cooke, we're not sure what Cooke did to merit a game misconduct. A major would have been acceptable on that play. It seemed as if the officials reacted to McQuaid laying on the ice and the fact that it was Cooke delivering the hit.
-McQuaid did return after missing roughly eight minutes of ice tme.
-Chris Kunitz needs to borrow someone else's stick or something. His aim has been off quit a bit. He's fanned on a shot and put a few shot off the mark.
-Thee Bruins are doing a wondeful job at getting stick on shots and passes. Nothing clean connected for the Penguins.
The Penguins' power play has been just wretched most of the night.
-Both goaltenders were sharp in that period.
-The Bruins have benefited from a few good bounces tonight.
-The Penguins lead the game in shots, 22-17.
-Malkin leads the game with five shots.
-Jagr and Krejci each lead the Bruins with four shots.
-Letang, Chara and Seidenberg each lead the game with two blocked shots.
THIRD PERIOD
20:00: The Penguins will have 1:31 of power-play time on fresh ice but no Malkin or Kunitz.
19:26:Iginla chops a slapper form the left circle which Seidenberg blocks.
19:02: Playing a puck from down low on the left wing, Neal deals a pass to Morrow above the blue paint. Morrow chops it wide.
18:29: Marchand's minor is killed. Another wasted chance by the Penguins.
17:33: A backhander by Dupuis is fought off by Rask.
15:56: The Bruins hem the Penguins in their own zone and cash in. Winning a puck battle against Eaton on the right wing wall, Horton taps a backhanded pass to Krejci in the left cirlce. Krejci snaps off a wrister which Vokoun fights off. The rebound hops up into the air. As Letang and Vokoun get tied up, Kreci is able to poke the puck by Vokoun's left skate. The Bruins have dominated puck possesion thus far this period. Horton gets the only assist. Bruins 2-0.
14:48: Crosby snaps off a bachande pass into the slot for Letang who can't get a shot off as he's tied up.
14:07: A backhander by Dupuis fomr the left wing is blocked by the stick of Peverly.
13:02: Kennedy rips a wrister from the left circle to the far side which Rask kicks out.
12:09: The Bruins strike again and all but secure the win. Horton rips a wrister from above th eleft circlewhic is off the mark. Lucic collects the rebound in the behind the cage and snaps off a shot which Vokoun boots out. The puck deflects straight to Horton in the left circle. Horton rips the puck into the cage by the glove hand of a helpless Vokoun. Another ugly goal for everyone in a black jersey to allow. Lucic might have been attempting a pass of pads but Vokoun can't allow that rebound. And how do you leave Horton that wide open? Lucic and Campbell get assists. Bruins 3-0.
11:00:Kunitz snaps off a wirster from the left wing. Rask fights it off. Crosby swoops from behind the net and has a seemingly wide open chance with the bound but Rask is able doive ot his left and fight off the shot. Wow!
10:19: Chara booms a slapper from the left point which Vokoun fights off despite traffic.
7:47: On a partial two-on-oen against Letang, Kelly rips a wrister from the right of the cage on net. Vokoun kicks it out.
6:02:Niskanen fires a one-timer from the right point which hits a cluster of bodies in front. Sutter has a chance on the rebound but can't get a clean shot off.
4:44: During a television stoppage, ther eis a mass exodus towards the exits.
3:14: Stealing a puck on the right wing, Malin ela a pass to the slot. Nel and Iginla each have a chance but can't get a stick on the puck.
2:57: Neal and Horton get tied up at the Boston blue line after a collision. Nothing comes of it.
2:01:Dupuis picks up a loose puck in the slot and rips it on net. Rask fights it off.
1:50:Peverly drives to the net from the right wing and and attacks the net on his backhand. VOkoun holds it out. Crosby is sent off for slashing Seguin. Adams, Orpik, Murray and Jokinen take the ice.
1:30:Paille flings a shot form deep on the left wing. Vokoun kicks it out.
0:16:Ference cranks a slapper from the left point which rings off the far post.
0:00: End of game. Bruins 3, Penguins 0.
POSTGAME
-Welcome back to earth. After running roughshod over the Senators in the semifinal round, the Penguins saw what its like playing a high-end team tonight in a big way. The Bruisn outclassed them in so many ways tonight. Yeah, the Penguins had some shoddy luck with a few bounces, but there was no doubt which was the better team tonight.
-The Penguins were thrown off their game quite a bit through frustration. They simply couldn't possess the puck in the fashion they were used to against the Senators and for must of the Islanders series. The Bruins challenged all of the Penguins' puck carriers and made it difficult to shoot or pass. Anytime a Penguins player released a puck, there was a stick or leg in the shooting or passing lane which seemed to break it up. The Penguins need to do a better job of creating space.
-On the flip side of that, they can't give David Krejci, who is only the leading scorer in the postseason, all the freedom he was afforded tonight. He's such a dangerous player when it comes to postseason play. He creates a lot of space on his own just through his natural ability but the Penguins gave him acres of ice and he did a lot of damage.
-What an up and down game for EvgeniMalkin. He drew three penalties which led to power plays and looked electric anytime he had the puck in five on five play.
-The Penguins had a lot of quality scoring chances early on. THey just either couldn't beat TuukkaRask or had some shoddy luck. If they get a better bounce in the first two periods, this is a different game.
-Take nothing away from Rask. He was oustanding and he had to be early on. The Penguins put a ton of quality scoring chances on net and he was up to the task every time. He did more than put his team in a position to win this game.
-The Penguins' power play was just wretched. The Bruins have a decent penalty kill but we wouldn't confuse them with the mid-1990s Devils. That said, they did a good job of forcing the Penguins to the outside with the puck and limiting the chances they had in tight. The Penguins need to generate more down low.
-Tomas Vokoun was not sharp. But putting all of this game on him would be irrational. He needs to be better but so the defenders in front of him.
-It woudl be shocking if Matt Cooke receives any supplemental discipline for his hit on Adam McQuaid. The game misconduct seemed excessive. Even if Cooke has a well-deserved history in terms of discipline, there should not be any further action from the NHL.
-Sidney Crosby was vocal in his displeasure after the game with the officiating and essentially said it was inconsistent. Considering he had two minor penalties, it's not difficult to imagine why he felt this way. That said, any suggestion that the Penguins lost this game due to the officials would be absurd. They "earned" this loss.
-If there's one area of concern for the Bruins, it's the fact that they only generate offense from one line. The Nathan Horton-Krejci-Milan Lucic line was outstanding but it would be ideal to see other contributors.
-Andrew Ference looked pretty sharp for his first game back in a few weeks. His ice time was a tad limited at 17:25 but for a third-paring defenseman, he was more than competent.
-Faceoffs were a killer for the Penguins. They were dominated in the circle, 32-16 (67 percent).
-Maybe the long break between series did more damage than good for the Penguins. Either way, they were not very sharp in several aspects of the game.
-The one thing that did seem to go as planned as the physical nature of this game. Each squad finished plenty of hits.
-The Bruins led in shots, 30-29.
-Krejci led the game with seven shots.
-Malkin led the Penguins with five shots.
-Zdeno Chara led the game with 26:32 of ice time.
-Letang led the Penguins with 25:34.
-Patrice Bergeron was 10 for 16 (63 percent) in faceoffs.
-Jussi Jokinen was 6 for 10 (60 percent).
-JaromeIginla, Chara, Dennis Seidenberg and Torey Krug each led the game in blocked shots with three.
