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Senators' Greening won Game 3 despite having 'pieces' of fiberglass in his face - 05-20-13

Written by Seth Rorabaugh on .

With deadlines having been eradicated due the fact Game 3 between the Penguins and Senators went into two overtimes, members of the media grumbled over the fact Senators center Colin Greening was not available to speak until nearly 1 a.m. earlier today. As it turned out he had a pretty good reason for being tardy.

Fiberglass.

He had pieces of fiberglass - small and large - embedded in his puffy left cheek due to an errant stick which struck him in the face during the early stages of what turned out to be a 2-1 win by the Senators thanks to his goal in the second overtime.

As hockey players tend to do, Greening downplayed the severity of the injury as well as his contributions to the important win.

Regardless of his humility, Greening's contributions to his team this series have been significant. He has been the only player in this series for either team to score in all three games and he played a big role in the Senators' success on the penalty kill the past two games.

Late last night this morning, Greening talked about his goal, his face and his play this series:

What happened on the goal?

“You always kind of dream of that growing up playing in the garage or something that you’ll be able to score an overtime goal in the playoffs. But to be honest, I have to give a lot of credit to [Senators forward Erik Condra] and [Senators defenseman Andre] Benoit. Condra made a great pass to Benoit. I got on net and luckily I was able to kind of shovel it under {Penguins goaltender Tomas Vokoun’s} arm."

Have you ever scored a bigger goal in your career?

“I can’t recall anything. It’s definitely up there. When it went in, I was overjoyed. Just given the situation, obviously if they win there, it’s 3-0 [in the series]. Now were at 2-1 with another game at home. You kind of put that perspective afterwards and you’re really happy for that."

What happened to your face?

"Unfortunately, I got a stick in the face. That’s why I was a little bit late getting out here. The doctors were just picking some fiberglass out of my face and they were sewing me up."

Were the pieces in your face when you scored?

“There was some small pieces. I had to come out of the game for I think it was five minutes or so and they picked out the big pieces.”

Did you have to get stitches?

"One internal and five outside."

When did it happen?

"It happened in the first or second period. I can’t recall. You play five periods, you lose track."

What do you recall on the game-tying goal by captain Daniel Alfredsson late in regulation?

“That was a great effort by Alfredsson. That really shows his leadership just to be able to do it on the ice and off the ice. That’s a huge goal for us … 30 seconds left. I guess because the identity of our team this year has been kind of the word ‘pesky,’ I guess we could use that word tonight.

How do you move on after this game?

"To be honest our coach in Binghamton [Ottawa’s AHL affiliate], he said something when we were in the playoff down there that resonated pretty well with me. He said, ‘Enjoy the win for the rest of the night until your head hits the pillow and then when you wake up tomorrow, it’s a whole new game.’ This is a good start for us. We have one more game at home and we want to take advantage of that."

How were you able to kill all six of the Penguins' power plays in Game 3?

"I think when you play a team numerous times, you start to learn their tendencies. With Pittsburgh, it’s hard to learn their tendencies because they have a lot of talent on their power play but there were certain things we had to critique from Game 1 that I believe we critiqued to Game 2 and there were even more things to learn [for Game 3]. We still have lots to learn in terms of the [penalty kill] but I thought we were successful tonight. To be honest, that’s what we’re going to need if we’re going if we’re going to be successful. Shut down their power play."

All wins carry the same weight on the scoreboard. Does this one have more weight from an emotional standpoint?

"If you look at the situation, we’re going into overtime. If we lose the game, we’re down, 3-0 which is tough to come back from in any series. We knew if we won the game, it’s 2-1. It’s a big swing there."

Why has your line with Condra and Jean-Gabriel Pageau been successful this series?

"I think it starts with myself and Condra. We’ve played with each other for three years now. He’s a really, really smart player. He makes smart plays. He’s good in the corners. If you look at the goal, he could have just thrown it on the net. But he made the play to Benoit to spread out the defense and that’s important. [Jean-Gabriel] Pageau, he’s stepped right in. It’s interesting with your first couple of games – I know I felt a little out kind of place when I first came out – Pageau came up … and played really, really well and he really hasn’t stopped since. He’s a great player. He gets to the soft spots really well. He’s gritty in the corners for his size. I think we just read off each other really well."

Having two days off between games is probably enjoyable after this game.

"I would agree with that. When you play almost five periods and you’re a little bit tired, you just want to take advantage of the time off. These two days off will help us recuperate and let guys get some treatment and get some fluids in. We’re looking forward to playing on Wednesday."

Why have you been able to get a goal in every game of this series thus far?

"I’m streaky when it comes to this type of stuff. I was just hoping to be good defensively. I find I take on different roles at certain points in the game. Luckily, I was able to kind of be the goal scorer tonight at the end. I’m happy to produce offensively. I consider myself to kind of to be a second-tier scorer. For us to be successful, I think guys like myself need to score."

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Empty Netter Assists - 05-20-13

Written by Seth Rorabaugh on .

