Montreal Canadiens vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (Gm 6) (Delayed Edition)
May 13, 2010, by Homme De Sept-Iles
note: The initial transcript of this game was unpublished and thought lost to cosmic computer irony due to an unexpected systems failure at Montreal Mystique’s bank of laptops. But through perseverance, this document was recovered. It is a transcript of game six between Montreal and Pittsburgh. Game seven is here.
Musings and In-Game Scribbles playoffs
My English is as good as yours, I just write these in a stream-of-consciousness mode that I insist excuses me from small things like rules of grammar or general etiquette. Let’s call it conversational English, hopped up on beans. You know what kind of beans (no, Carl Mellesmoen, not the magic ones).
Montreal Canadiens
host
Pittsburgh Penguins
Monday, May 10th, 2010
Round Two – Playoffs (Pittsburgh leads series tied 3-2)
Game Six (score posted following scribbles)
Missed it? Musings capture the game in writing. A written transcript typed during the game, posted and edited about thirty minutes afterward. Based on the RDS French telecast of the Montreal Canadiens game, Musings take about 20 minutes to read. More detailed than an article, fresher than a looping highlight and good with morning coffee. Or late-night chocolate. A unique way to re-experience the game.
Repeat anything often enough and a chunk of folks will believe it’s true. Bring back Yvon Pednault; Benoit Brunet has succumbed to the false statement and belief that Sidney Crosby is the best player in the world.
In red, the goalie waits, his mask obscuring his eyes.
The Industrial Games saw Canadian fans boo the American anthem en masse. Just a reminder. So don’t write about it if you don’t know any better.
Banthem, banthem, banthem. Leave me in peace.
Charles Prevost-Linton sings two songs. Darche is in the lineup and one of the five skaters on the ice for Montreal.
I expected each of Markov, Spacek and Gill to play tonight. And I expected Darche to be moved from the lineup to make room. Wrong I was.
House lights come up. What are they called, then.
Fleury and Halak are the goaltenders. Refs are Marc Joannette and Dan O’Rourke. Should be a well-reffed game.
First Period
Gomez, Gionta and Darche are the starting line. Malkin and Staal are on with Cooke for Pittsburgh.
Pens win the faceoff. Dump-in. Matt Cooke and Roman Hamrlik collide behind the net.
Hamrlik tries a dump-out and the puck is sent back his way. Pens retain. Cooke controls along the boards. Now Malkin has it behind the net. Hamrlik is up against him. Gomez joins in and digs the puck out.
Lines change as Darche dumps it in.
Plekanec is on. Cammalleri with him. Entry. Pass. Across. Back. One-timer. Cammalleri. One fist wiggles in the air. Mouth like Sean Majumder.
Number thirteen scores.
Montreal 1, Pittsburgh 0
Plekanec and company stay on the ice.
Subban and Gorges are the defence pairing. New combo.
Ou est Andrei? Markov.
Canadiens neutralize a Pen entry and moments later a puck goes out of play.
Gill is back (ed note: No, he’s not).
We are shown his game five injury.
Faceoff at centre ice. Spacek is on now. Lapierre line. Moore is centring the line.
Hamrlik is paired with Spacek. Did I miss Spacek’s initial presence?
Joel Bouchard is down at ice level behind the glass. He talks about some emotional elements.
Gomez takes the faceoff to Halak’s left and after some gentleman heels stamping on ice, Hamrlik takes up the puck and sends it along. Play is stopped in the neutral zone.
Ruslan Fedotenko and Alexei Ponikarovsky are out of the lineup for Pittsburgh.
Bergeron and O’Byrne are the pairing now.
Gionta is sent in. Covered. Right side. Distance shot. Misses everything. Gomez chases the puck but can’t come up with it. Staal’s puck ahead is intercepted by Hamrlik.
Crosby entry. Stopped, no shot, no pass. Habs work it up.
Plekanec at the circle. To Pyatt uncovered at the under-circle. He has time to cradle. Shot. Fleury stops it.
Puck is sent down the ice. Gorges picks it up.
Whistle. Too many men on the ice. Against Montreal. Metropolit is designated to serve it.
Metropolit takes a calm sip of water. Spits it out.
