Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer
May 10, 2008
PITTSBURGH - MAY 09: Evgeni Malkin #71 of the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrates his short-handed second period goal as goaltender Martin Biron #43 of the Philadelphia Flyers reacts during game one of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2008 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Mellon Arena on May 9, 2008 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH - In the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Flyers spun the pistol chambers in their game of Russian roulette and came through unwounded.
They kept Washington's Alex Ovechkin, the Hart Trophy favorite, from dominating and moved to the second round in seven games.
Next up was Montreal's most potent scorer, Alexei Kovalev, who ended up best remembered for his controversial goal in the series opener. Was it or was it not a high stick? Kovalev must have spent the rest of the series digging for the answer because little was heard from him afterward.
Now from Russia with no love lost for the Flyers is Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin, the gifted 21-year-old who got a popcorn shower from Flyers fans during a Penguins visit to the Wachovia Center this season.
The Flyers got their first postseason look at Malkin last night in the Penguins' 4-2 win at Mellon Arena. This time, the chamber was loaded.
You had to feel for Flyers goalie Marty Biron during a frozen moment early in the second period when Malkin, all alone, teed the puck up for a slapshot from between the face-off circles. Now that's looking down the barrel of a gun.
As if to say, "Here, Marty, stop this," Malkin ripped a shot that trailed sparks past Biron to give the Penguins a 4-2 lead.
"I decided just to shoot it as hard as I can," Malkin said through a translator. "I didn't think about making a move."
Evgeni Malkin of the Penguins scores against Martin Biron of the Flyers. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/NHLI via Getty Images)
The last time Malkin was so alone was when he was awarded a penalty shot in Game 4 against the New York Rangers. Apparently, he had too much time to think. He lollygagged toward goalie Henrik Lundqvist, drifted aimlessly, and didn't even come close to scoring. Lesson learned.
"In this situation, I didn't have a lot of time to think about what to do," Malkin said. "It's not like a penalty shot when you think about making a move."
Asked if he'd ever seen a player pull up so close to the net for a slapshot, Sidney Crosby shook his head. "If I had his shot, I'd do the same thing," he said.
Seconds before Malkin made it 4-2, he went tumbling to the ice after Mike Richards drove him into the boards. It might have been a little payback for the hit Malkin had on defenseman Braydon Coburn in the second period.
"I did not see that, but I heard it was a pretty good hit," said a linemate of Malkin's, Petr Sykora. "He likes the physical game. He doesn't mind hitting and he doesn't mind getting hit. Any time I played with him in Russia, he was one of the few Russians who liked to go through traffic and get hit, so I'm not surprised."
Malkin's second goal added to the lead he gave Pittsburgh with 6.5 seconds left in the first period when he took a cross-ice pass from Ryan Whitney at the Flyers' blue line and picked the corner of the net, beating Biron with a wrist shot from the dot in the face-off circle to break a 2-2 tie.
Malkin's talented hands were all over the win, which gave the Pens the opener of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals.
He got possession of the puck in the neutral zone and initiated the play that resulted in a goal by Sykora that gave the Pens a 1-0 lead 6 minutes, 19 seconds into the first period. He finished the night with three points, giving him 17 in 10 playoff games - eight goals and nine assists.
In the first two rounds, the Flyers had defenseman Kimmo Timonen practically climbing inside the jerseys of Ovechkin and Kovalev, and coach John Stevens figured to stick with that plan until a blood clot in Timonen's left ankle was diagnosed on Thursday.
Before last night's game, Timonen said he would offer his fellow blue-liners advice if anyone asked. It's hard to imagine what tips he might give on dealing with Malkin because the guy seems to materialize out of nowhere, and usually he's in position to do damage.
"He showed tonight, like every night, that he's a great player," Sykora said.
Contact staff writer Ray Parrillo at 215-854-2743 or rparrillo@phillynews.com
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