Playoff Stuff
Penguins - Senators

-Dave Molinari's recap from last night's game. "You like to think you can hold onto the puck for the last 1:27, with a power play. That wasn't the case." - Dan Bylsma.

-The Ottawa Citizen's recap. Craig Anderson rebounds.

-The Associated Press' recap. "Alfie is one of the best guys in the game. We want the puck on his stick at all times.'' - Anderson on captain Daniel Alfredsson's game-tying goal with 29 seconds left.

-Highlights:

-Goal of the Night: Alfredsson's goal deserves its own clip:

-A good look at Ottawa's Chris Phillips celebrating the goal:

-Ottawa's Erik Karlsson knows how to use his skates:

-Pascal Dupuis hitting a post in overtime:

-Craig Adams > Jason Spezza:

-Happy times for the Senators:

-Brooks Orpik > Jean-Gabriel Pageau:

-Dan Bylsma speaks:

-Tomas Vokoun speaks:

-Sidney Crosby speaks:

-"It's frustrating. I thought the chances were there. We either missed the net or the puck bounced on us, or the goalie made a save." - Sidney Crosby on the power-play which went 0 for 6 in Game 3.

-”When it went in, I was just overjoyed. Just given the situation. If they win there, it’s 3-0, now it’s 2-1 with another game at home here. You really put that in perspective.” - Senators forward Colin Greening on his overtime goal.

-Welcome back Senators forward Jason Spezza.

-The pregame festivities:

-Hockey Night in Canada's pregame montage:

-After the Jump: The Bruins race out to a 2-0 series lead against the Rangers and golden times in Sweden.

Read More

Bruins - Rangers

-Torrey Krug and Brad Marchand each had a goal and an assist for the Bruins in a 5-2 defeat of the Rangers in Game 2. Boston has a 2-0 series lead. Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci each recorded two assist for Boston while teammate Tuukka Rask made 35 saves.

-Defensive Play of the Day: Check out this steal by Ryan Callahan which led to a determined breakaway goal:

-New York's Rick Nash scored his first goal of the postseason:

-Pass of the Day: Bergeron setting up Marchand:

-Rangers coach John Tortorella used some colorful language on national television yesterday:

-Bright times for Krug:

-Happy times for the Bruins. Not so much for New York's Michael Del Zotto:

-Boston's Gregory Campbell and New York's Derek Dorsett had issues:

-Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi was on the ice for all five Bruins goals.

-‘‘I don’t need to evaluate Henrik. We know what Henrik is.’’ - Rangers coach John Tortorella on goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.

-Lundqvist is dealing with "discomfort" in his left shoulder.

-The Rangers' power play is only 2 for 36 in the postseason.

Blackhawks - Red Wings

-Blackhawks forwards Michal Handzus and Victor Stalberg are expected to return to the lineup for Game 3 for Game 3.

-Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews better get used to seeing more of Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg in Games 3 and 4.

Kings - Sharks

-"I think this is his coming-out party. Nationally, people are starting to talk about him." - Sharks coach Todd McLellan on forward Logan Couture's postseason performance.

-"I think he's got to handle that. He can't be frustrated. That's a byproduct of being a great goaltender." - Kings coach Darryl Sutter on goaltender Jonathan Quick being fined for abuse of an official after Game 3.

Non-Playoff Stuff
IIHF World Championships

-Canucks captain/forward Henrik Sedin had two goals and an assist for Sweden in a 5-1 win agianst Switzerland in the gold medal match.

-Bright times for Sweden. Not so much for Switzerland:

-Members of Team Sweden donned golden helmets to celebrate:

-Happy times for Sweden captain Staffan Kronwall:

-The Swedes took off their lids for the national anthem:

-Handshake line:

-Disappointing times for Switzerland:

-Switzerland went 9-1 in the tournament and won a medal for the first time in 60 years.

-Sweden celebrated some more at an outdoor party on Monday:

-Ducks goaltending prospect John Gibson, a native of Whitehall, made 36 saves for the United States in a 3-2 win against Finland in the bronze medal match.

-Cool Photo of the Day: Gibson stretched out for this save on Finland's Petri Kontiola:

-Bronze times for the United States:

Penguins

-Happy 67th birthday to former Penguins general manager, head coach and Hockey Hall of Fame member Craig Patrick. One of the most important figures in the history of the Penguins, Patrick served as the team's general manager from 1989 until 2006. During that time, he directed the club to two Stanley Cup titles, one Presidents' Trophy, five division titles, 11 consecutive playoff appearances and 575 wins. Patrick also had two unsuccessful stints as the team's coach in 1990 and 1997. Overall, his coaching record with the team was 29-36-9. He is currently a senior advisor for hockey operations for the Blue Jackets.

 Norris Division

-Former Capitals forward Wojtek Wolski has joined Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of Russia's KHL.

(Photos: Penguins/Senators-Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images; Patrick Doyle/Canadian Press; Rangers/Bruins-Jared Wickerham/Getty Images; IIHF World Championships-Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty Images, Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images and Martin Rose/Bongarts/Getty Images

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Where's Empty Netters?

Written by Donna Eyring on .