Faceoff to Halak’s left sees the puck slip out and all the way down to Penguin ice.
Gomez and Gionta are the first pairing. Subban and Gorges are the defensive duo.
Subban clears on a Pittsburgh entry.
Now the Pens set up.
Crosby at the high hash. He is covered closely. Puck slips out.
Right side. Letang. Puck is taken from him.
Neutral zone. Gomez comes up with it. Covered. Gets a stride. Over the blue. Letang chases. Shot. Fleury has to glove and hold onto it.
Pens win the faceoff to Fleury’s left. Forty seconds in the penalty.
Moore is on.
Moore works the boards. Moen is up top.
Same defensive pairing.
Pens work the puck. Staal. Turns at the circle. To Kunitz. Shoots it into legs.
Penalty ends as Montreal clears it.
Halak mishandles the puck behind his net. No harm.
Hamrlik is on now. Plekanec line with him.
I like eight-goal leads.
Gonchar retrieves.
Up for Dupuis on the left side.
Crosby has it. Pass to the slot. Shot is stopped. Rebound.
Goes to the blue line. Eaton. Puck deflects high. Crosby baseballs it in. Great skill.
Pittsburgh 1, Montreal 1
My mistake. Gill is not in the lineup after all.
Pittsburgh’s Kunitz enters. Up for Dupuis on the right. Past the hash. Cuts to the left. Shot. Halak has the post and the save.
Brunet says the Canadiens seem nervous.
Plekanec has it. Left side.
Shot. Save.
Habs keep it in.
Plekanec chases it. Has it. Is taken down. Crowd boos. Hard to tell.
Pens are in now. Five seconds on the high boards.
Canadiens come up with it. Plekanec’ helmet is off. Orpik is there. Scuffle. Stoppage. Not much more.
Plekanec is called for roughing. Brunet says that Plekanec started it. But he wonders why both players weren’t penalized.
Malkin is on the first wave. Cuts across the crease for a shot. Two Habs. One save. And an exit.
Moore and Moen are the kill pairing.
Moen blocks a Gonchar shot. Carries it up. Works it. Keeps it. Is hooked. It’s called. Gonchar.
To four-on-four it goes. It’s called interference.
Bylsma smiles a Carbonneau smile. Arms folded and seemingly highly amused.
Seemingly.
Halak steps out to play a puck. To the left. Now Cammalleri takes it. Entry. Lasts about six seconds with no control.
Pens are deep. Crosby. In the corner. To Dupuis. To Leopold on the point. Wide.
Pens keep it in.
Canadiens aren’t winning one-on-one battles at their game two rate.
Long puck is handled by Fleury. Power-play begins for Montreal. Thirty-eight seconds.
Plekanec tries a fancy piece of stick-work entering the Pen zone. One sweep, two and then he loses it with coverage directly in front of him.
Gorges from O’Byrne in the Montreal zone. Penalty ends.
Lapierre and Pouliot are on. O’Byrne retrieves. Breakout pass for Pouliot. Turnover in the neutral zone. Shot by Pittsburgh. Mild.
Now it’s in the corner for about four seconds to Halak’s left.
Seven minutes left. Both teams are playing cautiously. Looking before passing and not pressing with their highest gears.
Malkin entry. Right side. Malkin swirls the puck around the carafe. Backhander. High rebound. High voice from Houde. Puck can’t be had by Pittsburgh.
Canadiens survive the slot scare and moments later force Fleury to trap and hold the puck for a faceoff to his left.
Where is the discipline? Where is the calm?
Metropolit, Gionta and Gomez must provide it. And Gorges is still getting used to his new defence partner.
Part-owner Mario Lemieux and his wife Nathalie are shown standing and still. Serious, serious. Mannequin expressions. Up in one of the team boxes. He is in a dress shirt only. Cowboy sky blue. He could still play.
Action resumes.
Cooke sends an errant pass across the high slot and the Canadiens work it out.
Now in the neutral zone Pittsburgh comes up with it and sends it in. Cooke is there. What was he doing there? Out of position. He handles it briefly.
Andrei Kostitsyn falls. Houde says that he lost his balance. Crowd thinks it’s something else. They boo.
