Penguins Face Must-Win Game 3 In Face of Ovechkin's Guarantee Of A Sweep

Some people are of the adage that only elimination games are must-wins.

Not me.

Technically, that's true, of course. There's no ambiguity to what happens if you lose a 4th game of a best-of-seven series.

You spend the next several months wondering what could have been.

However, I believe that any team in a 2-0 hole -- like, oh, just for example, the Pittsburgh Penguins in their Eastern Conference Semifinal series with the Washington Capitals -- faces a must win game 3.

Any team that goes down 3-0 in a series has committed virtual suicide.

Certainly, at least one player on the Washington Capitals believes that, not only are the Caps' going to put the Penguins in that 3-0 hole, but are actually going to sweep the Penguins.

Who?

You may have heard of this guy. I think Ovechkin is his name.

Here's the article. Read the last quote at the end of the piece:

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Playoffs/Washington/2009/05/05/9361666-ap.html

Now, the Penguins probably don't need that motivation to win tonight. They know what's at stake.

But it sure pisses me off.

On the ice, the Penguins clearly need to get a strong performance from Evgeni Malkin tonight. He's been MIA this entire series and without him, the Penguins won't advance.

Sidney Crosby can't continue to do it alone.

Can he?

Remember, Pittsburgh has done a pretty good job containing just about all of the Capitals' other offensive weapons except for #8. Semin ... Green ... Backstrom ... all haven't had a meaningful impact in this series.

The problem is that there's no guarantee that will continue, which makes it all the more imperatvive that Malkin and Crosby's other teammates step up and contribute.

It's questionable as to whether Penguins' defenseman Kris Letang will play this evening in game 3 after he came up with some shoulder or arm problem following a hit by Washington defenseman Mike Green in the 3rd period of game 2.

According to Penguins' coach Dan Blysma, the injury is not nearly as bad as initially feared. Bylsma charaterized Letang's problem as a "strength" issue, not any other issue.

That's ambiguous to me, but at the very least, it seems as if Letang may be dealing with a nerve deficit, rather than a separated shoulder, like what cost blueline comrad Sergei Gonchar about 5 months of the season this year.

I expect Letang to sit and anticipate Bylsma putting Philippe Boucher in the lineup in his place.

The Capitals also have a few injury questions going into tonight. Will defenseman John Erksine play after missing game 2? I think it's unlikely he'll be in the lineup. If he's out again, expect rookie Tyler Sloan to again get the call. The Penguins need to put more pressure on him by getting pucks in on him and trying to force him into turnovers.

Also questionable for tonight for the Caps is 4th line winger Eric Fehr, who took a big hit from Pens' LW Ruslan Fedotenko in game 2. If Fehr can't go, logic suggests that Washington coach will go with veteran forward Michael Nylander in Fehr's place.

Back to the Penguins for a minute.

I suspect that Bylsma won't make too many tactical changes for tonight. He's a guy that preaches believing in what you do and the success that it will ultimately bring, even after a little bit of adversity.

And there's good merit to that.

The players seem to be -- and at this point, should be -- continuing to buy that. Remember, the Penguins played pretty well overall in games 1 and 2. Both contests easily could have gone their way. They have to believe that if they continue to throw 36 pucks at Capitals' netminder Simeon Varlamov, they're going to do well on most nights.

That said, I believe there are a few things Bylsma should do with the lineup in tonight's game.

The first thing he should do is dress RW Miro Satan and get him in the lineup. I'd consider sitting winger Pascal Dupuis for him.

Sure, you lose Dupuis from your PK unit, but you still should have enough guys to do that job. Dupuis hasn't been doing anything offensively and, at this point in the series, you need offense. There's no guarantee Satan will provide that -- especially on the 4th line -- but what do you have to lose. Goals are at a premium and, if anything, Satan may give you that.

The other thing I would do tonight if I were Bylsma is pair Malkin and Crosby together a lot more often.

Those two guys usually have good success when put on the same line and clearly, Malkin needs to get going. Even if it's just to boost his confidence. With Crosby playing just about the best hockey of his career, there's no better time to match them together -- at least from time to time.

We'll see if that plays out tonight. The fact that the Penguins are now at home and will have the last change may help in that regard.

Recap tomorrow.

Let's Go Pens.

NOTE: Yesterday, the Penguins signed their 3rd round draft choice in 2007, Casey-Pierro Zabotel, to a 3-year entry level contract. Zabotel, a product of the Penguins' strong 2007 draft class, played for the Vancouver Giants in the Western Hockey League this past season and led the league in scoring with 115 points on 36 goals and 79 assists. He was named the WHL's player of the year. Zabotel, who would have gone back into the pool this year if not signed by the 2009 entry draft, will report directly to the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins for the middle of their playoff run. The Baby Penguins are currently, and coincidentally, playing the Washington Capitals' farm team, the Hershey Bears, in the 2nd round of the American Hockey League playoffs there. Unfortunately, just like the parent club, the Baby Penguins are also down 2 games to none in their series.