He's in Canada, and so far that's the only explanation we have for why Seth Rorabaugh can't post to this blog. Until the tech guys figure this out, you can follow his blog posts here on PGPlus, where he's declared temporary squatter's rights to the Zeise Out Loud blog.

Update: 1:04 p.m. Seth's posts are back on the Empty Netters blog. Sorry for the detour.

 

 

 

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Penguins at Senators - Game 3 - 05-19-13

Written by Seth Rorabaugh on .

 

PREGAME

Hey, guess where we are:

-No not quite:

-We're in Ottawa ... or the farthest reaches of Ottawa. Scotiabank Place is very far away from the downtown area here in Ottawa. It's pretty much two exits past no where on the high way. It's shame because Ottawa has some lovely views such as this:

-And this:

-Jason Spezza returns to the lineup tonight after being sidelined due to a back injury since February. There seems to be a lot of excitement over his return and justly so. He did finish fourth in the NHL last season in scoring. That said, what can you realistically expect from someone who has had that much downtown. Spezza might be the most talented player on this team's roster, but he'll be rusty.

-Spezza's return along with the advantag eof being the home team will give the Senators an advantage in terms of match-ups. The Senators have had a heck of a time freeing their first line - tonight it will be Jakob Silfverberg, Kyle Turris and Daniel Alfredsson - from the Penguins' best defensive players in the first two games of this series. Presumably, the Penguins will have to focus a little more on the second line of Cory Conacher, Spezza and Milan Michalek a little bit more while the Senators will have the benefit of being the last change for a faceoff.

-The Penguins have a few changes of their own in store. Mark Eaton appears to be in for Deryk Engelland on the third defensive pairing along side Douglas Murray while Tanner Glass appears set to return on the fourth line with Craig Adams and Tyler Kennedy. Glass is in for the great Joe Vitale who appears to be dinged up. Glass adds a little toughness to the lineup to combat the likes of Chris Neil. Eaton offers a little more positional defense than Engelland can offer.

-Craig Anderson gets the start in net. We found that a bit surprising after he was chased by the Penguins in Game 2. Robin Lehner came in and gave his team every chance to win that game.

-Personally, this is our first game we've ever covered or attended in any fashion in Canada. We're really excited to see what this atmosphere will be like.

-Like we said, this place was two exits past no where:

-This place has a YMCA and a YWCA in it:

-If you ever have the chacne to get a smoked meat sandwich and poutine in Canada, we highly recommend it:

-Officially, Canada is a bilingual country. English and French are the official languages here. But Ottawa is somewhat unique in that it borders Quebec. It's pretty common to hear or read both languages in equal abundance:

-The ice:

-Towels will be given out tonight with Craig Anderson's image:

-ScotiaBank Place during the Senators' warm-ups:

-This is pretty cool. Stanley Cup banners for the original Ottawa Senators franchise are on display:

-There are a few Penguins fans here:

-The WiFi connection here is  attrocious. Even worse than Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. We'll try to keep things as up to date as possible. Please bear with us. Pregame photos will take a while to post.

-Antoine Vermette:

-Jesse Winchester:

-Mike Fisher:

-Jason Spezza All-Star:

 -Spezza's original number, 39:

-We believe Chris Neil's head was used to mold this giant Daniel Alfredsson bobblehead:

-They do things right here at ScotiaBank Place. Here, they have an actual Tim Horton's store in the building. Consol Energy Center could barely provide a kiosk for Tim Hortons:

-There are plenty of Penguins fans here. Sidney Crosby:

-Jarome Iginla is popular in Penguins and Flames form:

 -Mario Lemieux:

-Freedom Candy - AKA Brooks Orpik Team USA - has invaded the North:

-Brooks Orpik:

-And of course, there a Tie Domi Maple Leafs fan here:

-We dig this Johnny Bower Maple Leafs fan:

-Craig Anderson

-Sweet Joe Corvo/plue pants combo:

-Former Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar:

 -Jersey of the Night: Former Penguins/Senators forward Alexei Alex Kovalev:

-Warm ups:

-The Penguins' starters are Sidney Crosby, Pascal Dupuis, Chris Kunitz, Paul Martin, Brooks Orpik and Tomas Vokoun.

-The scratches are Beau Bennett, Robert Bortuzzo, Simon Despres, Deryk Engelland, Dustin Jeffrey, Jussi Jokinen and the great Joe Vitale.

-The Senators' starters are Daniel Alfredsson, Kyle Turris, Jakob Silfverberg, Erik Karlsson, Marc Methot and Craig Anderson.

-Their scratches are Mark Borowiecki, Cody Ceci, Stephane Da Costa, Dave Dziurzynski, Derek Grant, Erik Grbya, Mike Hoffman, Matt Kassian, Guillaume Latendresse, Nathan Lawson, Mike LUndin, Stefan Noesen, Jim O'Brien, Shane Prince, Matt Puempel, Peter Regin, Mark Stone and Patrick Wiercioch.

FIRST PERIOD

19:45: Kyle Turris gets a chance in the right circle and snaps off a wrister which Vokoun kicks out.