Crosby has it now. In front of Subban. Tries a pivot. Subban stays with him. Another pivot. Subban is glue. And Subban takes it away.
Pens retain under the end-line. Pass to the slot. Kunitz misses the chance. Covered, too.
Lines change.
Now a stoppage after neutral zone swirling.
Muller is interviewed. Says it’s chess match. Talks about staying with the game plan.
Pyatt chases a puck deep. Fleury moves it along before the white sands trap it.
Stoppage in the Montreal zone.
Moore wins the faceoff.
Bergeron has it behind the net. Waits. A winger turns and accelerates. Bergeron starts the rush.
Neutral zone repulsion.
Rupp enters. Shot on Halak. Small rebound and a smother. Rupp whacks at it. He is reminded not to. No calls.
Faceoff to Halak’s right.
Quick whistle after the puck is dropped. They try it again.
Gomez line.
Cammalleri is there instead of Moen.
Long puck. Goligoski carries it out. Up for Staal on the left. Tries a move. He is covered and too slow. Now he doesn’t see the puck. Stands like a cold stork. Canadiens exit.
Quick set-up. Long shot. Nope.
Now a post. Tink.
Pens exit.
Halak traps a long shot.
Lines change.
Pens win the faceoff. Gorges gets desperate. Succeeds in the slot. Houde’s voice rises in warning.
Exit and re-entry by Pittsburgh. Gorges lifts the puck.
Left-side entry. Three seconds.
Pens enter. Spacek dives to redirect a slot pass. It works. Pens keep it in. Last minute is announced. Pens are going to try and impress the judges.
To the blue. Gonchar. It’s in front. Save. Now a defenceman tries to tap it to Halak. It was Metropolit (a centre). Whistle. Puck escapes. One second. Two. In the net. But well after the whistle.
Brunet says the Canadiens were fortunate in the instance.
Halak wasn’t expecting Metropolit to tap it.
Faceoff on the other end. Gomez. To the boards. Gomez retains. It sloops to Cammalleri at the hash. He sends it across but it hits someone and the Pens effect an exit and a long, mild shot that Halak freezes.
Faceoff to his right.
Cooke leaves the ice. Moore line is on for Montreal. Lost faceoff but the puck is sent out immediately along the boards. Siren goes to end the period moments later.
Shots on goal are 13-6 in Pittsburgh’s favour.
First Intermission
Montreal 1, Pittsburgh 1
Joel Bouchard says that Pascal Dupuis was the best player on the ice in the first period. Demers lofts a bouquet in Dupuis’ direction.
The rumbles have begun yet again regarding team movement in the NHL. Francois and Alain discuss this jingo-magnifying issue.
Crosby is interviewed. He is going to develop a weird tic from all his repressed interviews.
Second Period
Pittsburgh 1, Montreal 1
We resume. Gomez line. Canadiens enter. Guerin intercepts a puck along the boards and the Penguins move it out. Gonchar. Long puck from just past the centre line. Penguins forecheck can’t come up with it.
After some neutral-zone puck dithering play is whistled.
Plekanec line. Plekanec wins the faceoff. Canadiens send it down.
Subban ends up with a shot whistled for offside.
Pens win the subsequent faceoff. Eaton and Letang work it up. Letang ends up with a long shot. Harmless.
AK enters down the right. Off-wing shot. Just wide. Had a stride on his coverage.
Pittsburgh response. Right down the middle. Great speed. Dupuis. Shot. Stopped. Net goes off. Whistle. Subban was there to clear the rebound.
Moore line.
Lapierre and Moore work it behind the Pen net. Lapierre and Goligoski fall. Goligoski exaggerates, says Houde. Lapierre is called. Goligoski is not. Lapierre took Goligoski down and then fell with him to make it appear as Goligoski hooked him. Or whatever.
Booing. Stops. Resumes. Stops again.
Houde says there was no doubt that Lapierre was guilty of the penalty.
Gorges blocks a long shot off after a won Pittsburgh faceoff.
Crosby and Gonchar create havoc.
Halak makes a midnight save. Puck stays in. Long shot. Post. Halak has no stick.
Puck is pushed out. Halak has his stick back.
