Penguins Blast Their Way To 2-1 Game 5 Victory, 3-2 Series Lead

As the Pittsburgh Penguins entered game 5 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal last night at Mellon Arena, there were no secrets about how their opponent -- the Montreal Canadiens -- likes to play defense.

Their plan is pretty simple: Throw a blanket around Penguins' Captain and superstar Sidney Crosby, and then throw a forcefield around the 10 feet surrounding their netminder, Jaroslav Halak.

While Crosby again struggled to break out in game 5 last night, the Penguins took advantage of the continually collapsing Montreal defense by winning 2-1 on the strength of two rocket goals from the point in the first and second periods by defenseman Kris Letang and Sergei Gonchar.

Those two goals and some stellar work between the pipes by Marc-Andre Fleury in a game where the Canadiens suprisingly outshot -- but not outplayed -- Pittsburgh, combined to give the Penguins a home victory in front of a raucous crowd and put them one win away from reaching the Eastern Conference Final for the third straight year.

Fleury was sharp early last night and held up his bargain all evening long, stopping 32 of 33 shots and only allowing a late power play goal to the Canadiens' Mike Cammalleri with 30 seconds left in the game on a puck that just squirted between his legs and across the line during a scrum around the net.

Otherwise, the flower bloomed for the second time in the last three games and earned the contest's #1 star.

While Crosby was bottled up again last night and now has gone a career-high six straight playoff games without a goal dating back to the Pens' first round series against the Ottawa Senators, his other superstar teammate, Evgeni Malkin, might have had his best game of the series.

Geno was dominant throughout game 5, skating with authority, controlling the puck at-will, and creating numerous scoring chances. His work down low in the first period led the Canadiens to pack around their netminder like sardines, which left Letang wide open at the point and led directly to his opening goal. Malkin also had about 3 or 4 grade "A" opportunites for goals of his own.

Another factor in Tanger's opening tally was RW Bill Guerin, who returned to the lineup last night after missing games 3 and 4 with an elbow problem, and deftly provided a screen in front of Halak on the play.

Not coincidentally, Guerin's teammate who also returned last night after missing game 4 with 'a bug' -- Mike Rupp -- did the same on Gonchar's goal in the second period.

And while I'm talking about Sarge's tally, a little shout-out is warranted for the guy who got the second assist on the play, center Mark Letestu. Letestu -- who centered the 4th line last night -- was real solid all over the ice last night in his second game of this series and I've been very pleased with what the Penguins have been getting from him.

AND, the fact that Pittsburgh Head Coach Dan Bylsma kept Letetsu in the lineup last night and instead scratched not only Ruslan Fedotenko -- who Bylsma has long been unsatisfied with -- but also trade deadline aquisition Alexei Ponikarovsky, says everything you need to know about how the call-up has exceeded expecatiations when on the ice.

Another notable development from last night's contest was that the Canadiens' 757 on the blueline -- rearguard Hal Gill -- left the game early in the third period after Pens' LW Chris Kunitz inadvertently stepped on the back of his leg near the knee. Gill is believed to have sustained a laceration on the play, did not return and was even said to not fly home with his teammates to Montreal last night, instead remaining in Pittsburgh for treatment.

If Gill can't go for game 6, an already depleted Montreal blueline is going to be that much thinner in a game where his team faces elimination by a club looking to close out its sixth straight series on the road dating back to last year.

More tomorrow as I preview that game 6.