19:34: Crosby takes a pass in the left circle. Anderson says no.

19:18: Silfverberg dumps Iginla hard in the right wing corner of the Ottawa zone.

18:41: Neal swats a one-timer from the right half wall.

17:52: Cooke drops Chris Phillips wit a stiff check behind the Ottawa net.

17:16: Sing-song "Vooooo.... Koooooonnnn...." chants begin.

16:53: Using Martin as a screen, Turris whips a wrister on net. Vokoun gloves it.

15:35: Orpik drops Zack Smith with a hit in the left wing corner of the Penguins' zone.

13:34: The Penguins will get the first power play of the game as Phillis called for holding Kennedy in the left wing corner of the Ottawa zone while battling for a puck. Phillips protests the call. Evgeni Malkin, Crosby, Letang, Kunitz and Neal take the ice.

12:47: As Kunitz steals a puck on a shorth-ahnded rush into the Penguins' zone with a nice little play, Malkin and Iginla collide violently at their blue line. Both players seem fine.

11:59: Malkin pounds a one-timer from the righ half wall on net. Anderson boots it out.

11:34: The Phillips minor is killed with little threat from the Penguins.

8:53: Old Man Gonchar still has. James Neal tries to push a puck up the left wing of the Senators' zone. Gonchar steps up and simply slams him into the boards with an impressive check.

8:18: Hitting is picking up. Kris Letang pushes a puck up the left wing and flings bachander on net. Anderson fights it off. Letang follows up on the rebound but before he can get a stick on it, Benoit slams him into the end boards.

7:48: Matt Cooke and Cory Conacher - ever a pair made for one another - mix it up near the benches. Conacher slashes him on the back of the legs. No call.

6:49: A puck slides to Murray at the left point.  He winds up and cranks it on net. Anderson fights it off. He had a clean look at the shot.

5:28: Malkin and Iginla each have a chance in right but can't put it behidn Anderson. A scrum ensues but nothing comes of it.

5:10: After Cooke took a little jab at Spezza in the back, the Senators nearly cash in. Milan Michalek deals a pass to Conacher rushing in from the left wing. Conacher pokes the puck over the cage.

3:27: The Senators get theri first power play. Tanner Glass, back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch for several games, knocked over Spezza in the slot while battling for a puck in the slot. Spezza didn't exactly provide a tone of resistance. The call is slashing. That's a bit odd. Orpik, Martin, Brandon Sutter and Cooke take the ice.

2:17: Karlsson chucks a wrister at the cage form center point. It hits a body or two in front. It catches Vokoun off guard as he. Alfredsson is there in the blue paint can't get a clean shot off as the puck rolls wide.

1:45: Karlsson rips a wrister from the right circle wide to the far side.

1:27: Glass' minor expires.

1:04: Karlsson drops Kunitz at the Ottawa blue line hard. Oof.

0:02: Taking a pass in the neutral zone, Malkin dive sto the net down the slot. he he attempts a wrister, Marc Methoc pretty much tackles him by the left leg and prevents the shot. Malkin crashes into the net. Play is halted. The Penguins will get a power play. Sutter, Kennedy, Neal, Letang and Iginla take the ice.

0:00: End of period. Penguins 0, Senators 0.

FIRST INTERMISSION

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4113/5199651737_a744ffe168.jpg

(We lost our normal intermission photo. Our apologies.)

-That was a pretty even period all around. Each team exchange chances. Neither squad maintained much offensive zone time outside of time on the power play. This was a tight, defensive period of hockey.

-Spezza looked pretty good for someone who hasn't played for over three months. He was fairly active in all aspects of the game and didn't back down from any physical play.

-The Senators seemed to take advantage of being the hope team in terms of match ups. THeir first line seemed to have a little more freedom than the first two games of this series.

-The defensive pairing of Mark Eaton and Douglas Murray was fairly solid.

-It would be a stretch to say either goaltender was tested a great deal. Anderson made a few saves but there was little in the way of sustained pressure by the penguins.

-The Penguins have a 12-8 lead in shots.

-Turris leads the game with four shots.

-Letang and Malkin each lead the Penguins with three shots.

-Karlsson, who had 15:37 of ice tme in Game 2, leads the game with 9:22 of ice time already.

-Letang leads the Penguins with 8:19 of ice time.

-The Senators have an 18-8 lead in faceoffs (69 percent).

-Turris is 8 for 12 (67 percent).

-Sutter is 4 for 9 (44 percent).

-Karlsson leads the game with three blocked shots.

-Martin leads the Penguins with two blocked shots.

SECOND PERIOD

20:00: The penguins will start the period with 1:58 of power-play time on fresh ice. Crosby, Malkin, Kunitz, Neal and Letang take the ice.

19:42: Huge save early for Anderson. Off a stretch pass by Letang, Crosby races down the slot and lifts  wrister. Anderson fights it off. Crosby jabs at the rebound and Anderson says no to that.

19:01: The Senators are in a bad spot as they are called for too many men on the ice. Conacher will serve it. Five on three for 57 seconds seconds. Crosby, Malkin, Neal, Letang and Kunitz take the ice.

