Game 2 Live Blog!!

3:19
Yes we are a little late on this game, but life has a way of getting in the way of stuff. Either that or I am a champion procrastinator, take your pick. Anyway they just dropped the puck and Crosby and the kids were on the bench. Seems like Therrien is awake this afternoon.

3:24
The Ottawa crowd is booing Crosby every time he touches the puck. (Yeah cause Sidney is such a bad guy, he rips the city of Ottawa mercilessly, and he hates everything about Ottawa. What? None of that is true? Well that must mean that Ottawa has a classless bunch of small minded yokels as fans.)

3:25
Pittsburgh scores on the Powerplay. Crosby makes a nice pass while taking crosscheck #44 in the back from Chris Phillips – who is trying desperately to take Derian Hatchers number one position on the ‘dirty hacker’ list.
Of course the Ottawa crowd boos Crosby.

3:33
Phillips, realizing that the NHL refs have swallowed their whistle on all fouls regarding Sidney, has taken to following Crosby all over the ice and cheap shotting him. This is what is wrong with the NHL. Any other sport would go the extra mile to make sure that their meal ticket for the next ten years isn’t getting mauled with every stride, but no, let’s make the kid run the gauntlet for a few years. I am not asking for special treatment or ‘Jordan Rules’, at the same time Ottawa is hitting him three strides after he has passed the puck and TWO guys are hitting him. I hate NHL refs. This is why there is fighting in the sport still.

3:38
6’, 3” 227lb Christoph Schubert bumps into 5’, 11” 193 lbs Maxime Talbot and falls to the ice and hits his head. Ottawa coach Bryan Murray is livid. Ottawa, the short sighted capital of the western hemisphere.

3:44
Fleury has been solid in the Pittsburgh goal. The Penguins are doing a much better job getting into the Ottawa zone by dumping the puck deep then pressing the defensemen for the puck. Coach Therrien is fully awake today.
The game is also on NBC, and I was going to switch back and forth from the CBC feed to NBC, but I don’t want to mock the NBC coverage this early in the playoffs. Maybe in the second period.

3:48
Eveginy Malkin sighting! Everybody drink!
At least he made the game this afternoon. I guess someone set his alarm correctly this time.

3:51
55 year old Mark Recchi loses his helmet mixing it up in the Ottawa zone. Recchi is 5’10 and 190lbs with a microwave on his shoulder. He took a Phillips two hander to the chops, but he bounces back up and makes sure he gets the number of cheap shot artist Phillips before rushing back into the play. Recchi is 39 years old. That, my friends, is a Hockey Player.


3:56
Ottawa Powerplay. A legitimate hold.
At least the refs haven’t ruined this game like they did the last one.
The Ottawa crowd is chanting Fleury’s name, but the Goaltender has been solid today.

3:59
Phillips highsticks Crosby in the throat. Sid doesn’t go down, but gives a Phillips a shot on the end boards. The period ends. Crosby complains to the refs. Refs could care less. I hate the NHL for this.
How does that officiating meeting go?
‘Okay guys, lets wait a few years before we call legitimate cheap shots on Sidney Crosby, just to keep him humble, OK?’

4:02
Uh oh. Here Comes Don Cherry and the bark a thon Coaches Corner!! Lets see what stick enabler Ron McLean pokes him with today.

4:05
Cherry claims that Crosby accentuates the fouls that are committed on him, and the refs won’t call it cause they feel he is showing them up. See Sid! When you take that stick to the throat just pretend it didn’t happen. Then they will call the penalty. What a great league!

4:07
Cherry show a series of fights to refute the notion that there is no fighting in the playoffs. He has the replay stop to show a group of girls at rinkside cheering the players on.
So there you have it, irrefutable evidence that fighting is good for the game. Don makes such convincing arguments. People like pro wrestling also, so why don’t we give the players nicknames and have a ring set up at the side of the rink so goon can really get it on. People will love that!!


Second period.

4:18
I haven’t said much about him, but Ray Emery has been a rock for the Senators. The Pitt goal today was a lucky deflection. Ottawa seems to have solved their ‘tender problem for a while.

4:21
Fisher hacks Fleury like a lumberjack. Then gives another Penguin a glove to the chin after the whistle. He is doing his irritant best to get under the skin of the Penguins. Does any other sport tolerate irritants to the level that hockey does?
Ottawa Power Play.

4:24
Comrie, Fisher and Neil as a power play unit. An entire irritant line. Ottawa Defensivemen Corvo and Preissing just don’t have the powerplay quarterback look about them. Coach Murray might think about putting Spezza back there for the PP.

4:25
Crosby touches the puck and gets booed.
Ottawa’s irritant line of Vermette, Fisher, and Neil starts stupid scrum #2.
Melikar and Vermette get minor penalties.

4:30
Spezza gets a goal off of a Alfredsson rebound. Tie game.Fleury had no chance on that one. Crosby gave Spezza the old ole instead of backchecking him. Not Sidneys best defensive effort.

4:34
Another Pittsburgh penalty. I’m going to switch to the NBC coverage for the Ottawa Power play.

4:36
Just saw that vonage commercial where they tout the clarity and reliability of Vonage. WHAT? Has anyone actually tried Vonage? I have a friend who has it and I know he is calling me cause I can see his number but there is no one on the other end. Why can’t they just admit it cheaper, but it isn’t as good as traditional service? Why liewhen no one is fooled?

4:38
OH MY GOD OTTAWA POWER PLAY! SHOT ON NET! TWO ON ONE!! HELD BY FLEURY!!! OH MY GOD!!!

4:39
The announcers on NBC are a little excitable.