Another shot. Someone screams. Long and loud. Second scream. It’s all one scream now. Puck is free in the slot.
Shots. One post. Two great saves. Puck is cleared. Penalty ends as Pittsburgh carries it out of their zone. Off-wing entry. Another shot. Halak turns it away.
Lapierre whacks the puck to the boards.
Another penalty. Stoppage. Crowd is booing.
Replay of Halak’s work and the post. And the second post. Malkin’s post.
Penalty is against Hamrlik. Interference.
Habs win the faceoff and Subban gives it away. No-look dump behind his own net. He gets support from the slot and no harm ensues.
Habs push it out.
Interceptions are hard to come by on tonight’s PK segments.
Pittsburgh entry. Crosby. Right side. Across for Letang. Shot. Trickler. Through Halak’s five-hole. Pittsburgh gets one.
Pittsburgh 2, Canadiens 1
Letang.
Staal is in on the left. Down the column. Beige angle. Off the post. Third in a short time, says Houde. O’Byrne and Bergeron were, uh, covering.
Stoppage soon afterward.
Talbot takes down Cammalleri. This one should have been called. It happened in the circle to Halak’s left on an exit attempt.
Dupuis. Letang. Talbot. Quebeckers, they all benefit from the visits to Montreal and playing in front of their “home crowd”. It’s become a cheap but expected advantage in my book. The Quebec connection. Nothing to be done about it.
All ratings are boosted.
How would they do in 41 games? Oh, I dunno.
We resume with thirteen minutes left in the second period.
Plekanec line.
Left side entry. Long wild shot by Plekanec.
Eaton now has it underneath the Pen blue. My pen’s white.
Lapierre. Moore. They chase.
O’Byrne misses a puck. Now he misses a puck. Now he watches.
Lapierre shoves it up and along.
Pyatt and Lapierre combine for a surprise shot from the under circle.
Great work from this line and from Bergeron to keep the possession alive. And with bite.
Now O’Byrne steps up to keep a second sequence going.
Pittsburgh has to ice. Houde states that this long presence by Rupp’s line will be factor. They have to stay on the ice.
Long puck. Icing again.
Bylsma is looking for a timeout. Officials didn’t see it, says Houde. Bouchard at ice level says the gesture came a bit late.
Moen and Gionta. Gomez behind the net, Pittsburgh is gassed.
One chance. Rebound. Puck stays in play but no more shots. Now it’s exited. Rupp is still on the ice. Pens get it behind their net. Now they can fully change the personnel. They survive.
Ten minutes left in the period.
Crosby beats Hamrlik. Can’t get much more. Habs ice. Whistle.
More booing. Quieter. Two seconds.
Cammalleri line is on. Plekanec line, of course.
Hamrlik is having a tough period. But he comes up with one at the left circle. Helps get a rush going.
Diagonal pass from the point on a break-in. Forehand to backhand. Scores. Pass was from Andrei Kostitsyn.
Montreal 2, Pittsburgh 2
(Almost typed Calgary instead of Pittsburgh)
Cammalleri is on the bench, resting. Crowd is trembling the pot-lid. A whistle.
People are standing. Beers shake, towels twirl and Brunet says it’s the loudest he’s heard it ever. Ever in his life.
O’Byrne retrieves. Cooke slams him. O’Byrne steps away and plays the puck anyway. Canadiens are snarled at the hash.
Finally a Hamrlik check and missed puck by the Penguins see an exit.
But a giveaway leads to a direct slapshot on Halak. And I see Halak shake his head at a teammate’s gaffe for the first time. Ever. In my life.
Faceoff.
Dupuis on the ice.
Plekanec supports a Gorges trap but the Pens are back in quickly. Crosby down the right said. Bouncing his head like Lynn Swann. Look how fast I goes. How fast. How fast. Loses the puck.
Whistle soon afterward.
Puck is hit by a glove, Spacek’s and play is whistled. Faceoff outside the Pittsburgh zone.
Gomez line. Seven minutes.
Spacek sends it down. Letang plays it under his end-line. Eaton moves it up.
Gomez intercepts it. Takes it from Guerin. Quick entry. Squadron slide. Shot.
Rebound. From the blue. Spacek. Bang. Et bang.