18:38: Off some perimeter passing. Malkin strike a heavy one-timer from the slot. Anderson eats it up. Malkin slam his stick on the ice in frustration. HUGE save.

18:08: Crosby whips a heavy wrister from the right wing. Anderson fights it off.

17:33: Short-handd, Michalek rips a wrister from the lot which is blocked by Letang.

17:01: The bench minor is killed to grateful applause. That's huge for the Senators.

16:26: Karlsson plays a puck out of his own left faceoff cirle and passes it up ice. Cooke rushes him for a potential hit but Karlsson dodges it at the very last second.

16:08: Karlsson snaps off a wrister from the left point. It hits a stick on net. Vokoun braces for the initial shot but adjusts to whack away the rebound with his stick.

15:06: After some wheeling and dealing through a few stick checks, Silfverberg whips a wrister on net from the center point. Vokoun battles it away.

14:38: Karlsson rips a wrister on net from the right circle. Vokou fights it off

14:34: Slifverberg snaps off a wrister from in tight . Vokoun says no.

13:05: Another power play for the Penguins as Smith is called for roughing. It's a pretty weak call.

11:29: An aboslutly flat effort by the Penguins' power play ends as Crosby is called for high sticking Cowen. We'll have four on four for 24 seconds.

10:44: Jean-Gabriel Pageau has a chance fro the slot but whacks a loose puck well wide of the net.

10:11: Spezza pounds a heavly slapper from above the right circle wide to the far side.

9:24: As Crosby's minor expires, Karlson pounds a slapper from the right point. Sutter slides down to block it high.

8:44: Taking a little pass off the left half wall, Turris rips a wrister from the left circle wide to the far side.

8:35: More penalties. After some lengthy puck possession in the Penguins' zone, Karlsson forces Murray to take a hold on him in the right wing corner. Karlsson sells the penalty by flailing his arms and legs out. Murray is called for holding while Karlsson is nabbed for embellishment. Sloppy hockey all around. Iginla will serve Murray's minor.

8:24: With acres of ice to work with, Letang races up the left wing and lifts a wrister high over the cage.

6:45: Gonchar lifts a wrister on net. Vokoun eats it up.

6:35: Back to five on five play.

3:50: Off a turnover by the Penguins' in their own zone, Turris pushes the puck up to the Penguins' zone one-on-one against Letang. He jukes Letang out of his shorts and attacks the net but puts his wrister wide of the cage. Argh.

3:37: Turris and Silfverberg each have chances in the Pittsburgh crease but can't puch the puck past the mass of humanity in the crease. Play is halted. A scrum breaks out but nothing comes of it.

 3:06: Pageau races into the offensive zone one-on-one against Murray. Pageau rips a low wrister which Vokoun eats up.

2:21: Crosby challenges Karlsson one-on-one in the right circle but Karlsson is able to knock the puck away with a nice stick on puck.

1:27: Mika Zibanejad puts a low wrister on net from the right circle. Vokoun eats it up. Another scum ensues.

1:16: Methot hammers Cooke on the right wing boards.

1:07: Finally someone breaks through. And its the man who usually scores against the Senators. After Cooke recovers a loose puck in the Ottawa zone and forces a pass off a skate to Kennedy in the slot. Kennedy settles the puck and rips a wrister by Anderson. Kennedy celebrate with some finger pointing celebration on the right wing boards. Cooke gets the only assists. A healthy contingent of Penguins fans celebrate. Penguins 1-0.

0:40: Phillips snaps off a wrister from the left point which hits a body and deflects wide

0:33: Benoit lifts a wrister from the right point. Vokoun eats it up.

0:00: End of period. Kunitz and Karlsson mix it up afterwards. Penguins 1, Senators 0.

SECOND INTERMISSION

-What a tough, gritty, tight period of hockey that was. Each team had chances but they had to earn them.

-Each team was sloppy much of the period. There was a lack of discipline and plenty of mistakes on each side. Neither team could capitalize that much.

-Both goaltenders have been outstanding. Goaltending was bad in Game 2 but it has improved as a whole tonight.

-Each team has been wretched on the power play.

-The Penguins lead in shots, 23-18.

-Crosby leads the game with six.

-Turris leads the Senators with four.

-Letang leads the game with 17:49 of ice time.

-Karlsson leads the Senators with 17:00.

-The Senators have a 25-24 edge in faceoffs (51 percent).

-Spezza is 8 for 12 (67 percent).

-Sutter is 9 for 16 (56 percent).

THIRD PERIOD

19:38: Neil on Neal violence. James slams Chris into the left wing boards in the Ottawa zone. Chris responds by whacking James in the legs in the neutral zone.

18:35: A  hearty "Go Sens Go!" chant begins.

17:44: Racing up the left wing, Pageau snaps off a wrister which is blocked by Orpik.

16:56: Smith releases a shot from a bad angle on the right wing which Anderson Vokoun fights off. Orpik slams Smith into the end boards.

14:54: Turris whacks a wrister from the left of the cage on net. Vokoun holds it out.

