Friday, April 15, 2011

Playoff Game #2 - vs Tampa Bay Lightning

Playoff Game 2
Tampa Bay Lightning at Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh leads the series 1-0.

The Pens need more of the same, but the dangerous thing is: so do the Lightning.

The Bolts did everything but score on Wednesday, so now they get the chance to earn the split in Pittsburgh and build some momentum heading back to Tampa Bay.

The Pens want to button down the defense so Marc-Andre Fleury doesn't have to make quite as many difficult saves. They also want to level things out across 60 minutes and score on the power play.

The key element to me for this game is staying out of the box. The Bolts didn't really get a big chance on the power play in Game 1. They were also victimized by a few non-calls (mainly on two consecutive high-sticks by Michalek), so expect the whistles to favor the Lightning. The Pens need to be aware of that and not put themselves in a bad spot.

Offensively, the Pens need to continue the excellent work done in the second and third period on Wednesday. Get the puck deep and go to work. The best way to keep the Lightning's offense from getting things rolling is to keep them bottled up in their own end.

It should be a great Friday night in the Burgh!

Let's Go Pens!

No comments: