Series Stunner

Masterful Montreal has melted the Mellon. Wednesday’s decisive Game 7 Eastern Conference Semifinal between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens was the final contest at Mellon Arena. That’s because the visiting eighth seeded Canadiens improbably iced Pittsburgh 5-2 at the Igloo. Montreal disposed the defending Stanley Cup champions, despite entering the post-season with the worst record of the playoff teams. The Canadiens completed their ousting of the favored home team in front of a packed house in Pittsburgh, and face the winner of the Boston-Philadelphia series in the Eastern finals. The Canadiens are the first eighth seed to win two playoff series and are in the finals for the first time in 17 years. The Penguins exit the Igloo short of their third straight Stanley Cup appearance.
Pittsburgh lacked production and punch offensively in this series. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins’ top two scorers, combined for one goal and five assists. Goalie Marc Andre-Fleury allowed four goals on 13 shots last night before being lifted by Brent Johnson. It was too little, too late for the Penguins, however. Montreal, who ripped the hearts out of the top-seeded Capitals in round one, skated to an early 4-0 advantage Wednesday. The Canadiens scored 22 seconds after Crosby was whistled for a penalty in the first period. Brian Gionta slapped a power play goal into the net to help the Canadiens build a lead on the road. Montreal was 2-for-4 on the power play, while the Pens were a dismal 0-for-6 in one-man up situations. Dominic Moore made it a 2-0 contest with a wrister near the end of the first period. The gummy bear Pittsburgh offense was on full display last night. Pittsburgh struggled to test Montreal netminder, Jaroslav Halak. Halak was outstanding between the posts, with 37 saves. The Pens committed too many defensive turnovers can couldn’t contain the spectacular play on the opposite end of the ice.
The Canadiens kept putting together good chances against Fleury and added a pair of goals to increase their lead to 4-0 within the first five minutes of the second period. Mike Cammalleri took a feed in the slot and rifled it past Fleury for his league-leading 12th goal this post-season. Travis Moen grabbed a Penguins’ turnover on a Montreal power play and blasted the puck into the net to end Fleury’s night. Coach Dan Blysma pulled Fleury for Johnson, and the Penguins succeeded in scoring two second period goals to make a game of it. Chris Kunitz finally put Pittsburgh on the board at 8:36 with a crease shot on a Kris Letang rebound. The Penguins cut the deficit to two goals late in the second period when Jordan Staal tipped in a Alexi Ponikarovsky miss to stir the sellout crowd. Halak made a couple of incredible saves as Crosby and Malkin failed to help Pittsburgh climb closer. The Montreal defense continued to stuff and suffocate the big stars from Pittsburgh by forcing turnovers. Gionta picked up his second Game 7 goal in the third period, and seventh of the playoffs, to kill the hosts’ momentum. Gionta shoved Cammalleri’s rebound into an open net, catching Johnson out of position. The Canadiens prematurely ended Pittsburgh’s season behind 18 third period sensational Halak stops to seal the victory.
Parting Points: Happy Birthday to Barry Zito. I never realized his uncle was Patrick Duffy.
Music birthdays of note- Mary Wells and Stevie Wonder