14:41: Karlsson has chance in  the slot but puts his wrister wid eof the cave.

14:30: Dupuis steals apuck off Anderson behind the net and tries to jam it in with his forehand by the left of the cage. Anderson kicks it out.

13:54: Phillips lifts a wrister from the left point on net. Vokoun eats it up despite traffic.

13:18: A wrister by Spezza from the left point hits off a body and deflects to Neil in the right circle. Neil immediately shoots it but shoots it into Vokoun who is able to cover the puck. Neil was gripping his stick too tightly there.

11:53: A slapper by Gonchar is fought off by Iginla.

10:34: At this point, the Penguins are playing keep away with the puck. They look like the 2008 Red Wings with their puck possession.

8:55: Michalek whcaks a loose puck from the left wing on net. Vokoun stops it but allows a rebound. Neil is right there for the rebound but can't lift it over Vokoun's left leg which is stretched to the near post. Neil circles around the net and falls on Vokoun. That's two times Neil had a chance to tie the game and failed to do so.

8:36: Cooke drops Karlsson with a little stick work in the neutral zone. No call.

6:47: Off a steal by Neial in the defensive zone, Malkin races up the left wing on a two-on-one with Iginla against Karlsson. Malkin pushes a lazy pass to Iginla which Karlsson intercepts and skates back up ice.

5:06: Kennedy controls the puck in the right wing corner of the Ottawa zone and is hit from behind into the boards. xx taes the puck and is slashed on the back of the legs by Kennedy. No call.

3:49: A wrister by Malkin in the left cirlce is blocked by a stick.

3:10: Benoit get away with some interference on Morrow at the red line.

2:40: Greening tries t chip a na cahs a puck by  Letang o the right wing but is knocked off the pcuk by Letang.

2:25: Orpik levels Pgeau with a big  hit in the neutral zone. Oof.

1:27: Karlson chops  slappr from the center point but fans on the shot. Cooke pushes the puck up ice but has his stick slashed by Karlsson. Dupuis pushes the puck up ice but can't get a clean shot off. Karlsson is called for slashing.  Crosby, Malkin, Kunitz, Martin and Letang take the ice.

0:45: Anderson is pulled for an extra attacker.

0:29: When they needed him the most, the captain steps up. Michalek chips a wrister from the left point. Alfredsson finds a soft spot in the slot and taps it by Vooun on the glove hand side. This place expodes in noise. Fans chant "Alfie! Alfie! for their captain. This place is insane right now. Just pure jubulation. Michalek and Gonchar get assists. Penguins 1. Senators 1.

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0:05: Crosby hammers a one-timer from the right circle on net. Anderson eats it up.

0:00: End of period. Penguins 1, Senators 1.

THIRD INTERMISSION

-Stunned. That's all we can say about this situation. Stunned. How in the world did that happen? The Penguins simply failed to defend the Senators' most notable player int hat situation.

-The Penguins had this game. They were dominating most of period and that happen? How?!?

-To make matters worse, the Penguins were on a power play. They basically played the hockey equivalent of prevent defense and got burnt.

-Don't put this on Vokoun. He didn't have a prayer on that shot.

-The Penguins have a 32-28 lead in shots.

-Crosby leasd the game with seven shots.

-Karlsson leads the Senators with five.

-Karlsson leads the game with 27:27 of ice time.

-Letang leads the Penguins with 26:11.

-The Senators have a 27-31 lead in faceoffs (54 percent).

-Spezza is 11 for 17 (65 percent).

-Sutter is 14 for 23 (61 percent).

-Martin leads the game with six blocked shots.

-Karlsson leads the Senators with three blocked shots.

OVERTIME

20:00: The Pengins will start the period with 33 seconds of power play time on fresh ice. Crosby, Malkin, Martin, Letang and Kunitz take the ice.

19:30: Letang glides into the offenive zone nad lifts a wrister on net from center point.

19:27: The Karlsson minor expires. That was a two minute failure by the Penguins.

19:00: Malkin weaves his way through a handful of defenders and attacks the net but his forehand shot is fought off by Anderson.

18:54: Neal has a chance in tight but is denied by Anderson.

 17:49: Colin Greening snaps off a wrister from the left wing. Vokoun kicks it out.

17:08: Iginla rips a wrister from above the left circle on net. Anderson knocks it dead and covers.

16:56: Neil snaps off  a wrister from the slot juuuust wide to the right of the cage.

16:38: Karlsson fires a wrister from the left point. Vokoun fights it off. Neil has a chance on the rebound but can't punch it on net.

14:07: After a strong rush towards the net by  Malkin, Iginla has a chance above the blue paint but has it blocked by Turris' skate. Anderson is ble to cover the puck. Ottawa fans offer "Andy!" chants.

13:43: Zibanejad snaps off a wrister from the right circle whch is blocked. The puck rolls around a bit before Vokoun can cover it.

13:39: Off a faceoff win, Michalek snaps off a wrister from the left circle. Vokoun gets a piece of it. The puck slides juuuuust to the right of the cage. Whew!

