GAME 3 - 2010 Stanley Cup GAME DAY: Ottawa Senators (1) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1), Sunday Apr. 18, 2010 - 6:30PM EST

shabbs wrote:

SeawaySensFan wrote:On that first shot he had 4 Senators and 1 Penguin parked in front of him. Who was challenging the shooter? Backing into your goalie is NEVER good.

Karlsson did his best "electric slide" impression... Poni just had to wait for him to slide on by and get a nice clean shot at the net.

That's true. But 4 guys bunched around the net? WTF?

I'm getting really sick of all the fly-bys too when Penguins are just begging to be crushed. I'd sooner lose in a blow-out than see us losing the physical matchup as we are right now.

It's safe to say that the Pens have "flipped the switch".

Big Ev wrote:It's safe to say that the Pens have "flipped the switch".

I sure hope that's what they think because round two won't see guys allow Crosby to skate around without being punished physically. Round two opponents won't miss open nets and make Fleury look fantastic. If the Pens think that's all they need to do to win round two they'll be golfing after 5 or 6 games.

shabbs wrote:

SeawaySensFan wrote:On that first shot he had 4 Senators and 1 Penguin parked in front of him. Who was challenging the shooter? Backing into your goalie is NEVER good.

Karlsson did his best "electric slide" impression... Poni just had to wait for him to slide on by and get a nice clean shot at the net.

Like I said, he's too short to do that. He should slide into the shooter. Then he at least has a chance to grab on to a leg to stop from sliding too far.

I think we're just being outclasses here.

Penguins dramatically stepped it up after Game 1, and we've been stepping down.

From offence to defence to goaltending they're all trending downwards in various degrees. I think losing Michalek and Kovalev hurts here, we're low on talent that can make something happen out there.

Clouston seems to be getting outcoached as well by Bylsma as well, he makes it sound we're losing due to bad luck and missing our chances while the Pens just bury theirs. No changes from game 2 to 3.

It's hard to have hope, especially with the talk of Alfie playing injured.

Hoags wrote:I think we're just being outclasses here.

Penguins dramatically stepped it up after Game 1, and we've been stepping down.

From offence to defence to goaltending they're all trending downwards in various degrees. I think losing Michalek and Kovalev hurts here, we're low on talent that can make something happen out there.

Clouston seems to be getting outcoached as well by Bylsma as well, he makes it sound we're losing due to bad luck and missing our chances while the Pens just bury theirs. No changes from game 2 to 3.

It's hard to have hope, especially with the talk of Alfie playing injured.

We matched their intensity in game two and lost because of a soft goal on the part of Elliott. Game three was just a sad display of stupidity by the Sens.

Cap'n Clutch wrote:
We matched their intensity in game two and lost because of a soft goal on the part of Elliott. Game three was just a sad display of stupidity by the Sens.

Fleury hasn't been tested anywhere near as much as Elliott has.

We're not getting enough scoring chances and we mess up the ones we do.

Even if Elliott lets a soft goal in (or two), your team is supposed to battle back and get the goal back. I don't see us putting any pressure on them.

They need to re-watch tapes from Game 1... the team would storm back after any Pitt goal and took it up a notch... where was that intensity in Game 3?

Hoags wrote:

Cap'n Clutch wrote:
We matched their intensity in game two and lost because of a soft goal on the part of Elliott. Game three was just a sad display of stupidity by the Sens.

Fleury hasn't been tested anywhere near as much as Elliott has.

We're not getting enough scoring chances and we mess up the ones we do.

Even if Elliott lets a soft goal in (or two), your team is supposed to battle back and get the goal back. I don't see us putting any pressure on them.

Agreed. Game 2 we matched the Pens. Game 3 we played like crap. Not sure what you're arguing about.

Cap'n Clutch wrote:
Agreed. Game 2 we matched the Pens. Game 3 we played like crap. Not sure what you're arguing about.

