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Monday, April 26, 2010
A favorite gesture of Penguins center Evgeni Malkin is to shrug when presented with a conversation topic not to his liking.
His teammates seemed to take the same approach during an opening-round Stanley Cup playoff series at each point when the Ottawa Senators provided them reason for concern.
The Penguins demonstrated an ability to regroup and quickly shake off adversity whenever the Ottawa Senators gave them reason for concern during the teams' opening-round Stanley Cup playoff series.File
The Penguins shrugged off a Game 1 loss at home, a first for this group in 10 postseason series.
They won Game 2 despite a puck that eluded goalie Marc-Andre Fleury 18 seconds into the contest.
They raced to a 4-0 lead in Game 4 at Ottawa, but within about five minutes, the Senators had cut that lead in half and had a power play with which to work.
Shrug.
Forward Max Talbot scored a shorthanded goal, his finest moment since two goals in Game 7 of the Cup Final last June, and the Penguins were on their way to a 3-1 series lead.
On Saturday night, that lead appeared in grave jeopardy. The Senators had already won Game 5 at Mellon Arena, going from a 2-0 lead to a 3-2 deficit in the third period to a 4-3 triple-overtime win. They were up in Game 6 at home, 3-0.
Four straight goals by the Penguins, none scored by Malkin or fellow superstar center Sidney Crosby, who combined for nine in the series, provided one final shrug at the Senators' expense.
"Obviously, we didn't want that to happen," center Jordan Staal said of the Penguins' Game 6 deficit, "but it just shows the character of this team and our ability to leave things behind."
Staal's regular left wing, Matt Cooke, who scored three goals in the series, indicated after Game 6 that he is unsure the answer to this question:
Did the Penguins not blink because of confidence that stems from having won the Cup or naivete developed from the past two postseasons when almost everything has gone their way?
"Does it matter?" Cooke said. "This is a group that doesn't panic, and to me that is the most important thing in a playoff series. The team that handles itself best usually plays the best over seven games."
The Penguins have been that team in eight of their past nine postseason series.
They showed in this one, which Staal said rivaled any in terms of "being tough," that they are more than just the oft-hyped "Big Four" of Crosby, Malkin, Staal and Fleury.
Twelve players scored a goal against the Senators, including winners from defenseman Kris Letang (Game 2), Talbot (Game 4) and winger Pascal Dupuis (Game 6).
Injuries to two regulars, defenseman Jordan Leopold (head) and right wing Tyler Kennedy (right leg), did not deter the Penguins, who also dressed left wing Ruslan Fedotenko for only two games. Fedotenko scored seven goals last postseason and has been a regular on Malkin's line for two years.
Left wing Chris Kunitz doubled his 2008 playoff goal total, finishing with two markers, six points and 22 hits.
Talbot, a non-factor in the regular season while battling multiple injuries, finished with four points. Also, he looked to have reconnected with Malkin, whom he helped to the playoff lead in points last spring.
Dupuis did not shy away from the physical nature of a series that averaged 79 combined hits. His overtime goal to clinch a Round 2 berth was a justifiable reward for continually using his speed to reach loose pucks in the offensive zone.
There is a lot to like about how the Penguins bounced the Senators.
Perhaps the most championship-like quality of this team is that its response to what worked well against Ottawa will match the reaction to when things went wrong in Round 1.
The Penguins' collective shrug says a lot about them.
"It's one series," Dupuis said. "Everybody in this room knows there is more to do."
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