First round ruminations, OTT/PIT

After three games, the Pens are down 2 games to 1 to the Sens. The Officiating has stayed as bad as the regular season, even worse at times. Through three games, Sidney Crosby has three goals and two assists, but has had two goals disallowed on top of that. One would have closed game 1's deficit to 4-2 early in the third, and the Pens later scored twice more. In Game three, it would have tied the game - only to have been blown dead on a whistle just before the puck crossed the line due to a roughing scrum in the neutral zone. Instead of tied 2-2, Ottawa scores shortly thereafter to go up 3-1, and all but clinch the game.

One wonders why Kerry Fraser is sitting out these playoffs, as one of the most senior referees. He could do no worse than the inconsistent product that is being trotted out - and it cuts both ways. Serious infractions such as high sticks, punches to faces, blatant interference and boarding go uncalled, while ticky-tack hooks and holds are being called (at times). And by in large the poor calling is across the board, but players don't know what will be called and what won't.

For Pittsburgh, it means they have to win 3 out of 4, and win a second game on Ottawa ice while holding serve at home. Not impossible - but it is near critical they win Game 4 on Tuesday to tie the series at 2 games apiece. Then it becomes a best two out of three.

Pens close out season with a 2-1 win over Rags

It looked early on that the game might mean the difference for home ice in the first round, but that was crushed by a huge Ottawa burst vs Boston. The Pens held on for a 2-1 win, giving up the goal just under 2 minutes into the third. The Pens scored on two powerplay goals in the 2nd, Roberts from Crosby and Gonchar 53 seconds into the period, and Recchi from Crosby and Christensen at 15:54.

The two assists gave Crosby 120 points on the season, finishing with 36-84-120, 18 more points than last year but 3 fewer goals. His closest chaser, San Jose's Joe Thornton, had three points today to reach 114, but it was also his last game of the year. Crosby took the lead four months ago in a 6-point night vs the Flyers, and has never looked back. For a while, it looked like he might get 140, but the stretch games where they all got tighter, and the obstruction crackdown ebbed, Crosby battled through it. He becomes the youngest to win the scoring title, and the 12th time a Penguin has won the Art Ross Award as the league's leading scorer. The previous 11 were split between Jaromir Jagr (5 - 95, 98, 99, 00, 01) and Mario Lemiuex (6 - 88, 89, 92, 93, 96, 97), with a run of 7 straight between 95 and 01 between the two. The 12th Art Ross extends the Penguins lead over the Montreal Canadiens (9) for most Art Ross trophies won since its inception in 1948. (It should be noted that a Montreal player led the league 7 other times prior to its inception, and its last winner was Guy Lafleur in 76-77-78, 10 years before the Pens first trophy) The Pens had 11 in 14 years, and now have 12 in 20, perhaps the first of many for young Sidney Crosby.

It was disappointing that Jordan Staal did not get goal number 30 - it would have marked the first time that three players under 21 would have had 30+. As for the team awards before the game:

• Baz Bastien Good Guy award: entire team for press cooperation (Presented to 20,29 on behalf of team)
  
• Masterton Nominee: 32 Alain Nasreddine
• Caggiano Award: 87 Sidney Crosby
• Edward J. DeBartolo Award: 8 Mark Recchi
• Briere Rookie of the Year Award: tie: 71 Evgeni Malkin and 11 Jordan Staal
  
• Player's Player Award: 8 Mark Recchi
• MVP (overall contribution to team): 87 Sidney Crosby

Nasreddine will be up for the league-wide Masterton trophy, to be selected from among the the nominees of each of the 30 teams.

Maxime Talbot scores winner over Ottawa with 9.8 seconds left

The improbable even-strength goal (the only one of the night, coming 4 on 4) by Maxime Talbot with 9.8 seconds left in Regulation propelled the Pens to a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators, leaving both teams tied at 103 in the standings with one game left each. Earlier in the evening, New Jersey had beaten Philadelphia to clinch the Atlantic Division title and 2 seed. That leaves the Pens and Senators locked into a first round playoff matchup, with the only question left as to which team will have home ice.

Aside from Talbot's winner, all of the other goals were on the powerplay, two for each team. Ottawa scored first, the Pens got two during a major penalty to Ottawa's Jason Spezza for elbowing Jarkko Ruutu to take a 2-1 lead into the 1st intermission. Ottawa scored during the last seconds of a 5 on 3, after a delay of game call against Rob Scuderi, combined with an unusual 6 minutes assessed to Joe Melichar, two for crosschecking and 4 for high-sticking. The Pens would go on to kill the rest of Joe's penalties.

Scoring Race with 2 games to go

Scoring race with two games left:

Crosby: 117
Thornton: 109
Lecavalier: 107
Heatley 101
St Louis 101
Hossa 97
Briere 95
Sakic 95
Jagr 94
Savard 93
Ovechkin 92 *one game left
Selanne 91
Iginla 91
Datsuk 86
Jokinen 86
Malkin 85 (rookie leader)

Rookie Race:

Malkin 85 (leads in goals, assists and points)
Stastny 73 (3 games left)
Kopitar 59
Wolski 48
Penner 44
Staal 42 (leads in SHGs with 7 - a rookie record for a single season)
Zajac 42
Carle 41
Radulov 36
Clowe 34