(Peter Diana, Post-Gazette)
Gary Roberts argues with refree Dave Jackson late in yesterday's game in Ottawa.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
OTTAWA -- Do you realize how easily it could have been goalie Marc-Andre Fleury who was tortured for a critical power-play goal by Gary Roberts yesterday? It could have been defenseman Brooks Orpik who was bumped into next week by Roberts as he set up another pivotal third-period goal. Roberts wanted to play for the Ottawa Senators, didn't he? He wanted to go to Toronto or Ottawa from Florida at the trade deadline in February so he could be closer to his daughter in Toronto. The Penguins weren't even in his wildest imagination, at least not until a couple of old pals -- Mario Lemieux and Mark Recchi -- called to talk up Pittsburgh and the Penguins' organization.
"Things happen for a reason," Roberts said early last night after playing a starring role in what he described as a "huge, huge" 4-3 Penguins' win against the Senators in Game 2 of their Stanley Cup playoff series.
"Obviously, I waived my no-trade clause to come to Pittsburgh. I'm thrilled that I did. I'm not complaining."
The Canadian media in a suffocating scrum around Roberts in a cramped runway of Scotiabank Place wanted to switch subjects and get him talking about how he added to his legend as a Senators' killer, but he had one more thought to offer before moving on.
"I don't think it could get much better than playing with Crosby, Malkin and Staal. ... Those guys keep me young."
There you go.
There's your explanation why Roberts, 40, plays as if he's 10 or even 15 years younger, especially at playoff time and especially when the Senators are the opponents. In three different seasons earlier in this decade, while playing for Toronto, he was the key figure in eliminating Ottawa. He had 10 goals and seven assists in 17 playoff games against the Senators.
"He knows that team really well," Penguins coach Michel Therrien said, grinning wickedly.
Knows how to break the Senators' hearts, anyway.
Roberts didn't finish 'em off this time, but he prevented the Senators from putting the Penguins in an awfully dangerous 0-2 hole. What do you think was more impressive? The way he pounced on the rebound of a Sergei Gonchar slapper and slammed a shot by goaltender Ray Emery to tie the score, 2-2, early in the third period? Or the way he knocked defenseman Wade Redden off the puck behind the Senators' net, allowing teammate Michel Ouellet to jump on it and feed Jordan Staal for the goal that produced a 3-3 tie? Who can say? How do you pick between your children? Each play was a thing of absolute beauty to the Penguins. Each was vintage Roberts.
"On the power play, obviously, it's my job to be in front of the net and try to get the puck to [Sidney] Crosby and [Evgeni] Malkin," Roberts said. "That's where I'm going to score my goals -- in front, on rebounds, battling away."
As for the Staal goal ...
"I was just trying to create something," Roberts said. "I saw the loose puck at Redden's feet and just tried to finish my check."
It's a funny game, hockey. Roberts played the first two periods on the Penguins' top line with Crosby and Colby Armstrong and didn't get a shot on net or come close to a scoring chance, mostly because that line was matched against the Senators' best defensive pairing of Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov. It wasn't until he was bumped down to the line with Staal and Ouellet that the ice opened for him.
"As we've always showed," Therrien said, "we're not afraid to shake things up."
A rotten second period, in which the Penguins took five penalties, were outshot, 19-5, and outscored, 2-0, forced Therrien to shuffle his lines in search of a spark. Crosby responded to playing with Malkin and Recchi, scoring the winning goal off a sweet centering pass from Recchi with about eight minutes left.
You might say Roberts also responded.
"He's a leader in the dressing room and, most importantly, on the ice," Therrien said. "He finds a way to make the big play ...
"He's been even more than I expected. You heard so many good things about him, but until you're around him and see his personality and how hard he works, you can't really appreciate it. He's like a big brother to those young kids. He's brought so much to them."
That would be Crosby, Malkin and Staal.
You know, the guys who keep Roberts young.
It's a good thing something is working for him because he's an old man -- relatively speaking, of course -- playing a brutally violent game. If he weren't so tough and in such great shape, he might not have gotten up from a blind-side hit from Senators winger Chris Neil after the whistle in the final minute. He clearly didn't appreciate it.
"I know who did it, that's for sure," Roberts said, matching Therrien wicked grin for wicked grin.
"It was a late hit, no doubt about it. That's all right, though. It's a long series."
The message was clear.
Neil and the Senators haven't heard the last from Roberts.
They probably should consider themselves warned.
(Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com.)
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