Goal.
Montreal 3, Pittsburgh 2
Bench O’Byrne.
Moore line in response. Staal is on the ice for Pittsburgh. Cooke is on with him.
Halak makes a sharp-angle save. Holds it. Cooke tries to start something. Low-wattage.
No calls. No response.
Faceoff to Halak’s left. Plekanec wins it.
Exit. Andrei loses it in the neutral zone.
He’s back to pick up a puck but his errant pass deflects off a skate and Pittsburgh enters.
Halak.
Now another Pittsburgh entry.
Some stumbling. I panic.
Support and exit. Big spaces on the Pittsburgh end. Long vectors. Rebound can’t be had.
Now Spacek falls and corrects his error.
The game is getting wild. Both teams. Montreal is a quick bite. Pittsburgh is pouring cold poison down a deep troue. It’s pain on both ends of the capsule. And the white rink spins with granules of fear.
Finally a stoppage. Lapierre’s mouth and eyes open wide in a smile for the refs, his opponents and all. Post-smothering discussion and the provider goes to a commercial.
Pittsburgh’s energy is desperate. Squeezed lemon paste. Montreal’s is ebullience. Something’s in the lake of milk.
We are shown Spacek’s goal.
Faceoff to Fleury’s right.
Brunet says the Canadiens are opportunistic tonight.
Cammalleri has a chance. Curves sweet. About to shoot. Whistle. Pass with the hand.
Crosby is on the ice. His sense of entitlement is evident. False champion’s confidence. But now the pages have been made into stone. The caveman chant is loud as tanks. Woe be to the chimpanzee who says stop.
Gomez line.
Gomez is in on the right side.
Brakes. Looks for Gionta. Intercepted.
The other end. Goaltender interference. Not called. Talbot.
Save. Exit.
Speed increases.
Here comes the final minute. Two and a half.
Malkin slows the game, Lapierre chases chicken bones.
Now a crease chance and liquid falls like falls from the crowd’s baritone mouths. It’s a sound and tragic missed goal.
Canadiens keep it in.
They pass. Across. The Pens are helpless in chase. To the point. A shot. Another.
They are exited. Houde says the pens were desperate.
Kostitsyn and Plekanec enter. Slapshot. Misses.
Kennedy line is on for Pittsburgh. Staal is there.
Gorges follows him.
Staal’s speed is a liability. Gorges takes the puck away.
But the Pens kept it in on the blue line.
Gorges’ work draws a Penguin penalty on the defensive side. Houde exclaims in admiration. It’s rare to see a defenceman draw a penalty like that. Officials stand in front of Cooke to prevent him from being dastardly. To keep him from pulling a Montreal player in with him.
Cooke is bleeding. Not sure how that happened. He mentions it to the officials. He is not outraged. He hopes for. For what. A bigger brain? Forget him.
Montreal attaque massive.
They control.
Cammalleri. Shot. Puck hops up in front of the player. Cammalleri plays it with his hand. Let’s it drop to his stick. Shot wide.
Now it’s back to Cammalleri. Off-slot the whole time. He bends space. He slows time. And waits. To Bergeron.
Over the net. It was sure. Would have been sudden. What slow-motion pressure.
Siren goes.
Cammalleri is in a grand dimension; pixels on black. The heartbeat slows, the passes are bright vectors, the canvas, the sparks, the boom thunder.
He shows us and them what the so-called small man can do.
Pittsburgh leads on shots 14-11 for a 27-17 advantage.
Second Intermission
Montreal 3, Pittsburgh 2
Demers and Crete discuss the amphitheatre. Two minutes of ovation are highlighted. From the Cammalleri backhander. High over Fleury’s right shoulder, crossing left to right.
Crosby may not like Malkin. Just noticed on the replay. Didn’t realise that. Subtle evidence. More as I observe.
The Penguins’ French players are touched on by Joel.
Demers exudes. Crete cautions. Bouchard chuckles and then so does Demers. And finally Crete smiles.
Mais y’a bien raison.
I feel stretched as I see an update from the Gah’den. Orange quease. Seán, can’t you do something. Pray? Brimsek might hear you.
