<div align="center"> "Mentally, with the injury, it was good and bad. I had two months (off). It was awful. But at the same time I think I'm as hungry as I could be." - Sidney Crosby</div>
http://sportstwo.com/NHL/Game/Preview/2008...HL--PITTSBURGH0 PITTSBURGH (Ticker) - The Pittsburgh Penguins may have revenge on their minds when they host the Ottawa Senators in Game One of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals on Wednesday. Pittsburgh was ousted in five games by Ottawa in the quarterfinals last season, which was the first playoff series for the 2006-07 Hart Trophy winner, Sidney Crosby. The former first-round pick had three goals and two assists in the postseason. But this season, Crosby, who missed 29 games due to a high ankle sprain, has had plenty of help as Evgeni Malkin was ranked second in the league with 106 points, including 47 goals. The duo along with All-Star Marian Hossa, who was acquired at the trade deadline, has Pittsburgh in position to win a playoff series for the first time since 2001. "Last year, they took us out in five and we want to give them some payback," Penguins center Jordan Staal said. "We know what we can do and the team we have. As long as we get a strong start on the series, I think that we'll be fine." Ottawa, which went 3-0-1 in the four regular season meetings between the teams this season, ended the campaign in a 2-5-1 swoon, falling into seventh place in the East. Injuries may be a key issue for the Senators, who will be without 40-goal scorer Daniel Alfredsson. The team captain is expected to miss this series after injuring his knee last Thursday. Second-line leader Mike Fisher also is sidelined with a knee injury. Defense will be another issue for Ottawa, which allowed 247 goals during the regular season - the most of any team that qualified for the playoffs. Dany Heatley scored 41 goals and Jason Spezza led the team with 58 assists to lead the defending Eastern Conference champions during the regular season. The Penguins closed the season by earning at least a point in 11 consecutive home games (9-0-2) and 22 of the final 24 (19-2-3) en route to capturing the Atlantic Division title - its first division crown since the 1997-98 season.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/playoffs2008...&id=3336959 <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>A year ago, the hockey world observed Sidney Crosby as though he were a brand new organism unearthed in the excavation of some long-forgotten hockey rink. As the teenage scoring sensation and anointed savior of the game prepared for his first playoff series against Ottawa, we poked and prodded and mostly wondered. How would the league's scoring champ adjust to life in the pressure cooker of the postseason? What could he accomplish? How would he lead his team? Where would he lead his team? In the end, Crosby acquitted himself well in a five-game series loss to eventual Eastern Conference champion Ottawa. Crosby had five points in five games and averaged 21:40 minutes a night. He had one game winner and an even rating at the end of a series that seemed to reinforce the old maxim that you've got to fall before you can get up. Fast-forward to this spring, and many things have changed for both Crosby and the Penguins. The dynamics are different for Crosby, who missed 29 games, mostly because of a high ankle sprain, and the team, which begins the playoffs as the Atlantic Division champion and the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Here's a look at how things are different and what to expect from Sid The Kid the second time around: <u> Noting the obvious</u> Not that we're the masters of the obvious or anything, but Crosby is a year older this spring. Simply having a third NHL season under his belt, plus having played in the playoffs once, should eliminate whatever "Gee, so these are the playoffs" issues that might have been present a year ago. Even Crosby acknowledged the stark difference between the regular season and playoffs. "First 10 minutes, Game 1. It felt like they had eight guys out there," Crosby said Tuesday. "It was just one of those things where we were just watching, trying to feel it out, and they weren't. They were taking the play to us. As the series went on, we got better." The bottom line is, experience does matter, especially in the playoffs. Wayne Gretzky's first NHL playoff appearance with Edmonton produced three points in three games (this was back in the days of the elimination round). The next season, the Oilers advanced beyond the first round and Gretzky had 21 points in nine games. Crosby's landlord Mario Lemieux played for five seasons in the NHL before making the playoffs, then missed a year before posting 44 points (second-best all time) in his second playoff