HEATHER WAMPLER – OVATHLETICS.COM
The Pens met the Montreal Canadiens for game 6 loss on Monday night. I was hopeful that they would be able to close out the series on home ice, but they didn’t. It was a soul crushing loss. The Pens played without Alexei Ponikarovsky and Ruslan Fedotenko again. They used the same lineup that won game 5.
The disappointment began at 1:13 when they had a defender fall in the neutral zone and ended up turning the puck over. That gave Habs left winger Mike Cammalleri broke into a two-on-one with center Tomas Plekanec. Cammalleri ended up with the puck and wristed a shot over Pens goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury’s glove. Left winger Andrei Kostitsyn received the second assist. They got the first power play at 4:17 when Habs center Glen Metropolit was penalized for too many men on the ice. Unfortunately, the Pens were unable to monopolize on the advantage. Shortly after the power play was up Captain Sidney Crosby struck evening up the score at 7:22. Defenseman Mark Eaton was able to get a shot off but Habs defense was able to block it. The puck deflected in the air to Crosby, who swatted it out of mid-air and behind goaltender Jaroslov Halak. Left winger Chris Kunitz received the second assist. Plekanec and defenseman Brooks Orpik battled for the puck in front of the benches. In the end Plekanec took a roughing penalty at 9:04. And in Penguins fashion, they nullified the penalty at 9:42. Defenseman Sergei Gonchar was given an interference penalty when he stopped left winger Travis Moen from making a play. 14:20 in center Evgeni Malkin got a great shot off and got it behind Halak but Crosby and right winger Billy Guerin were unable to find the loose puck. The Pens spent the last five and a half minutes of the first trying to get the lead. Unfortunately it ended with tied at one. The Pens outshot the Habs 13-6.
The Penguins get the first power play of the second when center Maxim Lapierre is sent off to the box for holding at the 2:00 mark. Halak was able to hold off the Pens power play unit but the Habs screwed up at 4:20 and defenseman Roman Hamrlik was the next to the box for interference with Kunitz. While on the power play the Pens were able to punish the Habs for their foolish mistake. Crosby fed a pass to defenseman Kris Letang, who was able to take the puck around defenseman Ryan O’Byrne and wristed a shot past Halak at 5:21. It didn’t take long for the Habs to just crush all of our spirits. I went from being excited to sinking in my couch a mere five minutes later. At 10:45 Cammalleri struck again. He seems to be the route of all the Pens problems. He took a pass from Kostitsyn and threw a backhander in past Fleury’s blocker to tie up the game. Hamrlik received the second assist. As if that weren’t bad enough, at 13:15 they were able to get the lead. Defenseman Jaroslav Spacek returned after nine games out and found a way to make us wish he were still out. He took a pass from center Scott Gomez and sent a slap shot into the net. Right winger Brian Gionta received the second assist. Now I was staring blankly at the T.V. I wasn’t sure if I should be screaming, “pull Fleury” or yelling at defense, maybe the offense for all their turnovers. Either way I was not a happy camper. The bad mood and vibes kept up and were made worse at 19:26 when left winger upended Habs defenseman Josh Gorges. He was given a tripping minor. The Pens outshot the Habs 14-11 by the end of the second.
The Pens spent the first 1 ½ minutes of the third with their penalty killers on the ice. Luckily they were able to hold off the Habs offense for the time being. They were able to get their own power play at 3:12 when Habs center took a cross checking penalty. I was hoping that the power play unit would be able to make a difference in the third but they didn’t. The Habs successfully killed the penalty. The next off was Cooke at 6:21 for interference. With the way the Pens have been playing this series it was about here that I thought they were going to lose. I hoped it wouldn’t be so, but it was. They put the final nail in the Pens coffin at 11:03 when Lapierre sent a shot in behind Fleury for a two goal lead. As the minutes ticked down I kept up a bit of hope. They only needed two goals. They got one at 18:36 from Guerin. Defenseman Alex Goligoski kept the puck in the left point and to defenseman Sergei Gonchar at the right point. Gonchar’s shot went past Halak and deflected in by Guerin. That was the last goal of the game. Crosby was given a cross checking penalty and Plekanec a roughing at the 20:00 mark. The Pens lost 4-2 and are heading to game 7. The Pens outshot the Habs 10-7.
The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Boston Bruins 4-0 yesterday as well. The Chicago Blackhawks and Vancouver Cannucks play Tuesday night.
The Pens will meet the Habs for game 7 on Wednesday, May, 12 @ 7:00 pm at the Mellon Arena.
