Game 3 Recap and Game 4 Notes: Penguins Lead Series 3-0

First, my apologies for not getting this up until today.

Second, more importantly, the Penguins are now on the verge of their second straight sweep following their 5-3 win over the Rangers in game 3 on Tuesday night. Geno was big in the game, scoring twice and adding a helper. Marian Hossa got the Penguins off and running with a crucial goal just over a minute into the contest that quieted the hostile road crowd. Even Big George Laraque got on the scoreboard in the first period.

Special teams were again huge in this game, as they almost always are in the playoffs (ask the Montreal Canadiens if you need more proof). The Penguins penalty killers did a fantastic job again, killing off 6 Ranger power plays. Meanwhile, after New York did such good work rallying from a 3-1 deficit in the second period to tie the game, Ranger forward Ryan Hollweg took an unexcusable and needless boarding penalty against Petr Sykora late in the period, putting the Penguins on a power play which Malkin capitalized on for the huge 4-3 lead going into the final frame. The Penguins put on a clinic on that man advantage. The Rangers had nothing left in the tank toward the end of the kill and Evengi made them pay. Malone's nice tip-in insurance goal in 3rd period, directly following a face-off win, sealed it.

This was the Penguins 7th straight win to the open the playoffs. Only 10 teams have done that in NHL history. 8 of them have gone on to win the Stanley Cup, including the last team to do it -- the 1994 Rangers team. Only 4 other teams have opened with 8 straight wins. The record for consecutive wins to open the playoffs is 9.

The Penguins are going to have to show killer instinct tonight. Good teams close the door on their first opportunity and they don't want to give the Rangers any momentum (however short lived it may end up being) by winning tonight.

By now, most know that Rangers' mosquito Sean Avery is out for the balance of the playoffs with a lacerated spleen he suffered in the first period of game 1. I'm certainly not going to cry about him being out of the lineup. New York will have a tougher time without him, although they are certain to try and use his absence as a rallying point.

Their even bigger (potential) loss for tonight's game 4, however, is Chris Drury. He suffered a suspected rib cage injury in game 3. Even though he returned to play, he was a non-factor, just like Avery was for the rest of the game after he got hurt. If the Rangers have to play without him, they are going to lose his offense and leadership, and have an even harder time on face-offs and on the penalty kill. Drury is a stalwart for them in all of those areas. Blair Betts also isn't expected to play tonight after suffering a fractured jaw or cheeckbone (along with a potential concussion) after being hit in the face with a deflected Ryan Malone shot in game 3. His loss also will hurt the penalty kill.

Meanwhile, the Penguins have some injuries they are dealing with now, too. After their gutsy shot blocks on the same 5 oon 3 penalty kill in game 3, Max Talbot and Rob Scuderi were both in walking boots yesterday after game 3. Talbot is suspected to have broken a bone in his foot, while Scuderi is suspected to have just a bruise. Although both are listed as day-to-day, leaving thier status for game 4 tonight uncertain, expect Talbot to sit, with Adam Hall sliding to center on line 4, and Gary Roberts being inserted in the lineup to play in Hall's spot on the wing on the same line. If Scuderi can't go, 2-time cup winner Darryl Sydor will join the lineup. If that's the case, it will be interesting to see if Therrein again changes his defense pairings.

Losing Talbot hurts. He's a good character guy and solid penalty killer with speed and more skill than the average 4th liner. The Penguins can win without him, though. if Scuderi is out for a while, it will hurt more. He's proven to be one of the Penguins defensive stalwarts. He hasn't gotten the credit he deserves in his career so far for developing into such a dependable defenseman, but he's actually gotten more recognition for his work as the playoffs have gone on. It's well-deserved in my opinion. It says a lot about our depth to be able to plug in a guy like Sydor in his absence.

Will tonight be the last game for Jaromir Jagr in a Ranger uniform -- or in the NHL? All haters aside, he's been fantastic in this series so far. I don't ever recall seeing him play with such an edge on the ice. The problem is that he can't completely carry the team. The Rangers have had subpar efforts so far from people like Brendan Shanahan, former Penguin Michael Rosival, and, most importantly, their goaltender. They have a lot of areas they need to improve in if they are going to make a miracle comeback and be only the 3rd team in the history of the game to come back from a 3-0 series deficit.

With any luck, the Penguins will broom away the Rangers misery tonight on their way to the conference finals for the first time since 2001.