appearance as the Penguins won their first of back-to-back Cups. Former New York Rangers GM and current scout and analyst Neil Smith said, like Gretzky and Lemieux, Crosby should continue to get better in the playoffs given his experiences. "It's mostly the mental side of the game," Smith said. "It's a lot different than the regular season. A player needs to understand that it's a totally different mental game. You've got to learn how to handle certain situations mentally, being down in a series, facing elimination." Smith said having players like Darryl Sydor (two Cups) and Gary Roberts (one) will help in that process. Crosby, not surprisingly given his innate ability to understand the game, appears on task with Round 2 approaching. "You can watch as much as you want, but being in that atmosphere, being in that environment, knowing how to react and things like that, whether you are at home or on the road, just having that sense of 'I've been through this before,'" Crosby said. "It's very emotional when you're in the playoffs, so the more you're prepared for what can happen, the better you are." <u>Is the ankle half full or half empty?</u> There are two trains of thought regarding how or if Crosby's ankle injury may affect his performance in the playoffs. 1. It's sometimes said it's better to break a bone than to have a severe sprain, whether it's the high-ankle variety, which Crosby suffered back on Jan. 18, or other body parts. You just never know how long it's going to take to be back to 100 percent. Crosby came back on March 4, played three games and then took off until March 27 to build up strength in the ankle. He also sat out the regular-season finale against Philly, although some say that may have been more tactical than physical. If Crosby can't go every night in the playoffs or can't go at 100 percent, it not only hurts the team, but also Crosby's own rhythm. Analyst Pierre McGuire, for one, thinks it's a moot point. He has noted in recent games how Crosby has driven the net, how he has veered into high-traffic areas and taken a pounding, especially against Philadelphia, without showing any signs of hesitancy or that he doesn't trust the ankle to hold up. 2. Hey, it's a long season. No one wants to be out with an injury, but if the ankle is fully healed, Crosby should hit the postseason without any sense of fatigue and with a reservoir of energy. "I think he comes in more invigorated and refreshed," McGuire said. As for Crosby, he doesn't seem worried about the ankle's affecting his game. "I'm fine," Crosby said. "I think there's a lot of speculation with my ankle because they sat me out on Sunday. But that's really not the case. It was more of just getting a rest and just making sure that I'm ready for the playoffs. But the ankle is giving me no problems whatsoever." <u>Expectations</u> While it's true "expectation" is Crosby's middle name, playoff expectations are a different beast entirely than, say, the expectations of saving the NHL, selling all kinds of products and cleaning up after himself at Lemieux's house. And make no mistake, the expectations surrounding Crosby and this team are markedly different this time around. Some of this dynamic was evident at the start of the season, when everyone expected the Penguins to run away with the Eastern Conference. They started sluggishly. But there is a much smaller window for "slow starts" in the playoffs, so it will be interesting to see whether Crosby tries to push too much or simply hits the ground running and the rest of the talented Penguins follow. When he went down with his ankle injury he was again one of the top two or three players in the league -- and he still finished the season with 72 points in 53 games. If he can find that level of play early in the playoffs, things should be just fine. The fact the team did not fold when Crosby was out and sometimes linemate Evgeni Malkin tore up the league and finished second in league scoring should also, at least subliminally, tell Crosby he does not have to do everything for the Pens to succeed. <u>Linemates</u> With all due respect to Colby Armstrong and Mark Recchi (and even Malkin), the Penguins went out and bought themselves (OK, rented) a shiny new winger for Crosby in Marian Hossa. That should make a significant difference in how Crosby plays during these playoffs. Sometimes, a player tries to do it all himself because there aren't enough people around him to help. The acquisition of the talented winger from Atlanta at the trade deadline cost the Pens Armstrong, Crosby's best buddy and road roommate, Erik Christensen, a No. 1 pick and prospect Angelo Esposito. The dilemma from the Pens' standpoint has been that injuries to both Crosby and Hossa have kept the two from spending a lot of time playing together. The challenge, then, will be in finding chemistry on the fly. But that's the nice thing about talent -- it allows you to do those kinds of things. "It's certainly going to be hard to shut them all down," Smith said. "And Crosby wants to win, whether he scores or not." McGuire said he thinks Crosby has grown dramatically in his ability to recognize and compete against matchups provided by opposing teams. This sometimes involves distributing the puck more quickly and knowing when to use his skills to drive the net. This season, with Hossa's arrival and Malkin's stepping out from Crosby's significant shadow, that shouldn't be an issue.</div>
