Penguins beat Senators, even series
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Penguins captain Sidney Crosby moves from behind the net to set up Kris Letang's winning goal in the third period of Friday's game at Mellon Arena.
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The Penguins had insisted this was not a must-win game for them and, really, they had a point.
After all, you can't lose a best-of-seven series in two games.
But a couple of early losses sure can get a team moving down the road to the off-season. Fast.
Which is why the Penguins' 2-1 victory against Ottawa at Mellon Arena Friday night, which tied their opening-round series, 1-1, was so critical.
Oh, the Penguins know they can rally from a 2-0 deficit -- they did it twice in 2009, although both of their early losses against Washington and Detroit came on the road -- but they also realize it's not something they want to make a habit of.
"Being down, 2-0, and going into their building would be a tough task," said defenseman Kris Letang, who scored the game-winner at 15:48 of the third period.
Game 3 will be Sunday at 6:38 p.m. at Scotiabank Place. Whether the Penguins will have defenseman Jordan Leopold in their lineup then remains to be seen.
They lost him at 17:19 of the first period, after Leopold absorbed a wicked hit from Senators defenseman Andy Sutton while carrying the puck through the neutral zone.
Leopold had crossed the red line when Sutton stepped into him and appeared to drive his elbow or forearm into Leopold's head. Leopold immediately felt to the ice and looked to be unconscious, but was able to skate to the locker room a few minutes later, albeit with people on either side of him.
"He had his head down," Sutton said. "I moved toward him. It was a clean hit."
Although there was no penalty on the play, that does not preclude the NHL fining or suspending Sutton.
"I know that it was a hard hockey hit," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. "I also know the league is looking at everything under a microscope."
If Leopold does not get medical clearance to play in Game 3 --Bylsma said he will be further evaluated today -- the Penguins presumably will replace him with veteran Jay McKee, a healthy scratch for the first two games.
Game 2 got the most ominous start possible for the Penguins when Ottawa's Peter Regin whipped a shot over goalie Marc-Andre Fleury's glove from the slot just 18 seconds after the opening faceoff.
First Published April 17, 2010 12:00 am