4:41
The announcer on NBC is Screaming on EVERYPLAY THAT MIGHT BECOME A SCORING OPPORTUNITY!! His voice is starting to go he is screaming so much. Every second play he sounds as if he is going through puberty all over again.

4:44
I’m going back to CBC. The NBC guy is scaring my dog.

4:47
Colby Armstrong runs Emery. Made no attempt to avoid Emery. Ottawa Power Play. Emery skates around in circles beside the net. If they are trying to rattle Emery, it didn’t work.

4:50
Fleury STONES Alfredsson.

4:50:20
Alfredsson gets his goal this time. Pittsburgh cannot give Ottawa this many Power play opportunities. I don’t know what Therrien tells his penalty kill squad to do, but I am pretty sure it isn’t “stand around and watch Ottawa tic-tac-toe their way to a goal”.

4:53
Another Ottawa Power Play. Ottawa can ice the game here if Pittsburgh doesn’t come to life.

4:53
Ottawa has changed their PP strategy. Instead of letting Corvo and Preissing control the flow, they are keeping the puck down low where their skilled forwards can make magic with it. Smart move by Ottawa.

4:56
The second period is now over.
Pittsburgh still hasn’t figured exactly how much it is going to take to win a game in the playoffs against Ottawa. Crosby isn’t helping with his weak defensive efforts, and taking stupid retaliatory penalties will kill them. They need to mount some forechecking pressure – which has disappeared since the first period entirely – and get pressure on Emery that doesn’t consist of running him and taking a penalty. Did Malkin go home after the first period? Is he selling programs in the stands? Where is he???

Bob Errey comes on and makes some excellent points in an interview with Ron McLean
- Pittsburgh needs to get Malkin on the line with Crosby to generate some offense.
- Pittsburgh tried to be New Jersey and protect a 1-0 lead for a period and a half.
- Put Crosby on the Penalty kill and force Murray to respond with Alfredsson or Spezza.

Geez! Nice work Bob. Not bad for an old Senator.

5:14
Two seconds after the puck drops Armstrong and Comrie drop the gloves and fight. How is this still happening in this league? The replay shows the two talking before the faceoff, and then they go at it right after the play starts. That isn’t Hockey folks. Stop kidding yourselves.
5:16
Stupidity aside, if Ottawa kills this penalty this game is over.

5:18
Malkin sighting! Everybody drink!!

5:18:15
Gary Roberts scores. Emery lets a big rebound out into the slot and Mr Roberts makes him pay.

5:21
The Alfredsson, Heatly, Spezza line causes a Pittsburgh penalty. Those three are murder on the Pittsburgh defense. Therrien needs to look at some old Leaf tape and see how the Leafs stopped these guys if Pittsburgh has any chance in this series. Ottawa looks like a team that is going to do what it needs to to get to the Cup finals. They are loaded with skill players, they have 75 irritant type players who are willing to get into the face of the opposition and they go six deep on Defense. Add to that a solid Goaltender in Emery whois on the cusp of going All World, and this team is scary.

5:25
Chris Kelly jumps a Pittsburgh change and beats a screened Fleury to make it 3-2 Ottawa.
I can’t see Pittsburgh getting back into this game. I know it is only a one goal lead, but the Penguins are looking for a break instead of trying to make one, and I don’t think Ottawa will give it to them.

5:30
Crosby touches the puck. The Crowd boos.

5:31
There is the break that Pittsburgh needed. Mr Roberts nails a defensiveman and the ensuing play gets out to Rookie of the Year Jordan Staal who makes no mistake.
Game tied again.

5:37
Malkin sighting! Everybody Drin…wait a sec !!! Goal!!!! Crosby!!

5:38
Pittsburgh is trying to steal one here today. Can they hold Ottawa off? Will they find their playoff cojones here? This is why I love Hockey and the NHL playoffs.

5:39
Malkin sighting!!1 Everybody Drin…..oh, Malkin penalty.

5:40
The more this turns into a shootout, the better it is for Pittsburgh. At this point there isn’t a lead that would be safe this afternoon. Ottawa can play the shootout game, but so can Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh can’t really play the grind-it-out game as we saw in game one.

5:41
My minor celebrity crush has another commercial during the playoffs. The redhead in a chip commercial who says Jah-Lap-Pen-Oh peppers. She kills me! ( C’mon people, find out her name and email it to me!!)

5:47
Pittsburgh is playing the dump it in protect the lead game again with four minutes left. What are the chances this works out for them?

5:48
Jordan Staal is now on a line with Mr Roberts. Good move Michel Therrien. You might just have a job next year.

5:51
1:00 left in the game, the refs have swallowed their whistle but do the Pens realize it?

5:53
Fleury ROBS Mike Fisher!!

5:54
Pittsburgh steals one.

Pittsburgh stole one this afternoon, but you need to do that in the opponents’ rink to win a series if you don’t have the home ice advantage. They got Ottawa to move away from their usual tight defensive team play and turned the game into a shoot out in the third period. Gary Roberts got the Penguins going with some timely hits and just plain old heady veteran smarts. The tying goal – the break that the Penguins needed but seemed reluctant to go after - was a testament to his constantly running motor. He ran the Ottawa defenseman off of the puck behind the Ottawa goal and made it easy for Michel Ouellet to get the puck out to Jordan Staal.

When the tight checking disappeared and the game opened up, Evegeni Malkin decided that it was time to make his appearance. His offensive skills helped the Pittsburgh offense get going and his assist on the winning goal was a thing of beauty.

Ottawa’s Ray Emery didn’t have a chance on the final goal, and would have had to make a spectacular save on Staals’ goal, or the Roberts Power plat goal, at the same time spectacular saves in the playoffs is what separates the top goaltenders from the Andrew Raycrofts of the league.