Pivotal Game 2 Awaits Penguins Tonight

Time for Sid to Take Control of the Series

Someone once told me that in the NHL Playoffs there was no need to be concerned until you lost on home ice.  Well, is it time to be concerned if you are a Penguins fan??  I don't think it is, but if they lose 2 games at home...you better believe its time to be concerned.  The Penguins are a team that clicks on all cylinders when they are imposing their game on their opponent, and not the other way around.  Just take a look at this year's playoffs to see that the proof is in the pudding.  Round 1 vs. the Islanders...after coming out in game 1 like gang busters, the Islanders adjusted using their speed and neutral zone trapping scheme to stump the Pittsburgh offense.  Some say the Pens are lucky to have escaped Round 1, and I can certainly see how that sentiment would be a genuine one.  Round 2 vs. the Senators...Pittsburgh took their speed and forechecking to the Senators, and in all actuality should have swept the Sens in 4 games if it weren't for a 1:30 brain fart that took a 1-0 to tied up and an OT loss.

Now for Round 3 vs the Bruins...in Game 1 the Penguins started fast and furious creating a ton of scoring chances for the home team; however, they didn't cash in on a single one and ended up giving up 2 fluke goals which was plenty to win when the Penguins inability to cash in made Tuuka Rask look like the next coming of Patrick Roy.  The Penguins went from the fast and the furious, to the frustrated and stupid.  Making bone headed decisions on the back end that led to entirely too many scoring opportunities.  If the Penguins are going to play that bend don't break game, they might want to get the super glue out to repair them after they break again and again.  The Boston Bruins are NOT the Islanders.  The Boston Bruins are NOT the Ottawa Senators.  No, this team is probably the only team in the East that can match Pittsburgh's depth.  Not only can they match the depth, but they know how to play dirty.  Don't think that all last week when these two teams were preparing to face one another the Bruins didn't watch some of last year's debacle against the Philadelphia Flyers and watch how the Flyers showed the ability to get the Pens off of their game.  They did just that in game one.  Get Evgeni Malkin to fly off the handle, get away with enough stuff after the whistle that you trigger that retaliatory penalty.  Do just enough to have the Penguins thinking more about what the other team is doing and not enough time worrying about working their system.  Some fans will point to the officiating, and rightfully so, but that can't be the sole basis on why the Penguins lost Game 1.

Now, the Penguins face as big a Game 2 as their can be in a playoff series.  Do I feel that the Penguins need to completely change their system to win this series?  No way.  The Penguins hit 4 posts in the game vs the Bruins and its obvious that the chances were there.  The one thing that the Penguins CAN'T do is exactly what happened at the end of the 1st period in Game 1.  The team simply getting frustrated and falling right into the laps of the Bruins and how they want the Penguins to play.  Instead, look back to those huge 1 goal wins the Penguins posted this season...where they just kept their head down and plugged away.  Chipping pucks in, playing smart defensive hockey on the back end, and capitalizing on scoring chances when they presented themselves.  If you ask me, this series isn't about the Boston Bruins.  No, its about the Pittsburgh Penguins.  If they play the way they know how, and the way they have all season...there is no need to even talk about the Bruins.  If the Pens can do that, the Bruins will be just another bump in the road on their way to a Stanley Cup Final.  Huge Game 2 tonight...Lets Go Pens!