Pittsburgh Penguins: Win or Hit the Links

The Pittsburgh Penguins now face a do or die Game 7 at home.

It was a rough night Tuesday in Ottawa.  The Pittsburgh Penguins controlled most of the game and outplayed the Senators for the most part, yet came out on the short end of the stick (pun intended).  Now in front of their home crowd, they will face the season’s biggest test to date.  Either they will win or will need to get their golf clubs ready.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Let’s go over a few of the keys to the game for what the Penguins must do to win and advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the second consecutive year.

The Stars Must Shine

This goes without question, but Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin must show up Thursday night.  During Game 6, Crosby had 6 shots on goal but had no goals or assists.  It seemed the most camera time Crosby had was when there was a scrum in the third period and Bobby Ryan had him wrapped up while Marc Methot rubbed his gloveless hand over Crosby’s face.   By the way, this did not draw a penalty but I’ll get to the officiating in a moment.

Malkin for his part did show up during Game 6.  He had 7 shots and the Penguins lone goal, one where he took his own rebound off goalie Craig Anderson and deposited it behind him into the net.  Malkin looked like a wild man at times, trying to carry the team on his back. Hopefully that play continues into Game 7.

Crosby, Malkin and of course Phil Kessel must shoulder the load again.  Star players show up when everything is on the line and we should expect no less Thursday night.

Don’t Let the Officials Decide the Game’s Fate

The NHL is notoriously known for their bad officiating.  Every team suffers from it and it seems to get worse as the playoffs go deeper.  Game 6 was atrocious.

One call that stick outs from Tuesday was the call back on the Trevor Daley’s goal.  It was close to goalie interference, but Anderson was already flailing and the puck was in the crease.  A fair play by the rule book standard and since the call was a goal on the ice, the play should have stood.

Even more egregious was the interference call on Ron Hainsey in the second.  Very soft call which then was followed by a clear high stick by Ian Cole.  The Pittsburgh Penguins had to kill off a 5 on 3 for nearly a minute and a half and couldn’t do it with the Senators tying the game.  Without that interference call, that whole sequence does not happen.

Officiating is going to be bad throughout games and series for both sides.  The Penguins have to rise above it and pepper Anderson with goals that count.  Before stopping 45 shots in Game 6, he had let in 7 goals on the last 49 shots faced.  Let’s go out and have another Games 4 and 5 performance.

Use Home Ice to Your Advantage

Ottawa couldn’t sell out an Eastern Conference Final game.  The NBC announcers said that was the first time in 10 years that had occurred.  Ouch!

Back in Pittsburgh, that won’t be a problem.  The home crowd will be jacked up at PPG Paints Arena.  With a Stanley Cup Final bid on the line, the noise level will be through the roof.  The Penguins should feed off that atmosphere and use it to their advantage.

Let’s close this out boys, get a few days rest and get ready for Nashville!