I don't think we matched their intensity in Game 2 at all considering they outhit and outshot us, I didn't see the type of puck possession that I saw in Game 1, they're keeping us to the outside and we have very few quality scoring chances. Regin's goal was a lucky deflection that normally wouldn't happen.

Mind you Game 3 was even worse but we're playing worse and worse every game is my point.

shabbs wrote:They need to re-watch tapes from Game 1... the team would storm back after any Pitt goal and took it up a notch... where was that intensity in Game 3?

Even so, shabbs, they're hitting the wrong people. That intensity needs to be directed at Gonchar, Crosby and Malkin.

wprager wrote:SpezD, sorry man, but I have to call you out. Sutton is clearly being outplayed and some of it needs to be addressed by Clouston (don't cross-over to try and hit someone, wait for the hits to come to you, keep it simple, etc.) But saying he sucks this or that, and asking for that second pick back is the kind of bandwagon jumping that we -- as Sens fans -- have been called on far too often. We don't need any of that from the good ones.

Fair enough, I was thoroughly unpleased with Sutton's performance the entire series. I personally don't think he knew what he was getting into, but if he can raise or find his game, then we're in a better situation.

I will say though, that after an amazing reg. season for us (since the deadline), this post-season has been a bust for Sutton.

wprager wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:I'm pretty bitter tonight. When I was younger, this would be the knee-jerk time where I'd say trade Spezza and Diddling yank Elliott for Leclaire, but this is not done yet. Spezza needs to man up, so does Alfie. Elliott has to be better, Neil, Kelly, Ruutu need to bring it like they did in Game 1 every game, Sutton needs to man up. The list is long, but the series is NOT done. Wake up!

*Why* are you leaving Phillips, Volchenkov and Clouston out of your otherwise comprehensive list?

Top of my head at the time.

Cap'n Clutch wrote:How about the play before that when Sutton did nothing. He didn't get the puck and he didn't take his opportunity to wall paper Crosby. I felt like punching something when that happened.

I indeed did punch something. The pillow of the couch got a jolly good pounding (first time in a long, long time I did something like that...I think).

What's the most frustrating is that the Pens haven't played well in months and we're making them look like gods right now. We're gonna need to disrespect them and wallpaper them all over the place and take back this Diddling series.

Or we play the way we played Sunday and wait until next year, but we have a chance here, we might as well play hard.

SpezDispenser wrote:What's the most frustrating is that the Pens haven't played well in months and we're making them look like gods right now. We're gonna need to disrespect them and wallpaper them all over the place and take back this Diddling series.

Or we play the way we played Sunday and wait until next year, but we have a chance here, we might as well play hard.

Regin is the only one with some real fire out there. Some guys are playing well, but it just looks like any other game to them and others just gotta get their heads out of their asses.

Hoags wrote:

Cap'n Clutch wrote:
Agreed. Game 2 we matched the Pens. Game 3 we played like crap. Not sure what you're arguing about.

I don't think we matched their intensity in Game 2 at all considering they outhit and outshot us, I didn't see the type of puck possession that I saw in Game 1, they're keeping us to the outside and we have very few quality scoring chances. Regin's goal was a lucky deflection that normally wouldn't happen.

Mind you Game 3 was even worse but we're playing worse and worse every game is my point.

I disagree with your assessment of game 2. The Sens could have won that game if not for some bonehead play by Spezza behind the net - See Carkner play him in properly on a different sequence where Crosby tries the exact same thing behind the net - followed by a puck that manages to float out to the point after Crosby falls to his knees (No Crosby didn't make a beauty pass although he wanted to), followed by Elliott allowing it to go in the net.

SeawaySensFan wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:What's the most frustrating is that the Pens haven't played well in months and we're making them look like gods right now. We're gonna need to disrespect them and wallpaper them all over the place and take back this Diddling series.

Or we play the way we played Sunday and wait until next year, but we have a chance here, we might as well play hard.

Regin is the only one with some real fire out there. Some guys are playing well, but it just looks like any other game to them and others just gotta get their heads out of their asses.

I think someone said that at the start of the game 4 GDT didn't they?