12:00: Off a poor turnover by Methot in his own left wing corner, Neal deals a pass to Malkin in the left circle. Malkin lifts a wrister which Anderson fights off.

11:45: Methot dumps Eaton in the right wing boards sof the Ottawa zone with a hard shoulder check.

11:09: A wrister by Dupuis fromt he slot hits the post. Argh!

10:19: Off a neutral zone steal, Pageau races up the left wing and has a wrister blocked by Oprik.

9:43: A one-timer by Adams is blocked out of play.

8:51: Dupuis booms a slapper from the left half wall. Anderson eats it up.

8:39: Kunitz snaps off a wriste rfrom the left circle at the cage. It hit ssomething and deflects sied to the far side.

7:44: A backhander by Cooke from the left wing is kicked away by Anderson.

7:16: Reaching low for a puck on the left wing boards, Spezza is run over by a rushing Adams. Replays appear to show Adams making inital contact to the head but Spezza was really low on that play. The league could look at that.

5:37: Cowen floats a wrister from the slot over the cage. It glances off Vokoun's glove and deflects behind the net.

5:22: Karlsson fakes a slapper from the slot, pulls his stick down and weaves to the right. Orpik defends him and forces a shot off the side of hte cage.

5:16: Karlsson chops a slapper from the left point. Vokoun kicks it out.

4:01: Sutter and Adams have the making of a two-on-one. Sutter deals a pass from the right wing to Adams in the slot. The puck appears to hop up a bit and misses Adams' stick. He had an acre of ice to shoot there.

2:18: A wrister by Greening in the slot is deflected out of play.

2:16: Michalek has a chance off a faceoff play in the left circle but Martin gets a stick on puck in on the play and prevents a shot.

2:10: Spezza tries to jam in a forehand shot from the left of the cage. Vokoun holds it out.

1:42: Alfredsson has a chance on the right wing and puts a wrister on net. Vokoun kicks it out. Turris is there for the rebound but no dice.

1:05: After an icing, the Senators call a time out to get a breather.

0:35: Smith floats a backhander from the left circle over the cage.

0:00: End of period. Penguins 1, Senators 1.

FOURTH INTERMISSION

-We're still trying to process this. If you're a true hockey fan, playoff overtime is almost spiritual for you, regardless of your rooting interests.

-Play is really starting to get ragged out there. Passes aren't connecting. There are loose pucks and tired legs all over the ice.

-Both goaltenders are playing their hearts out, especially ANderson who has more riding on this than Vokoun.

-The Penguins have a 45-42 lead in shots.

-Malkin leads the game with nine shots.

-Turris, Alfredsson and Karlsson each lead the Senators with five shots.

-Karlsson leads the game with 37:05 of ice time.

-Martin leads the Penguins with 33:29.

-The Senators have a 46-45 lead in faceoffs.

-Spezza is 15 for 24 (63 percent).

-Sutter is 20 for 34 (59 percent).

-Martin leads the game with eight blocked shots.

-Phillips leads the Senators with four.

 

SECOND OVERTIME


19:37: Crosby snaps off a wrister on a rush into the offensive zone which is wide of the cage.

18:04: Cooke tries to collect a puck behind the Ottawa net but is held up by Phillips. Cooke takes a tumble to sellt ht ecall. Phillips is sent off for holding. Crosby, Martin, Letang, Malkin and Kunitz take the ice.

17:28: Malkin lifts a wrister from teh right circle. Anderson eats it up.

17:02: Malkin rips a wrister from the right circle which hits Anderson's skates and deflects wide to the right of the cage.

16:28: Letang taps a pass to Malkin in the right circle. Malkin as aone-timer teed up but partally fans on the shot which ends up behind the cage.

15:25: Neil pushes the puck up the left wing and loses his edge. As he falls down, Orpik shoves him into the end boards. Neil lays on the ice for several moments as play is halted. An athletic trainer attends to Neil who eventually recovers to his skates and heads to the dressing room.

15:04: Sutter rips a wrister fromt eh slot on net. It hits a body in front and deflects away.

14:51: The Senators get thgeir own power play. Niskane trips up Michalek inside the Penguins' blue line. A big two minutes here. Adams, Orpik, Martin and Dupuis take the ice.

13:13: Spezza tries to deal a pass from the right wing to the slot. Letang reads the play and pokes it away with his stick.

12:52: A slapper by Benoit from the left point is deflected out of play.

12:44:  Niskanen comes out of the box and snaps off a wrister

12:36: Benoit snaps off a writer from the left circle w hich its a boy and deflects awya.

12:21: Game. Set. Match. Taking a cross-ice pass in the left circle, Benoit lifts a wrister from the right circle. It hits Vokoun's chest and a rebound kicks out. Condra is able to reach in with a stick and poke the puck behind Vokoun on the near side. This place erupts once again. We have a series. Benoit and Condra get assists. Senators 2, Penguins 1.

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POSTGAME

-We're still kind of in a numb state of shock over what happened in this game. The Penguins were 29 seconds away from taking a nearly insurmantable 3-0 series lead and they let it slip away with some abysmal defense, while on a power play. Just stunning.