There was some excellent goaltending on both sides. The only difference was that Gerber was hung out to dry by his team's half-assed effort, whereas the Pens showed up to play. I'm really hoping to see Montreal vs. Pittsburgh in the Conference Final.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/playoffs2008...&id=3333311 <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%">First-round breakdown: Penguins vs. Senators</span> Last spring, everyone was watching the young Penguins and teenage scoring champion Sidney Crosby as they ventured into the playoffs for the first time. It was a short but compelling lesson in playoff hockey administered by the Ottawa Senators, who dispatched the Pens in five before reaching their first Stanley Cup finals. A year later, the Penguins came within two points of the Eastern Conference title and play a Senators team that limped into the postseason, decimated by injury and wracked by controversy. The Penguins discovered they weren't a one-man team after losing Crosby for a month and a half with a high ankle sprain and seeing Evgeni Malkin shoulder the load to finish second in NHL scoring behind Alexander Ovechkin with 106 points. Gary Roberts, who returned to the lineup Sunday, and Darryl Sydor should continue to stabilize a young lineup with high expectations. The biggest change is former Senator Marian Hossa has joined the high-octane Penguins, coming over from Atlanta at the deadline. Meanwhile, things have gone wrong down the stretch for an Ottawa team that jumped out of the gate with a 15-2-0 record. An inability to rein in netminder Ray Emery ultimately cost coach John Paddock his job. But even when GM Bryan Murray stepped back behind the bench, the team's woes continued. Worse, they lost captain Daniel Alfredsson and second-line center Mike Fisher for "weeks" in their second-to-last game of the season. "Can anybody like anything about Ottawa? The offense is gone, goaltending is sub-standard, the room is a mess," national analyst and former NHL netminder Darren Eliot told ESPN.com. "They have all the earmarks of a team that can't wait for the season to be over." 1. Pressure, what pressure? We saw what happened to the Buffalo Sabres last season, when they suddenly moved from dark horse to Cup contender. They didn't like it too much and their game reflected that unease. We saw a bit of that at the start of the season with the Penguins, who eventually righted the ship despite injuries to Crosby, Roberts and top netminder Marc-Andre Fleury. Now, everyone expects them to blow past Ottawa and march to at least the conference finals in just their second playoff berth since 2001. On the other side, the Senators shouldn't be feeling much pressure (numb is a nice word) given that everyone and their dog assumes Ottawa is cooked. That might help the uptight Sens to play a little looser. Randy Robitaille, Antoine Vermette and Chris Neil will be playing out of character, logging power-play and penalty-killing time. 2. A Fleury of activity. There were more than a few questions about whether Fleury, the former No. 1 draft pick, was the right guy to lead the Penguins to the promised land after last season's early playoff exit. It might have taken a high ankle sprain to help keep the doubters at bay. When Fleury went down with the injury Dec. 6, his replacement, Ty Conklin, stabilized the team and helped keep them in contention for a division and conference title. When Fleury returned to action Feb. 28, he hit a groove almost immediately and left no question as to who "the man" is in the Penguins' net. In 14 appearances since his return, Fleury has not allowed more than three goals in a game and his .920 save percentage was tied for fifth in the league. 