Posted by Scott Burnside
PITTSBURGH -- Well, if you're a Caps fan, you've got to look at tonight's first period through the glass-is-half-full lens and figure you're lucky to be down only 1-0 after being outshot 18-5 in the opening frame and allowing the Penguins 60 seconds of 5-on-3 hockey.
Still, I thought the Caps displayed a curious lack of urgency for a team that could be on vacation in about 90 minutes. It reminds me a bit of the way they started Game 7 at home against the New York Rangers in the first round. The Rangers scored first in that game, but the Capitals slowly turned it around and won on Sergei Fedorov's goal in the third.
This is a different beast altogether, though.
The Penguins once again enjoyed long periods of puck possession and are, for the most part, dictating play. If not for Simeon Varlamov, once again sharp, this one might already be in the books. If the Caps come back to win and force a seventh game, they'll look at this period as one they got away with. As for the Penguins, it was pretty much textbook with the exception of not scoring more than once.
What a nice job, though, by Sidney Crosby with a wonderful no-look pass to Bill Guerin in the deep slot and an equally nice job of Guerin to shoot against the grain as Varlamov was setting up, beating him high over the right shoulder for the Pens' only goal. That was Crosby's ninth point of the series. Nice for Guerin to score with his family in attendance.
This morning, Caps coach Bruce Boudreau was saying he wasn't sure how to get Alexander Semin to bust out of his shell, and the first period provided more of the same from the enigmatic Russian.
Interesting penalty calls in the first. Not sure what Brooks Laich was thinking when he knocked Crosby down in front and then sat on him and repeatedly cross-checked him. Did Crosby go down easily? Yes. But at some point, you have to think the referee might be watching as you continue to whack him. That was the penalty that gave the Pens a one-minute 5-on-3. That was cut short when Crosby got tangled with Dave Steckel and went off for interference, but the Pens had pretty good pressure.
Then, there was Chris Kunitz getting into it with Semin near the end of the first period. He didn't really do much to him, but just enough of a shot for Semin to go down and for Kunitz to go to the box. The Caps will get 1:28 of power-play time to start the second period. If they can tie it up, this game will suddenly take on a different personality.
ESPN.com Stanley Cup playoffs blog
