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7:00 P.M.: Penguins, Canadiens Look To Break Series Tie In Game Five
(Sports Network) - The defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins will try to break a tie in the Eastern Conference semifinals tonight, when they host the eighth-seeded Montreal Canadiens for Game 5 at Mellon Arena.
This best-of-seven series is knotted a two games apiece as the clubs have alternated wins since Pittsburgh took Game 1 on home ice by a 6-3 score. The Canadiens picked up a 3-2 victory in Thursday’s Game 4 at Montreal’s Bell Centre.
This could be the final game in the history of Mellon Arena, which will be replaced by Consol Energy Center at the start of next season. The oldest building in the NHL, the Igloo opened in 1961 and since the fall of 1967 -- when the Penguins entered the NHL as an expansion club -- it has been the only building the club has called home.
Montreal would certainly prefer this to be the last game ever at Mellon Arena. The Habs could end this series if they win tonight and also get a victory in Monday’s Game 6 in Quebec. Of course, the seventh and deciding game, if necessary, will be hosted by the fourth-seeded Penguins.
The Penguins are just 2-3 as the host in the 2010 playoffs after posting a strong 25-12-4 mark on home ice during the regular season. Montreal, meanwhile, is 4-2 as the visiting club in this postseason, but was just 19-17-5 as the guest prior to the playoffs.
Montreal was able to steal Game 4 from the Penguins, scoring two quick goals in the third period to take a 3-2 decision and tie the series at 2-2. Brian Gionta was credited with the winning goal early in the third period after his centering pass hit off the skate of Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang and slid into the net.
Tom Pyatt and Maxim Lapierre also tallied for the Canadiens, who were outshot 35-25 and trailed 2-1 heading into the final 20 minutes of regulation, Lapierre started the comeback when his stuffer at the right post pulled Montreal even at the 2:07 mark of the third period and Gionta's fortuitous goal came just 1:33 later.
"It's amazing how things change quickly. There was two different pictures in how we played tonight, and we didn't want to go down three-to-one," said Habs forward Mike Cammalleri. "At the same time, we sat here after the second, looked at each other, and admitted there was two bad periods of hockey. Let's all pick it up."
Jaroslav Halak was strong again in net for the Habs, picking up his sixth win of these playoffs by turning aside 33-of-35 shots. Halak has a stellar .934 save percentage in 10 postseason games this year and has allowed just four goals on 88 shots in this series.
Max Talbot and Chris Kunitz scored for the Penguins, who failed to take a convincing series edge despite the return of forward Jordan Staal after a two- game absence. Marc-Andre Fleury allowed all three goals on just 25 shots in defeat.
"I don't think we changed the way we played. Obviously, to have a goal like that means they will come harder," said Penguins captain Sidney Crosby. "They got more confident, and played with more energy. I don't think we felt sorry for ourselves after that. I thought we generated some really good chances. You have to learn to bounce back after those plays."
As for Staal, the Selke Trophy finalist came back for Game 4 after making a quick recovery from an injury suffered in the series opener. The centerman needed surgery to repair a lacerated tendon in his right foot after Game 1 and only missed two games after undergoing the procedure on April 30.
Staal, who has two goals and two assists in eight playoff games this year, was a minus-one after seeing 13 minutes, 24 seconds of ice time on Thursday.
Pens forward Bill Guerin has missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury, but the veteran skated on Thursday and Friday and is expected to be a game-time decision for tonight's tilt. Guerin has three goals and five assists in the playoffs.
Montreal has injury concerns of its own, as it will not have top defenseman Andrei Markov for the rest of the postseason due to a torn ACL suffered in the opener of this series. Jaroslav Spacek sat out yet another game with an undisclosed illness, making it eight straight contests the Habs defenseman has missed with the mysterious sickness. Although he has traveled with the Habs to Pittsburgh, the team has not revealed any timetable for Spacek's return and he is questionable for tonight's game.
The Habs and Pens have met just once before in the playoffs and that was back in the opening round of the 1998 postseason when Montreal notched a six-game series victory.
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