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Sunday, May 9, 2010
The lightning rods struck back Saturday night.
Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury -- frequent fodder for the know-nothings around town -- stole the show in a must-have, 2-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens, one that gave the Penguins a 3-2 lead in this best-of-7 Eastern Conference semifinal.
PITTSBURGH - MAY 8: Marc-Andre Fleury(notes) #29 of the Pittsburgh Penguins makes a save on Glen Metropolit(notes) #15 of the Montreal Canadiens in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Semifinals during the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Mellon Arena on May 8, 2010 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)Fleury rebounded from a sub-par performance, as he always does this time of year. He made 32 saves and came within 30.8 seconds of recording his second shutout in three games after posting only one during the regular season.
Of course, even as we speak, somebody's probably ripping him for the goal.
"That's why I don't listen to talk shows," Fleury said, when asked about weathering the ridiculous criticism. "It's simpler that way."
In the final 15 seconds, Fleury kicked out a pad to stop Michael Cammalleri's blast from the right circle.
Clutch, as usual.
"From the start, he was there for us," said defenseman Sergei Gonchar. "We need him to be like that."
After a manic Montreal power-play barrage midway through the third period, fans chanted Fleury's name. Some, no doubt, were the same folks who gave him a mock cheer in Game 2 of the Ottawa series.
I actually heard somebody on Friday say he wished Johan Hedberg was still in town. That's what you're dealing with there.
Malkin's critics are worse.
Malkin has been the best player in this series, even if he doesn't have a bushel of points to show for it. Last night, he was in full-gallop mode, a sure sign he is feeling good. He had three straight shifts in the second period that were downright Mario-like. One resulted in Gonchar's goal to make it 2-0.
Malkin didn't get an assist on the play. He just did all the work. For most of the night, he was busting through Montreal checkers like a "bull," to use coach Dan Bylsma's word.
"There were three, four, five instances where he had the puck on a string and was going to a different level," Bylsma said. "That moves everybody, including the coaches, to the edge of their seats. That's a tough level for anyone to handle. I love seeing him there."
PITTSBURGH - MAY 8: Evgeni Malkin(notes) #71 of the Pittsburgh Penguins handles the puck in front of Hal Gill(notes) #75 of the Montreal Canadiens in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Semifinals during the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Mellon Arena on May 8, 2010 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)The two guys who are supposed to be Malkin's linemates -- Ruslan Fedotenko and Alex Ponikarovsky -- were healthy scratches, so they missed the magic show. Only teammates' missed conversions and some great saves by Jaroslav Halak kept Malkin from having a monster game. He finished with one point -- a first assist on Kris Letang's power-play goal late in the first period.
Imagine the heat Malkin (team-best six shots) would be enduring if he'd gone six straight games without a goal, as Sidney Crosby has. If you appreciate the sport, however, you can see that Crosby is doing other things -- backchecking like a demon, for example, and drawing defensive pressure away from Malkin -- to help his team win.
You also know it's only a matter of time before Crosby hits the net, though, incredibly, he missed an open one just before the buzzer on a shot from the blue line.
The Canadiens played their best game of the series, and that might have been their biggest mistake. They tend to thrive when they are being outshot by a wide margin and spending gobs of time in their own end. They have lost the two games in this series in which they held the shots advantage.
It was a team effort for the Penguins. Highlights included Craig Adams crushing Josh Gorges late in the first period, lineup additions Bill Guerin and Mike Rupp creating traffic in front of Halak, and Letang playing a superior all-around game. The new/old third line of Jordan Staal, Matt Cooke and Tyler Kennedy played like it was last year's playoffs.
So did Fleury and Malkin, a fact that should keep the critics at bay.
For a few hours, anyway.
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