3. Speaking of goaltenders. We won't belabor the point, but the Senators' goaltending situation is half soap opera, half train wreck; entertaining from the outside, but not that pleasant from the inside. The bottom line is, with the injuries the Senators are dealing with, they need stellar goaltending more than ever if they're going to have a glimmer of hope vs. the Penguins. If Martin Gerber can put together some solid performances, the Sens would be more than happy. The fact they play like they're afraid every time the puck comes near Gerber suggests the Sens don't really think that's going to happen. So, what does Murray do? Does he, at some point, go back to Emery? Emery did, after all, backstop the Sens to the 2007 Stanley Cup finals. Either way, the prospects are not particularly appetizing. 4. Hello, Hoss. Little Joe is in the barn. OK, so Hossa probably isn't a big fan of "Bonanza." But he is a big fan of money, and if he can finally shake the "playoff choker" label that hangs, fair or not, around his neck, the talented forward stands to cash in big time this July as an unrestricted free agent. Hossa has 35 points in 55 postseason games, most of which was with the Senators. He is minus-9 over his playoff career. Last season, he was dreadful for the Thrashers, collecting one assist and was a minus-6 as Atlanta was swept by the New York Rangers. The assumption is Hossa will likely start the playoffs playing with Crosby. Hossa isn't the only one who will face pressure to perform in the playoffs. Ray Shero mortgaged a big chunk of the future (two position players, a top prospect and a first-round draft pick) to bring Hossa over. If the Pens flame out early, that won't look very good on the GM's résumé, will it? 5. Back end of the fire wagon. The perception is that while the Penguins can light it up at will, a la the Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s, their defense is not as tough. That's actually not the case. Yes, the Penguins ranked seventh in goals per game, but they also were a surprising 10th when it came to goals allowed. Sergei Gonchar not only finished second among NHL defensemen in point production, but he was also a plus-11. Darryl Sydor brought some veteran toughness (and two Stanley Cup rings) to the back end and Rob Scuderi and Brooks Orpik both have some snarl. Ryan Whitney is back where he belongs, on the blue line, after being sent to the front lines for some attitude readjustment for a couple of games. • Sens' power play vs. Pens' penalty killing: The one area the Penguins might be vulnerable in is killing penalties. The team finished 23rd, while the Sens were 13th on power play. That power play was used to having Alfredsson directing traffic, but if the Sens are going to stay close, they're going to have to exploit this weakness by first drawing penalties and then making their makeshift power-play unit click. • Penguins: Pascal Dupuis, a throw-in on the Hossa trade, has 10 points in his last 10 games, including three multipoint outings. Petr Sykora has gone six games without a goal. • Senators: Vermette has four goals in his last two games, which is a good thing given he is now the team's No. 1 center. Mike Commodore, who came over with Cory Stillman from Carolina, is minus-9 since joining the Senators. It's weird to think of the Senators as underdogs. But given their implosion, underdog hardly covers it. Doubt if the Penguins spend much time feeling sorry for their opponents. Pens in five.</div>
http://sportstwo.com/NHL/Game/Recap/20080409NHL--PITTSBURGH0 PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- Despite wearing a different uniform, Gary Roberts continues to haunt the Ottawa Senators. Roberts scored twice, Evgeni Malkin added a goal and two assists and Marc-Andre Fleury made 26 saves as the Pittsburgh Penguins skated to a convincing 4-0 victory over the Senators on Wednesday in the opener of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. Petr Sykora also tallied for the Penguins, who evened their all-time record to 11-11 in playoff series openers on home ice. Pittsburgh hosts Game Two on Friday. Martin Gerber stopped 31 shots for Ottawa, which went 0-for-7 on the power play. Seeking their first playoff series victory since 2001, the Penguins got on the scoreboard early. After grabbing a loose puck in the bottom of the slot, Roberts put a backhander past goaltender Gerber with his back to the net just 68 seconds into the contest for a 1-0 lead. For the 41-year-old Roberts, who returned to the lineup for the regular-season finale after missing 43 games with a broken leg, it was the 13th goal and 22nd point in 24 career postseason contests against the Senators while with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The veteran, who added his 14th tally vs. Ottawa late in the third, has 32 goals in 120 playoff games overall. Pittsburgh doubled its advantage with 7:32 remaining in the first period. Leading a 2-on-1 rush after chipping the puck past defenseman Mike Commodore, Malkin made a cross-slot pass to Sykora, who fired the puck inside the right goalpost from the right faceoff circle for his 27th career postseason goal and a 2-0 bulge. The