Jarkko Ruutu scores the winning goal in the shootout against Ottawa's Ray Emery.
Monday, March 19, 2007
By Dave Molinari, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Penguins coach Michel Therrien surprised a lot of people when he plugged Jarkko Ruutu into Evgeni Malkin's spot in the shootout rotation Tuesday.
At least that many likely were surprised when he did it again in the Penguins' 4-3 victory against Ottawa last night at Mellon Arena.
Ruutu wasn't one of them.
Not because he was taking anything for granted, but simply because the whole issue hadn't crossed his mind.
"I never thought about it," Ruutu said.
The Penguins' Mark Recchi looks for a rebound after a shot on Ottawa goalie Ray Emery last night in the first period.
Well, Therrien did. And, after Ruutu was the only shooter on either side to score, it's safe to assume he'll be there again the next time the Penguins have a game stretch beyond overtime.
"He'll get another shot, that's for sure," Therrien said.
So will goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who turned aside Mike Comrie, Dean McAmmond and Antoine Vermette in the shootout to run his current streak to 22 saves in the past 25 shootout chances he has faced.
"When you don't give up goals, you have a pretty good chance to win," Therrien said.
Fleury attributed his success to some unspecified advice he has received from goaltending coach Gilles Meloche and a willingness to avoid being the first to commit when a shooter approaches.
"I just try to be patient, and wait for the guy," Fleury said.
He might have to take the same approach to finding out who the Penguins (41-21-10) will meet in the first round of the playoffs, although it's looking more and more as if last night's game was a preview of that series.
While much can change the final three weeks of the regular season, the Penguins and Senators are tied and holding down second place in their respective divisions.
The Penguins are two points behind first-place New Jersey and 13 ahead of the third-place New York Rangers -- who they will face at 7:08 p.m. today at Madison Square Garden -- in the Atlantic, while Ottawa trails first-place Buffalo by six points and leads Toronto and Montreal, which are tied for third in the Northeast, by 14.
"There aren't too many teams close to us, so that's probably one of the teams that we'll end up playing," Ruutu said. "But we'll see. We might even catch New Jersey. Who knows?"
The Penguins and Senators will meet again April 4 in Ottawa.
There was a little spice added to a potential matchup when Therrien and Senators coach Bryan Murray exchanged words during and after the first period, apparently because Murray was yapping at Penguins center Sidney Crosby.
"I don't like other coaches to talk to my players," Therrien said. "I'm going to stick up for my players every time."
Marc-Andre Fleury stops Ottawa's Dany Heatley at the net in the second period.
Maxime Talbot put the Penguins in front, 1-0, at 10:44 of the opening period, but just 26 seconds later, Vermette tossed a shot past Fleury from in front to tie the score.
Ottawa finished the first with a 14-6 edge in shots -- "I don't think we had the best first period," Crosby said -- and Fleury had to make an excellent stop on Senators defenseman Chris Phillips from low in the right circle on No. 15 35 seconds into the second period to preserve the tie.
Crosby gave the Penguins another lead on a power play at 4:03, when he backhanded a shot past Ottawa goalie Ray Emery from inside the right circle for his 32nd of the season and fifth in the past five games, but Ottawa bounced back 61 seconds later when Daniel Alfredsson tipped in a Joe Corvo shot.
Therrien reunited the Malkin-Crosby-Mark Recchi line in the second half of the period in an effort to regain the lead. That didn't work, but the Penguins' power play did, as Ryan Whitney put the Penguins back in front at 17:05.
Whitney got a pass from Crosby and beat Emery on the short side from near the left dot for his 11th, and that lead held up until 15:07 of the third, when Wade Redden beat Fleury through traffic from the left point on a power play.
That put the game into overtime, but the Penguins were again able to survive a shootout, running their record in them to 10-6. And, in the process, pull even with a team they might face in a best-of-seven next month.
"There's a lot of hockey left," Crosby said. "We'll see what happens."
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( Dave Molinari can be reached at DWMolinari@Yahoo.com. )
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