By Rob Rossi, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, May 10, 2009
WASHINGTON — It’s just, you know, them.
There is no other way Penguins captain Sidney Crosby can explain his club, which over a span of about 15 third-period minutes Saturday pulled even, ahead and fell into a tie with the Washington Capitals — all without the services of steady-hand defenseman Sergei Gonchar and while surrounded by a loud mass of rabid red-wearing fans at Verizon Center.
“Just, with everything we’ve gone through, this is who we are,” Crosby said last night after fellow star center Evgeni Malkin’s sixth playoff goal with a second remaining on an overtime power play pushed the Penguins within a win of a second consecutive berth in the Eastern Conference final.
Malkin’s pass attempt to Crosby deflected off Capitals defenseman Tom Poti’s stick and past rookie goalie Simeon Varlamov at 3:28 of overtime to give the Penguins a 4-3 victory and 3-2 lead in this best-of-seven series.
The Penguins can clinch this moments-making series Monday with a Game 6 victory at Mellon Arena.
Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin pledged last night to push for a deciding Game 7 on Wednesday at Washington.
“If we play the same way we played in the first two periods,” he said, “we’re going to win this series.”
This series — pitting arguably the NHL’s top three young players in Crosby, Malkin and Ovechkin — has proven again that playoff hockey contains no certainties. (Though, the Penguins are now 8-0 in playoff Game 5s against the Capitals.)
Read more of Rob Rossi’s article at PittsburghLive.com
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