Luc Gelinas interviews Jaroslav Spacek. Spacek says he has lots of energy. We gotta support each other, play really physical, all three zones.
Luc is growing on me. And he is also improving.
Third Period
Montreal 3, Pittsburgh 2
Numbers are shown but I can’t afford to read them.
Three fives.
Halak squirms and then talks a bit. Shakes his mask. Talking to themselves. These guys.
Cammalleri enters on the left. Montreal power-play has ninety seconds left. Montreal has to retrieve a second time.
Gomez. Carries it up.
For Subban. He crosses from right to left.
Gomez has it in the corner. To Subban on the left point. Across the blue. Back down low. Two more passes but Montreal is forced out.
One more entry.
Two shots by Spacek. One blocked and one stopped.
Penalty ends.
Moen is on, yet.
Action bends to the Montreal slot.
Plekanec picks up the puck (it’s screaming). Left side. To Andrei K. Tied up. Gets a shot anyway. Very late. Great effort. Too sharp an angle but Fleury did well to get across. Stoppage.
Staal is on.
Malkin beats Subban easily down the right after a cross-slot pass. But he has to stay on the perimeter. Action continues. Pens retain. Cross-slot pass finds no Penguins.
Canadiens set up.
Two high-flight chances from the high slot. Bergeron swoops in for one. No. Then Moore gets one. No. Crowd is frantic.
Now a whistle as the puck is moved out. Moore is called for cross-checking. Brunet says it’s not a good penalty from Moore.
Pyatt and Plekanec are the first pairing. Puck is sent out right away.
Pens regroup.
Subban intercepts at the right circle and golfs it down. Crack.
More good work. Gionta dumps it. Ninety seconds in the penalty.
Crowd starts to mock someone. Just don’t do that you lugs. As if additional motivation is needed.
Pens are exited. They reset.
Malkin with a shot. Just high.
Malkin again. Underneath to Crosby. Back to Malkin in the slot. Shot. Blocked. Moen. What a slide and stop. He stays on the puck. Whistle. Moen is as heroic as Saku for the moment.
Gomez. No Pyatt? Swinging at a free puck inside the Montreal blue. I exhort. He gets it.
Pens have to reset. Penalty ends as the Pens enter on the right side.
No hen-work. Oh. Thor. No hen-work.
Stoppage.
Faceoff to Fleury’s right. Bouchard makes an assessment. I can’t say.
Pen entry.
Right side. O’Byrne covers Kennedy at the boards.
Pens keep ahead of Montreal. Finally a puck leaves the ice.
Cooke is called for interference. Houde is shocked. Crowd loves it. They jeer Cooke. Bylsma’s mouth snaps open. He holds it open for a few comical seconds. His arms stay folded and in his brown suit.
Ad-point.
I clasp my hands over my head. I close my eyes for eight seconds.
Faceoff to Fleury’s left. Brunet says it was a legit call and a very good decision by the refs.
Early exit.
Now Bergeron enters. Passes to Gomez. They work together.
Now a puck hops away from Bergeron on the blue line. Subban retrieves.
The breakout is punctuated by a sharp drive. Canadiens effect possession.
A shot. Not much more. They have to regroup.
They keep it alive on the boards.
But it’s sent down the ice.
Another repulsion. Staal is taken down on a near two-on-two.
Errant puck by Montreal gives a scoring chance to Pittsburgh but Staal blows the pass.
Penalty ends.
Canadiens retain in that post-penalty way that we see so often. They get two shots and a long one that goes up and out of play.
Andrei Kostitsyn took down Staal. Brunet says that when Andrei K wants to play hockey, these are the kinds of good plays we see from him. Replay shows how well-timed and impressive the hit was. And it was legit. As they usually are with big bro.
Stoppage after some mild work and line changes by both teams. Halak readies for a faceoff to his right. Glove is high. Canadiens win it.
Cammalleri enters down the left.
Tries a move. Nope. Habs keep it.
No further threat. Pens exit.
Hamrlik and Spacek combine to stop an entry.
Pyatt takes a shot the other way. Wide.
Montreal ice.
Malkin. One chance. Blocked. Crosby gives it back to Malkin. Malkin has time. Too much time. Too much space. Sends a shot. Wide.
