NHL Playoffs '07: Senators take 3-1 series lead
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Peter Diana, Post-Gazette
Evgeni Malkin reacts after being stopped by Senators goalie Ray Emery last night at Mellon Arena.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
It wouldn't sting the Penguins any less if Daniel Alfredsson had scored the goal.
Or Dany Heatley or Jason Spezza or Mike Comrie, for that matter.
After all, it's the scoreboard that matters, not the scoresheet, so the Penguins don't care that it was Anton Volchenkov who got the decisive goal in a 2-1 loss to Ottawa at Mellon Arena in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series last night.
But anyone with a sense of the absurd would.
Because for all the world-class talent on Ottawa's roster, the outcome was cemented by a defensive specialist who not only recorded his first goal of the series, but matched his output from 78 regular-season games in the process.
The score was tied, 1-1, and the middle of the third period was approaching when Comrie flipped a backhand feed to Volchenkov in the slot.
Volchenkov had several options, and picked the most unlikely: He buried the puck behind goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.
Who'd have guessed he could? Or would even think to try?
"It was a good shot," Penguins right winger Mark Recchi said. ""He had time to pick his spot."
And plenty of opportunity to savor and evaluate it once the game was over.
"It was a pretty good shot," Volchenkov said. "Maybe a little lucky, but it feels good now."
It should, because Ottawa owns a 3-1 advantage in the series and can close it out with a victory in Game 5 tomorrow at 7:08 p.m. at Scotiabank Place. If the Penguins win, Game 6 will be Sunday at 1:08 p.m. at Mellon Arena.
"You can't look at the top of the mountain, because it looks pretty high right now," Penguins coach Michel Therrien said. "One step at a time."
The Penguins, it should be noted, have twice won series after losing three of the first four games. Trouble is, this time they're not facing Washington, the team against which they came back after being down, 3-1, in 1992 and 1995.
The encouraging thing for the Penguins is that they produced easily their most impressive effort of the series and proved conclusively that they can compete with the Senators.
"We laid it out there," center Sidney Crosby said. "I think we showed ourselves, we showed them, that we're a tough team to play against when we want to [be]."
Then again, for all the things the Penguins did well, they still couldn't get the victory that injected some suspense into the series, which has to be more than a little deflating.
"You have to be able to find a way to win," defenseman Josef Melichar said. "And we didn't do that."
A big part of the reason for that is that the Penguins failed to score on their five power plays.
"Our power play wasn't good, and that was the difference," Recchi said. "If we get one goal, it's a different ballgame. If we get two goals, we win."
The Senators, who made most of their own breaks during the first three games, got an extraordinary one that they had nothing to do with at 3:25 of the first period.
With Penguins defenseman Ryan Whitney serving an elbowing minor, Spezza tried to throw the puck across the slot from the left point, only to have it carom off the stick of penalty-killer Jordan Staal.
But rather than thwarting a scoring chance, that created one, as the puck fluttered through the air before dropping behind Fleury -- who was screened by Senators winger Chris Neil -- and tumbling across the goal line.
To make it even more exasperating for the Penguins, Neil swung at the puck as it sailed past with an obviously high stick -- but failed to make contact, so the goal was allowed to stand.
"Of course, it was a lucky goal," Melichar said. "But things happen."
The Penguins failed to capitalize on their only try with the extra man during the first period and two more early in the second, but tied the score on an excellent shift by the Gary Roberts-Staal-Michel Ouellet line.
Staal got the goal, his third of the series, at 8:08 of the second when he chipped a Roberts rebound past Senators goalie Ray Emery.
Unfortunately for the Penguins, that was the only one of their 24 shots that ended up behind him, so they are now just one loss removed from an offseason that could begin by tomorrow night.
"We have to regroup, recharge and realize we have a big task at hand," Roberts said. "But I've seen funnier things happen."
Matt Freed, Post-GazetteJordan Staal celebrates with teammates after scoring in the second period last night.
Click photo for larger image.
More Coverage:
Penguins Playoff Notebook: Ineffective Christensen scratched by Therrien
Spezza: 'We want to bury [Penguins]'
Senators Notebook: Eaves takes Armstrong off hook for hit Sunday
Bob Smizik: Penguins' best effort just wasn't enough
Ron Cook: Feeling empty as the power play
Game 5: Penguins vs. Senators
Place: Scotiabank Place, Ottawa
Time: 7 p.m.
TV: FSN Pittsburgh.
Postgame commentary following the Penguins 2-1 home loss Tuesday night versus Ottawa:
Sidney CrosbyMark RecchiHead Coach Michel TherrienSenators' coach Bryan Murray
Matt Freed, Post-GazetteThe Senators' Dany Heatley checks Mark Eaton into the boards in the third period last night.
Click photo for larger image.
Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury bows his head last night during a moment of silence for the victims of the Virginia Tech shooting.
Peter Diana, Post-Gazette
First Published April 17, 2007 11:32 pm
