Penguins Notebook: Victory tonight against Senators would set up needed rest break
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Penguins forward Max Talbot on the potential of ending their series with the Senators: "Every time you have a chance to beat a team, you want to do that."
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After playing in the Stanley Cup Finals the past two seasons, the Penguins know better than any other team in the NHL that finishing a series as quickly as possible can be beneficial for a long playoff run. And that is precisely why they would like to end their first-round series against the Ottawa Senators tonight in Game 5 at Mellon Arena.
In their run to the Stanley Cup last season, the Penguins had at least three days of rest between each of their playoff series. Knocking out the Senators tonight and avoiding a return trip to Ottawa for Game 6 Saturday night could be especially important for a team that has played 294 games (regular season and playoffs included) since the beginning of the 2007-08 season.
"Rest is huge in the playoffs," winger Pascal Dupuis said Wednesday after the team's optional skate at Mellon Arena. "We said it in the locker room as a joke, but rest is a weapon. We want as much rest as we can get. Obviously, we want to finish the series [tonight]."
The Penguins had two opportunities to end series on home ice last season and failed each time. They were up, 3-1, against Philadelphia in a first-round series, lost Game 5 at Mellon Arena and had to overcome a three-goal deficit in Game 6 in Philadelphia to close out the series in six games. They also could have ended the second-round series against the Capitals at Mellon Arena, but lost Game 6 at home and needed to win Game 7 at the Verizon Center in Washington.
"Every time you have a chance to beat a team, you want to do that," winger Max Talbot said. "We failed to do that last year. This year is a new year. You learn from it. That's a good thing about the experience from the last couple of years when we have been playing a lot of playoff games. We know they're going to come to play. We've learned from it, and we can definitely say we'll be at our best and be ready to win this."
First Published April 22, 2010 12:44 am
