Through the opening 10 minutes of Sunday's Game Two of the NHL Eastern Conference playoffs in Pittsburgh, it seemed as if the Penguins were poised to take charge of their second-round series against the Montreal Canadiens.
They had complete control of the game, dominating along the boards, getting pucks and traffic to the net, which led to their 1-0 advantage after a beautiful Matt Cooke goal 4:38 into the first period.
But after five minutes of continued domination, Ruslan Fedotenko took a foolish penalty in the offensive zone at 9:44 of the first that allowed the Canadiens to settle into the game.
From that point on, the Penguins got away from their physical game.
Instead, they started playing a Washington-esque style of play, hence their unsatisfactory outcome.
What do I mean by a Washington-esque game?
To put it plainly, like the ousted Capitals failed to do leading up to their eventual Game Seven undoing at the hands of the Canadiens in the first round, the Pens did not keep it simple after the first 10 minutes of the game.
Second chance opportunities were few and far between, an ...
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Article written by J.R. Liput
Penguins Caught Playing Washington-esque Game, Lose Game Two
May 2nd, 2010 by J.R. Liput Leave a reply »
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