The Sports Monitor

Ever watch a high school game when one team was very, very good and the other was, well, not so good? It was that bad for the Pittsburgh Penguins Monday night. And that's putting it mildly. The Pens lost 6-1 to the Boston Bruins in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference finals. It was a must-win game for the Pens, who now trail 2-0 and head to Boston for Games 3 and 4. The only thing Pittsburgh can take from the shellacking is it hit bottom. The big problem is there might not be enough time left to save the season. Tuukka Rask was solid in goal while Tomas Vokoun and Marc-Andre Fleury were equally bad. I understand if there is a goalie switch; with the season on the line the Pens would want their top goalie on the ice. Only I think their top goalie is Vokoun. Either way, without being too simplistic, the better goalie usually wins in the playoffs. The Pens will be hard-pressed to solve Vokoun four times in the next five games.

What happens when you run into a hot goalie? Just ask the Pittsburgh Penguins. They trail their Eastern Conference finals 1-0 after a 3-0 loss to the Boston Bruins Saturday night. It also was another example of good goaltending beats a good offense. Hopefully, the Pens will be able to figure out Tuukka Rask before Monday night. If not, they face a 2-0 deficit heading to Boston. Maybe the Pens got the wake-up call they needed.

Do you still trust Marc-Andre Fleury? I don't. We'll see if the Penguins do when their Eastern Conference semifinal series starts later this week against the Ottawa Senators. But I can tell you one thing, I certainly don't want to see him in goal again. Yes, he's won a Cup. But he's cost the Penguins the past two springs in the playoffs. I don't want to see it become a third. Tomas Vokoun might not be the best goalie around, but with the players the Penguins have assembled, he doesn't need to be. The shutout of the Islanders in Game 5 was nice (Fleury also had one in Game 1), but Vokoun did enough to help the Penguins win Game 6. I'm afraid if Fleury would have played in Game 6, the Penguins would have lost. At a minimum, Vokoun should start until he puts up a Fleury-like game. Then a debate can begin. Until then, ride Vokoun.

I had a little more rooting interest in the Pittsburgh Penguins this year than I have in the past. It was nothing special, but for me it was added incentive to follow them in the playoffs this spring. I got to the Consol Energy Center for the first time about a month ago and had excellent seats, just four rows from the ice. Like I said, nothing special, but it felt like I had more of an interest in this year's squad. There was something special about seeing them in person. The Penguins beat the Coyotes that night, playing wonderful defense and getting great goaltending from Marc-Andre Fleury. Today, just a day away from Game 4 of the Penguins' series against the Philadelphia Flyers, I wonder what the heck happened to that team I saw a few weeks ago. The team I saw then wouldn't be trailing the Flyers 3-0 and be a good bet to book tee times as soon as Thursday. I was fired up about the postseason. I thought they were a threat, but I wasn't as blinded by loyal...

It was one heck of a way for the Pittsburgh Penguins to open the Stanley Cup playoffs Wednesday night. They had a 3-0 lead and plenty of momentum. So much for that, along with home-ice advantage in their series against the Philadelphia Flyers. Stanley Cup contenders don't go around losing games when their up three goals or two goals in the third period. Luckily, it was only one game, and it was the first game of the series. There's plenty of time for the Penguins to rebound. However, the Flyers have owned the Penguins this season. Now the Flyers know they can recover from being three goals down in a game. I'd like to think that one game doesn't make a series. But this one left Penguins' fans with a sour taste in their mouths.

I love playoff hockey. I really love overtime playoff hockey. I'm convinced there's nothing better. But it stinks when you invest three overtimes in watching a game and see the Penguins fall short. So Thursday's 4-3 triple-overtime heartbreaker isn't the end of their series with the Ottawa Senators. Pittsburgh still is in control with a  3-2 lead. But now I'm worried. Senators goalie Pascal Leclaire stopped about 1,327 shots in the nearly six periods of hockey at Mellon Arena. Or did it just seem like it? For a guy that hadn't seen much action and was making his first postseason start in the NHL, it was an impressive game. It was as impressive as the Penguins' start to the game was sloppy. They were down 2-0 before the NFL draft even got interesting. That the Pens rallied was good. It was even better when they led 3-2 in the third period. Instead, they head back to Ottawa on weary legs looking to close out a team that's found new lif...

For 20 minutes Tuesday night, the Detroit Red Wings were perfect. At least that's what some people were saying at intermission of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals. And the second period sure did look like a perfect effort, if you didn't glance at the scoreboard and see the game still tied 2-2. But it was tied and the Pens had life. They turned everything around, getting a power-play goal and empty-net goal to cap a 4-2 win and climb back into the series. I don't think this series is over. In fact, a win Thursday night and this series is the Penguins' to win. Why the optimism? The Red Wings got plenty of breaks and bounces in Games 1 and 2. Missed penalties? Check. Penguins' shots hitting posts instead of the back of the net? Check. 2-0 series lead like last year? Check. That's where the similarities end in my book. With all going right for the Wings, they should have won Game 3. Instead, the Pens' survived that second period Tuesday night and put on a displa...

Any time you have a team on the ropes, you need to put them away. The Penguins had an early lead (1-0) against the Capitals in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference semifinals Monday night. They blew it. The Penguins also had a third-period lead (3-2). They blew that also. The Pens were fortunate that Sidney Crosby scored near the end of the regulation to tie the game and force overtime. The goal was a beauty, with Sid slapping the puck in mid-air into the net. It could have been one to remember for a long time. Instead, it'll be archived after the Capitals' David Steckel scored 6:22 into overtime. The Pens had a lot going their way in this one. They always had closed out the Capitals. In fact, they had owned the Caps in the playoffs. It all ended Monday night. The Pens still have a chance to wrap up the Capitals on Wednesday in Game 7 of an excellent series. Let's hope the Pens don't blow it this time.