Tonight was the best day of all for all hockey fans, it's the start of the NHL Playoffs, and boy did it kick off with a bang.
That game that I will be focusing on is the Pittsburgh Penguins Vs. the New York Islanders. This is a one seed (Pittsburgh) and a eight seed (New York) and did it ever seem that way.
The Pens came out of the gate with a fire underneath of them all game long. They got a quick goal from rookie B. Bennett as he sneaks one past the blocker shoulder of goaltender Nabokov to get his first Playoff Goal ever. That came at the 3:30 mark, and there wouldn't be another goal scored until the 12:23 by Super Duper Dupuis. That would be how the first period would end, and boy would the intensity of this game pick up from here.
Kris Letang would get a very quick goal to start the second period at the 1:19 mark, and on just the second shot of the period, Dupuis would get his second goal of the game at the 1:51 mark. This would end Nabokov's night. They would bring in back-up goaltender Poulin to see if he could do any better against the Penguins offense. The fifth and final goal of the game came at the 13:07 mark of the second period by Tanner Glass.
Besides the scoring in this game, the hits were outstanding. Both teams were finishing off their checks, and giving it all they had. The Islanders might have won the battle in the hit department (numbers wise) with 41-36, they didn't win the war. The Penguins had there "tough guys" out there to show they aren't backing down from anyone. Letang, Murry, Marrow, and Engelland were "Lighten up" all night. The game got a little chippy near the end of the game as the Islanders started taking cheap shots to the Penguins Stars. Jussi had a shot to his legs and in the knee and ankle area, which could be very dangerous from a player to take that kind of open ice hit.
This game was the Penguins to loss, and I think the rest of the series is going to be the same way as this one went. With the Penguins being the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference they would need to play like they have all season long (even though it was a lockout shortened season). If the Pens play like they did in game one, there is no possible way that they can lose this series.
Now don't get me wrong, the Islanders are a pretty good team. They just didn't play like it tonight. If they want to have a chance in this series, they will have to make some major adjustments to have a chance Friday in game two. Though they are a good team, and deserve to be in the Playoffs, I think they are going to get swept in this series. The Pens should walk their way into the next series and possibly into the Finals, if they play the way they played tonight, for the rest of the Playoffs.
Remember I put out video blogs every Thursday on my YouTube Channel (Mbonaventura83) so check it out and let me know what ya think.
Until next time,
You keep doing what you do, and I'll keep you up to date with everything sports.
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