Game 3 scoring recap

1st period: No goals

Shots on goal: Pittsburgh 12 . Ottawa 8

2nd period: Pittsburgh’s Tyler Kennedy puts the Penguins up 1-0

Shots on goal: Pittsburgh 11. Ottawa 10

3rd period: Ottawa’s Daniel Alfredsson tied the game on a SHG

Shots on goal: Pittsburgh 9. Ottawa 10

1st OT: No goals

Shots on goal: Pittsburgh 13. Ottawa 14

2nd OT: Colin Greening scores the GWG on a backhand at the 7:39 mark.

Shots on goal: Pittsburgh 5. Ottawa 6

Game 3 Key Stats

Hits: Pittsburgh 36. Ottawa 47

Giveaways: Pittsburgh 7. Ottawa 20

Power Play: Pittsburgh 0/6. Ottawa 0/3

Despite the Senators giving away the puck  20 times they found a way to sneak out a win. Game three may have gotten the Senator’s a stay of execution; going down 3-0 would have been the nail in the coffin. But, it took over 87 minutes to get that stay. If this was Ottawa’s very best it is not going to be good enough.

Game four was a close game until the third period started. Only 1:59 into the third Pittsburgh James Neal scored a power play goal to give the Penguins a 4-2 advantage. The Penguins never looked back. By the time the third came to its end Pittsburgh had put up four third period goals ( 2PPG, 1SHG, and Sidney Crosby tossed one in for good measure). Ottawa was out skated and out played when it mattered most. They had a chance to tie the series up at 2-2, and fell short. The mark of a championship team is playing under pressure. After the Second period Ottawa was only down by one goal. However they never seemed to get their legs under them in the third.

Game 4 Scoring Recap

1st period: Ottawa SHG Milan Michalck 1-0, Pittsburgh James Neal 1-1, Ottawa Kyle Turris 2-1

2nd period: All Pittsburgh to start. The Penguins score two goals in 1:48 to go up 3-2. Pittsburgh never trailed again. Chris Kunits (2-2), Jarome Iginla (GW)

3rd period: Flood gates opened. Neal, Iginla PPG’s, Sidney Crosy, Pascal Dupuis SHG for the Penguins, Ottawa’s Alfredson tips one in for a PPG.

Final score Pittsburgh 7 Ottawa 3

Game five is coming up, and I think it will end this series. I still have the Penguins in five. It is highly unlikely that the Senators can win three games in a row ; so this series is essentially over. The only question is does it end in five or six? I think we are looking at a Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Boston Bruins Eastern Conference Finals.

Game 1 Recap

Game one ended much like game one in the opening round. The Penguins dismantled the Senators in almost every facet of the game.  Pittsburgh won the game going away, 4-1. It was a very well-rounded game by the Penguins. To go along with the four goals the Penguins managed 40 hits, and 18 blocked shots. That is a scary thing to see considering few NHL teams are going to be able to contend with a game like that.  Despite being out shot in game one Pittsburgh had little trouble defeating the Senators. Ottawa seemed to be in shock after the first goal of the game. Only two minutes and forty-one seconds into the first period the Sens gave up a Power Play goal to Paul Martin. Ottawa was able to tie the game at one on a Colin Greening wrist shot. That would be the last time Ottawa would light the lamp in-game one. Evgeni Malkin scored what turned out to be the game winning goal at 12:15 in the first.

Other Goal Scorers

PIT, Chris Kunitz PPG, Pascal Dupuis SHG

Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Game 2 Recap

Game two ended the same way game one did, with a Penguins victory. Giving the Penguins a 2-0 series lead. This game was won by Sidney Crosby. Crosby went “beast mode”, and netted his 2nd career playoff hat-trick. Crosby opened the scoring only three minutes and sixteen seconds into the opening period. The Senators responded about ten minutes later. Kyle Turris scored on the power play.  Just three minutes later Crosby put the Penguins back up by one to close out the first period scoring. The first period saw the Penguins out shot the Senators 18 to 7. The defensive Senators didn’t show much ability to put the puck on net. The 2nd period looked just like the first in almost every way. Pittsburgh opened the scoring early, just one minute and fifteen seconds in; Crosby scored on the power play. As they did in the first period Ottawa answered quickly. Just forty seconds later Greening beat Tomas Vokoun with a wrist shot. Brenden Morrow put Pittsburgh up 4-2 on a tip-in goal ending the second period scoring. Yet again the Pens out shot the Sens 15-8. The third period saw the Pens take their foot of the gas a little bit only managing 9 shots, sadly for the Senators they were unable to take advantage , and only scored one goal Jean-Gabriel Pageau netted his fourth goal of the playoffs to bring the score to it final resting place 4-3.

Other Game 2 stats

Hits: Pittsburgh 21, Ottawa 41

Blocked Shots: Pittsburgh 20, Ottawa 8

Prediction

If the Senators can not find there game this series will not make it past game four. The Penguins have found their game, and are seemingly having little trouble with the Senators defensive, hard-hitting style. When this series started  I had the Senators winning it in 7. I don’t see this series ending in a sweep, but  I also do not see the Senators winning it. Pittsburgh is just too good. Pens in 5.

Okay, now that we have that out of the way, lets talk odds.  With Round two of the Playoffs started Las Vegas has updated their odds on who is the favorite to win the Stanley Cup. There is no shocker here. Vegas says that The Pittsburgh Penguins are still the favorite followed by the Chicago Blackhawks and the San Jose Sharks. There is no real jump in the odds until you get to the number five bet. The Los Angeles Kings are 20/1 odds. Here’s the list (vegasinsider.com).

Current Odds of winning the Cup.

Pittsburgh Penguins 5/2

Chicago Blackhawks 7/2

San Jose Sharks 7/1

Boston Bruins 12/1

Los Angeles Kings 20/1

Ottawa Senators 20/1

Detroit Red Wings 40/1

New York Rangers 40/1

Place your bets, But remember Vegas is not always right. In fact the public doesn’t agree with the odds. According to thespread.com the American betting public is picking the Ranger to win the cup (71%) while second best chances are the Chicago Blackhawks (69%). The way the Playoffs have been going I wouldn’t bet on any team. At this point of the year all it takes is a funny bounce to break someone’s heart.  My advice; just sit back and enjoy NHL Playoff hockey. There is no need to spend your money. Wave your flag, wear your colors, and jump up and down for your team. As long as you are enjoying the playoffs the numbers do not matter.

However, for those people who need to see picks, here’s what I think. I do feel that we could be looking at a Penguins vs. Blackhawks final. That is not what I want to see, honestly I think that if that does happen it will be an over hyped series. Out of the the eight teams left  I believe that a Sharks vs. Bruins series would be the best for entertainment value. It would be a good mix of the faster skating West vs. the hard hitting East.  It is highly unlikely to happen, but a guy can dream.  As long as there is hockey being played I’ll be happy.

Whats is your pick for the Stanley Cup Finals match-up? Leave your thoughts on our Facebook page, twitter, or just comment below.