Penguins Slam Senators 7-0, Grab Series Lead

As I settled into my seat at the Pennsbury Pub and Grille to watch yesterday’s Game Five clash between the Penguins and Senators, I was hoping against hope the locals would give a good account of themselves. What I witnessed was beyond my wildest dreams.

Easy on the blood pressure, too.

For the better part of a most pleasant afternoon, the Pens swarmed the Ottawa net in never-ending waves. Clad in their home black-and-gold uniforms, our guys fairly resembled announcer Mike Lange’s bees buzzing around a hive as they stung the Sens, 7-0, to snatch a 3-games-to-2 series lead.

Needless to say, there was plenty of offense to go around. Seven different Penguins lit the lamp, including Olli Maatta. For the second-straight game the fuzzy-cheeked assassin opened the scoring, beating Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson with an ice-hugging bullet to the short side. Maatta’s marker touched off a four-goal first period rampage, one that doomed the visitors.

Following an extended sequence of puckhandling wizardry by Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby tipped Trevor Daley’s knuckler past Anderson on the power play at 12:03. Four minutes later Bryan Rust—back in the lineup after missing the past two games with an upper-body injury—deflected a Nick Bonino wrister past Anderson.

The veteran goalie, who’d limited the Pens to a paltry three goals during the first three games of the series, was visibly rattled. His shook his head while remaining on one knee, a posture that no doubt alarmed coach Guy Boucher. The Ottawa skipper promptly summoned Anderson to the bench, replacing him with former Pen Mike Condon.

Condon’s initial stint between the pipes lasted all of 1:28. Anderson returned to the net following a stop in play and was victimized again, this time by Scott Wilson. “Willy” alertly pounced on a carom off the end boards and shoveled it in backhand fashion off the back of Anderson’s left leg and in.

That was all she wrote for the Sens’ starter, who’d been forced to contend with more traffic than Parkway commuters at rush hour.

Refusing to take their foot off the gas pedal, the Pens continued to attack. Sage center Matt Cullen converted on a made-to-order feed from fellow golden oldie Mark Streit at 1:54 of the second period to run the score to 5-0.

Fifty ticks into the third period the Pens upped the ante on an incredible play by Crosby. Taking a pass from Malkin below the right circle, Sid slipped the puck in blind, backhand fashion between the legs of defender Fredrik Claesson and past Condon to the waiting stick of Phil Kessel, who tapped it home.

Daley applied the final flourish with another power play goal—the Pens’ third of the afternoon—at 8:49. Ably filling in as quarterback for the injured Justin Schultz, Trevor drifted to center point, faked a shot, then blasted the puck past Condon, who was screened by Wilson on the play.

They say seven is the number of perfection and completion. So it was for our Penguins this fine Sunday.

Rousing Rowney

Forward Carter Rowney’s done a terrific job for the Pens this postseason. He’s been equal parts physical (a team-leading 45 hits), responsible and reliable, while adding an energetic presence to the bottom six.

Yesterday he provided a little offense, too. Enjoying a breakout game, the 28-year-old rookie from Grande Prairie, Alberta picked up three assists—his first points of the postseason—and finished a plus-4. The unexpected outburst earned Carter star-of-the-game honors.

“He’s a real good player, really underrated…” Pens goalie Matt Murray said. “I think one of his best abilities is his ability to skate for such a big guy, and he can really hit, as well. He can create some energy and some momentum on the forecheck, and he can produce, too.”

Just what the doctor ordered.

Cheap Shot

As is often the case in lopsided games, the Pens didn’t escape unscathed. In the closing seconds, Ottawa forward Tommy Wingels clocked Wilson in the face with a blindside forearm shiver, forcing the scrappy Pens winger to exit the ice.

Neither referee—Wes McCauley or Brad Meier—saw fit to issue a penalty. It remains to be seen if the league will take disciplinary action.

Puckpourri

The Pens held an edge in shots on goal (36-25) and shot attempts (56-47). Ottawa led in faceoffs (36-24) and hits (53-28).

Murray stopped all 25 shots he faced to earn his second career playoff shutout. He was awarded the game’s third star. Number-two star Rust (a goal and an assist) replaced Conor Sheary in the Pens’ lineup. Streit dressed in place of Chad Ruhwedel (concussion).

Malkin collected three assists to maintain his hold on the NHL postseason scoring lead (23 points). Josh Archibald registered six hits in 11:50 of ice time.