Bruins Embarrass Penguins, Take Commanding 2-0 Series Lead
The Penguins may have a job opening after Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals; anyone with goaltending experience is welcome to apply after the Bruins embarrassed the Penguins by a 6-1 margin.
“Tonight was terrible, there’s no other way to describe it,” Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said after last night’s 6-1 beatdown at the hands of the Boston Bruins.
The Boston scoring came early and often. Bruins left wing Brad Marchand opened the scoring just 28 seconds into the game after he intercepted a Crosby pass and took it to the house unassisted. Things would get much worse for Penguins goalie Tomas Vokoun as the B’s netted two more goals before Vokoun was yanked in favor of Marc-Andre Fleury.
Fleury didn’t fare that well either, as he gave up an inopportune goal 25 seconds after the only Penguins goal of the game and with nine seconds left in the first period. Boston headed to intermission with a commanding 4-1 lead. They added two more in the third period.
Pittsburgh now faces a tough decision heading into Wednesday’s Game Three matchup in Boston: who do they start in net? Both netminders were equally shaky in Game 2. Vokoun gave up three goals on 12 shots and Fleury didn’t look any better, allowing three goals on 17 shots. However, the Penguins defense was just as terrible, which didn’t make the night any easier for the Pittsburgh netminders.
In their first round series against the New York Islanders, the Penguins made the switch from Fleury to Vokoun and eventually won that series. They kept Vokoun in net against the Ottawa Senators and he carried them to another series victory. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Penguins will need to find an answer soon if they want to keep their season alive.
On the other side of the ice, Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask has been nearly untouchable so far. Rask has held the Penguins, the NHL’s highest-scoring team in the regular season, to one goal over two games and stopped 54 of 55 shots he has faced.
Pittsburgh’s stars, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, haven’t shown up yet. Both men have won a Hart Memorial Trophy (League MVP) and hoisted the cup back in 2009, so they know how to play in the playoffs. After handily beating the Senators in five games and averaging 4.4 goals per game that series, the two have yet to register a point against the Bruins. The flipside to that is the key players for the Bruins are showing up when it counts.
Then there is Bruins center David Krejci, who is playing out of his mind. He is tied with Patrick Sharp of the Chicago Blackhawks for the lead in playoff goals (8) and is sole possession of the lead in total points (20). Boston winger Nathan Horton isn’t that far behind either. He’s netted seven goals and totaled 17 points while also posting a playoff best plus-19.
Although the series doesn’t seem to be close at all, the Bruins cannot afford to get ahead of themselves.
“It doesn’t matter what the series is at right now,” Marchand said. “If they get the next one, they’re right back in it. The next one is the one that’s most important.”
