Fleury, Malkin Deliver Penguins 2-0 Shutout Victory In Game 3

Who said Penguins' players don't read my blog?

For several days in this space, I have spoken of the need for the Pittsburgh Penguins to get better performances from center Evgeni Malkin and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, and many others in the media have sent out the same call.

And so, what happened last night in game 3 of the Eastern Conference Seminfinal between the Penguins and Montreal Canadiens?

In front of more than 21,000 outrageous, screaming fans, Malkin scored the game-winning goal early in the third period and Fleury pitched the first playoff shutout for a visiting team in Montreal in 28 seasons, stopping 18 shots as the Pens won 2-0 and took a 2-1 series lead over Les Habitants

Not surprisingly, last night's contest was all Montreal at the outset.

The Canadiens probably played their best period of the series in the first, capitalizing on the energy that their home crowd provided them, and allowing Pittsburgh only 3 shots on goal.

BUT, after missing a few chances and Fleury coming up with some stops, all the Canadiens had to show for it was 7 shots and a 0-0 score heading into the intermission.

Once the Penguins did a good job of weathering that expected storm, they came out and dominated the second period, outshooting the Habs 13-3. They, too, however, had nothing to show for it, as Montreal netminder Jaroslav Halak kept his team in the game with several strong saves, including one on Pens' rearguard Alex Goligoski.

The momentum turned as the period wound down, however, with Pens' Captain Sidney Crosby doggedly forcing Canadiens' defenseman Hal Gill to take a holding penalty with 6 seconds left in the frame.

Then, as time ended in the period, a scrum that ensued resulted in coincidental minor penalties to Pens' blueliner Kris Letang and Montreal defenseman Josh Gorges.

That left the Canadiens without their two best penalty killers to start the third period, and Pittsburgh took advantage when Malkin ripped a slapshot from the top of the left circle past Halak to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead 1:16 into the frame.

While the goal was vintage Malkin, a lot of other subtle things helped the Pens' get that tally, including the 2-man screen in front of Halak by Crosby and LW Chris Kunitz, as well as some deft work at the center point by quarterback Sergei Gonchar.

Gonchar is so smooth and smart back there. He's excellent with the slight look offs, body movement and different positioning that opens up shooting and passing lanes, and freezes netminders and defenders who are unsure of what he's going to do next.

After Malkin took his time in the spotlight, it was Fleury's turn.

The native of Quebec made two of his best stops of the post-season in the third period, robbing Montreal RW Mike Cammelleri with the left pad after sliding post-to-post across the crease, then using his right pad to extend and stop a re-direct from low in the slot by Habs' forward Tomas Plekanec while his team was down a man with about 3 minutes to go.

Both were vintage saves, and represented Fleury doing what he does best -- shutting the door when it means the most.

"It was a pretty big performance from him tonight," said Penguins' coach Dan Bylsma.

"We're really lucky to have him," Crosby said. "We wouldn't have gotten a win without the way he played."

And they aren't the only ones who feel that way:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/playoffs/2010/columns/story?columnist=burnside_scott&id=5163473

Once LW Pascal Dupuis -- playing on the top line last night because RW Bill Guerin was a late scratch due to back spasms -- scored into an empty net, the Canadiens were finished.

And so, after their win last night, the Pens' are now 4-0 on the road in this post-season, and carry a deserved 2-1 lead into game 4.

The best part is, they still can improve.

Malkin, though, may have been the best forward for the Penguins last night. He had 7 shots on goal and, while Pittsburgh could still use more from him at even strength, there's no doubt he picked up the slack last night while Crosby was limited to a single shot for the second straight game in this series.

Where the Penguins were pretty good overall last night was in the neutral zone. They kept Montreal at bay and Cammelleri credited their structure after the game last night as being an underrated reason for Pittsburgh's success.

He's right. Once again, the Habs were limited to only 18 shots in the game, and only 7 were registered by players not named Cammelleri or Brian Gionta.

For that matter, the Canadiens had only 10 through the first two periods, and they weren't nearly as opportunistic as they were in game 2 of this series.

Undoubtedly, Montreal continues to be limited by the absence of top rearguard Andre Markov, who TSN Canada reported yesterday has a torn ACL in his knee and is out for the post-season.

For the Penguins, however, their injury news is surprisingly more encouraging.

In a startling development, Pens' center Jordan Staal -- who had surgery just 3 days ago to repair a sliced tendon in his right foot and was thought to be perhaps lost for the playoffs -- actually skated for about 5 minutes before the team's morning skate began in Montreal yesterday.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette even reported that Staal put "considerable weight" on the foot.

I saw a clip of Staal on the ice and, while I wouldn't necessarily go that far based on what I witnessed, it's unmistakable that Staal was skating and turning and shooting -- and smiling -- very well for a guy who went under the knife for just days earlier.

Needless to say, I was extremely encouraged by seeing Staal on the ice. It's certainly reasonable to think at this point he isn't at all lost for the playoffs and could very well return in the near future -- perhaps in the next round. Bylsma said it may end up being more about the degree of pain Staal can withstand with his foot in a skate.

Staal's quick return to the ice makes me wonder, though, about the full scope of his initial injury.

Now, there's no doubt that Staal had surgery, but several -- and I mean, SEVERAL -- sources reported that he completely severed the tendon as opposed to lacerating it.

After seeing him skate already, I can't help but wonder whether those reports were wrong and that he, indeed, suffered only a laceration.

But no matter. The good news is he's out on the ice again.

Let's hope the Penguins can continue that good mojo in game 4 on Thursday night, also at The Bell Centre. After all, their strong performance last night in game 3 means little if they can't take advantage and win the next one.

More later.


NOTES:

With Guerin out, Bylsma gave Mark Letetsu a chance to play in his first playoff game last night. He centered the third line with Matt Cooke and Tyler Kennedy and acquitted himself reasonably well in about 13 minutes of ice time.

Guerin is day-to-day, by the way. The back spasms have been an occasional issue for him the last few months.

With TK playing on the third line, Bylsma moved Max Talbot up to play with Malkin on the 2nd line last night.