Moments later Halak traps a puck with his glove.
We are told about Samuel Perrault’s passing. I feel a twinge. He was a young fella who had cancer. He was in the booth with Pierre and Benoit some weeks ago. Houde says something appropriate.
Moments later Montreal scores.
Napier line. Maxim took it. Down. Down again. Up to the crease. In the net. What a fable’s cracked cookie piece. Sugar.
Montreal 4, Pittsburgh 2
C’est comme ca qu’on joue.
Lemieux looks on. Flesh tone has changed.
Guerin veers in. Is stood up.
Another entry. Dupuis makes this one last two extra seconds.
Good work from the forwards.
Ole, ole chant starts. Boy it’s loud. I’ve never heard it so loud. More people are singing it than normal.
Seven minutes.
Malkin gets a point-blank chance at the side of the crease. Halak gets across. Houde says that Malkin missed the puck.
Stoppage soon afterward.
Gomez and Lapierre discuss something. Well, mostly Gomez commenting and pointing upward. They are on the bench.
We resume. Plekanec line.
Spacek and Hamrlik are on the blue. They control the puck in a large rectangle that encompasses more than half the rink.
Crosby is aware of the chanting. He finally shuts it out after a near smile. On the bench and drinking his water.
Gorges makes a mistake at his hash. Furiously skates to the crease to correct it. Gets help. Habs move it out.
Moments later lines change for Montreal. Gomez line. Moen is back on this line. Has been for several shifts.
Five.
Gomez. Good defensive work. Now more of the same from Moen.
Andrei makes his slickest play of the game. A pass up for Plekanec as he entered. Plekanec couldn’t convert in the slot. Two-on-two.
Stoppage.
Why is Matt Cooke on the ice? Why. Cooke tries to agitate and get some goat. He gets striped cheese instead. Get this bucket off the ice.
Wasting everyone’s time. Wasting it.
Lapierre and Moore are back on. Brunet shows us Lapierre’s three goals in this series. They had that prepped and ready to go. Eh. Fourth liner.
Hey, if he plays like this during the regular season, I’ll take my own buckets off the ice.
Coverage is not as good as in previous games but Montreal benefits from Penguins’ errant pucks.
What does Pittsburgh have left? With three minutes left I’d fear Muhammad Ali, Joe Montana and Nicklas Lidstrom. What do these, uh, champions have?
Montreal pushes it down. They control along the boards. They are forced out after four seconds of work.
Puck goes up and out of play on a Pittsburgh entry and mild shot.
Faceoff.
Penguins control for three seconds.
Plekanec line is on.
Crosby for Pittsburgh. Montreal is missing Markov and Gill’s height and physicality.
Puck is intercepted and cleared.
Guerin and Staal work it back in.
Fleury leaves the net.
Gonchar shoots from the blue line.
It’s in.
Five-hole. Nope. Replay shows how it deflected off Guerin’s stick and up over the glove.
Gomez line follows. One hundred seconds left.
Penguins work to set it up. Gomez interrupts with a long golfer. Pens reset.
Whistle. Pass with the hand.
Neutral zone faceoff.
Now lemons are growing in my stomach. Big sweet ones. Ok. They’re not sweet.
Fleury has to stay in the net.
Gonchar. Up for Guerin. Left side. Shot. Up and out of play.
Timeout is called. Penguins. Thirty-four seconds left.
It’s a lot of time says Brunet. True.
Muller talks with the team.
Martin listens, arms folded. Looks down momentarily. Muller is enunciating with care and urgency.
We resume.
Crowd is up. Towels.
To Halak’s right.
Gionta gets it out. Beautiful work.
Ten;
Crosby. Wide.
Siren.
Skirmish.
Who are the poor sports? Let me list the names. Or maybe in a moment.
Crosby. That’s what happens when twenty-year old men believe their hype. They regress to pouting eleven and lemon.
Montreal 4
Pittsburgh 3
HDS Stars: Mike Cammalleri, Maxim Lapierre, Jaroslav Halak
RDS Stars: Mike Cammalleri, Jaroslav Spacek, Jaroslav Halak
Series is tied 3-3. Next game is on Wednesday, May 12, 2010 in America.
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