Sunday, March 08, 2009

Penguins 4, Capitals 3 (OT - SO - 1-0)

So here are the important things to remember from today's win over the Caps:
  • The Pens are back in the playoffs (if the season were to end today) in a three-way tie for the sixth spot.
  • With today's win, the Pens control their own destiny in the playoff race. That's a really important piece of info - there is no longer a need for other teams to lose in order for the Pens to make the playoffs. They have things entirely in their own hands.
  • On the Caps broadcast, they call Ovechkin "The Great Eight", which sounds like "The Great Ape".
That reminds me of this guy:

Pretty striking likeness, no?

The game itself was a high intensity classic. The Pens built a 3-1 lead after two and squandered it (sound familiar?) If this were a playoff game, I'm not sure the visitors would have prevailed. Fortunately for us, this was decided by the shootout. Sid personally bested O-Face by scoring in the shootout. Alex couldn't score on his chance when his team needed him.

Other than a few brief breakdowns, the Pens played a solid road game. The Caps opened the third with two goals in the first 80 seconds, but things settled down a bit after that. The Caps were never able to take the lead, and that's a credit to the Pens ability to right the ship after things went wrong early in the third. Once they reached the 5:00 mark of the third, it was more about making sure you earn a point.

Just to show their luck lately, the Pens earned two.

Next up: The Panthers come to the Igloo for a huge showdown on Tuesday

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