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.