Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Game 3 Review

Game 3 had all the elements of a classic Stanley Cup Playoff Game. From the bone crunching body checks and tight defense, to the onslaught of shots and offensive chances this game had all the makings of a down to the wire showdown . That was until Sidney Crosby had something to say about it.

Through two periods of play the Pen's and Sen's were tied at one a piece thanks to goals by Nick Foligno and Maxime Talbot of the Pen's. At the 12 second mark of the 3rd period Sidney Crosby took matters into his own hand ripping a Snap Shot Five hole on Martin Gerber propelling the Penguins to their first lead of the contest. Followed up with goals by Jordan Staal at the 1:30 mark and Marian Hossa on the power play. With a 4-1 lead the game was quickly out of reach.

Lost in the shadow of the incredible offensive performance is the play of Marc- Andre Fleury who's 33 saves on 34 shots was the reason the penguins were in the game long enough to build an offensive attack. Not only does Fleury have the confidence in his own abilities, he has his teammates believing that he is the guy they can count on to win a game for them single handedly.

"He was big for us early and really shut the door at the end," "He got us the win." said Penguins
Defensemen Ryan Whitney.

The Penguins now have a reliable bonifide # 1 goaltender who is playoff tested to go along with their fast strike scoring. That combination should prove deadly to any opponent challenging for Lord Stanley's Cup.

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