-What in the world happened to the Penguins' power play? It went 0 for 6 including a lengthy five-on-three and allowed the tying short-handed goal by Daniel Alfredsson. The power play was flat all night and rarely offered anything close to a sustained offensive attack.

-It's difficult to say Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby were contained. THey did combine for 13 shots on net (Malkin had 10). That said, they were shutout as a duo for the first time this postseason. The Penguins did a good job shutting down the Senators best players in the first two games. In Game 3, the Penguins' best players where held in check.

-One thing is clear, you can't blame Tomas Vokoun. The guy played one of his best games of the playoffs. He rebounded after a shaky effort in Game 2 and did everything to give his team a win.

-Vokoun's counterpart, Craig Anderson played the game of his life. He was just tuned in. If not for a goalby Tyler Kennedy off a turnover in the defensive zone, this could have been 0-0 heading to overtime.

-Colin Greening's offensive game has come to life in this series. He has three goals in three games so far and played a big role on the penalty kill.

-Jason Spezza didn't have a huge impact on the game but it seemed like his presence combined with the ability to get last change before faceoffs gave the Senators a lot more room to operate with in terms of match-ups. Kyle Turris had a lot more room to operate with as a result.

-Erik Karlsson had a very up and down game. After being benched for parts of Game 2, he rebounded in Game 3 by racking up a ton of minutes. There were some moments of strong play such as when he knocked over Chris Kunitz at the Ottawa blue line with a big hit. But there were other moments such as his slash on Matt Cooke late in regulation.

-James Neal did not have a particularly strong game. he didn't have any notably bad plays or anything. He was just really ineffective. He was just another guy out there. He hasn't scored a goal in five games. The Penguins need more out of him.

-How can you not appreciate what Daniel Alfredsson brings? He's the captain of his team and he's doing everything he can to keep it alive.

-The Penguins led in shots, 50-48.

-Malkin led the game with 10.

-Turris, Alfredsson, Andre Benoit and Karlsson each led the Senators with five.

-Karlsson led the game with 39:48 of ice time.

-Paul Martin led the Penguins with 37:16.

-The Senators led in faceoffs, 50-47 (52 percent).

-Spezza was 15-25 (60 percent).

-Brandon Sutter was 21 for 36 (58 percent).

-Martin led the game with eight blocked shots.

-Phillips led the Senators with four blocked shots.

-That was the first mult-overtme game of this postseason.

-The Penguins are now 24-18 all-time in postseason overtime games.

-Vokoun suffered his first loss of the postseason.

-Game summary.

-Event summary.

-Highlights:

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About the Senators - Game 3 - 05-19-13

Written by Seth Rorabaugh on .

 

A preview of the Senators.

When and where: 7:30 p.m., EDT. Scotiabank Place.

TV: NBC Sports Network, CBC, RDS.

Leading postseason scorer: Daniel Alfredsson, 7 points (2 goals, 5 assists).

Last Game: 4-3 road loss to the Penguins in Game 2, Friday. Robin Lehner made 20 saves for the Senators.

Probable goaltenders: Tomas Vokoun (4-0, 1.70 GAA, .945 SV%) for the Penguins and Craig Anderson (4-2, 2.52 GAA, .931 SV%) for the Senators.

Injuries: For the Penguins, center Joe Vitale (undisclosed) is out. For the Senators, defensemen Eric Gryba (undisclosed), Patrick Weircioch ("lower body") and left winger Mike Hoffman (collarbone) are out. Center Dave Dziurzynski (concussion) is on injured reserve.

Potential lines and defensive pairings: The Penguins primary lines and defensive pairings at today's morning skate were:

14 Chris Kunitz  - 87 Sidney Crosby -  9 Pascal Dupuis
12 Jarome Iginla - 71 Evgeni Malkin - 18 James Neal
10 Brenden Morrow - 16 Brandon Sutter - 24 Matt Cooke
15 Tanner Glass - 27 Craig Adams - 48 Tyler Kennedy

44 Brooks Orpik - 7 Paul Martin
58 Kris Letang - 2 Matt Niskanen
4 Mark Eaton - 2 Douglas Murray

The Senators' primary lines and defensive pairings at today's morning skate were:

33 Jakob Silvferberg - 7 Kyle Turris (above) - 11 Daniel Alfredsson
89 Cory Conacher - 19 Jason Spezza - 9 Milan Michalek
15 Zack Smith - 93 Mika Zibanejad - 25 Chris Neil
14 Colin Greening - 44 Jean-Gabriel Pageau - 22 Erik Condra

3 Marc Méthot - 65 Erik Karlsson
4 Chris Phillips - 61 Andre Benoit
2 Jared Cowen - 55 Sergei Gonchar

Notes:

-The last time the Penguins played the Senators, this happened:

-Crosby speaks:

-Dan Bylsma speaks:

-Jason Spezza will return to the lineup after being sidelined since February due to a back injury.

-Our live blog, directly from Canada's capital, begins at approximately 6:30 p.m. Please tune in.

(Photo: Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)

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