Penguins nearly added to the lead midway through the second, but Gerber made a fantastic glove save on former Senator Marian Hossa from the slot with 9:26 to go. Moments earlier, Ottawa defenseman Anton Volchenkov was hit in the head by a slap shot by Malkin and remained on the ice before being attended to by the team trainer. With blood trickling from his forehead, Volchenkov held a towel against the wound, retreated to the locker room to receive stitches and did not return. Ottawa was unable to halve the deficit despite several power-play opportunities in the period, including a 5-on-3 advantage for 57 seconds. The Senators also had a number of chances with the extra skater in the third, including another two-man advantage, but were unable to get anything past Fleury. The first overall pick of the 2003 draft, Fleury made eight saves in the first period, 10 in the second and eight in the third en route to his first career postseason shutout. Malkin erased any hopes of a comeback with 6:02 left in the period, converting a return pass from defenseman Ryan Whitney for his first career playoff goal. Roberts completed the scoring with 95 seconds remaining, when Malkin's pass from along the end line on the right side caromed off his left skate and into the net. Captain Daniel Alfredsson missed the game with a knee injury. The veteran Swede had appeared in all of the previous 99 playoff contests in club history.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Chutney @ Apr 9 2008, 10:34 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>There was some excellent goaltending on both sides. The only difference was that Gerber was hung out to dry by his team's half-assed effort, whereas the Pens showed up to play. I'm really hoping to see Montreal vs. Pittsburgh in the Conference Final.</div> And this was after Bryan Murray tried to get the Sens to play with a chip on their shoulders by telling them that the Pens tanked the last game of the season to play them.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>For the 41-year-old Roberts, who returned to the lineup for the regular-season finale after missing 43 games with a broken leg, it was the 13th goal and 22nd point in 24 career postseason contests against the Senators while with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The veteran, who added his 14th tally vs. Ottawa late in the third, has 32 goals in 120 playoff games overall.</div> Memories...
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (cpawfan @ Apr 9 2008, 09:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Chutney @ Apr 9 2008, 10:34 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>There was some excellent goaltending on both sides. The only difference was that Gerber was hung out to dry by his team's half-assed effort, whereas the Pens showed up to play. I'm really hoping to see Montreal vs. Pittsburgh in the Conference Final.</div> And this was after Bryan Murray tried to get the Sens to play with a chip on their shoulders by telling them that the Pens tanked the last game of the season to play them. </div> He's totally lost that team. That whole Emery/Gerber fiasco was badly handled by both the coach and the GM and it messed up that team's chemistry. They've only made excuses since then, using makeshift solutions, and the players have taken advantage of it to the point where they're just going through the motions out there. I'm totally loving this season's schadenfreude. If the Leafs suck, I want to see the Canucks and Senators suck as well. And they have: massively.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Chutney @ Apr 9 2008, 10:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I'm totally loving this season's schadenfreude. If the Leafs suck, I want to see the Canucks and Senators suck as well. And they have: massively.</div> Why no hatred for Montreal, Calgary or Edmonton?
Fluery is falling apart and the Sens have just tied game 2 3-3 by scoring 3 unanswered goals 9+ minutes to go
Put in the Conk-block! <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (cpawfan @ Apr 9 2008, 10:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Chutney @ Apr 9 2008, 10:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I'm totally loving this season's schadenfreude. If the Leafs suck, I want to see the Canucks and Senators suck as well. And they have: massively.</div> Why no hatred for Montreal, Calgary or Edmonton? </div> I've always had traditional hatred for Montreal, what with the age-old rivalry. But I have to admit that they're an entertaining team to watch. I don't really cheer for any Canadian team, because they all hate Toronto so intensely. Ottawa and Vancouver just stand out more than the rest because one's close by and the other has a lot of my relatives.
