The Penguins are in
Brandon Sutter scores second goal of the game.
Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
With a 2-0 victory in Buffalo tonight the Penguins have finally clinched a spot in the playoffs. The Penguins secured a spot in the post season for the ninth consecutive year and they will face the Rangers in New York later this week.
The last 7 games for the Penguins have been filled with injuries, strife and bad luck. Tonight the Penguins played methodically and controlled the puck well in the offensive zone. They managed to stay out of severe penalty trouble with the only penalty going to Sidney Crosby for roughing. Brandon Sutter scored both goals to lead the Penguins past the Sabres to catapult them into a Cinderella type scenario against the Rangers in the first round.
Brandon Sutter scored the first goal in the 2nd period. Sutter then took a puck to the face in the 3rd period and had to leave the ice. It was unsure if he was going to return but since it was a win or die game for him and the Penguins there was no way he was going to stay out because of a busted nose.
During the 1st period the Penguins did not get bodies to the front of the net which allowed the 6'6" Buffalo goaltender, Anders Lindback, to see the puck easily to make 14 saves. It finally clicked with the Penguins later in the 2nd period to get bodies in front of the lanky goaltender to make it more difficult for him to make the necessary saves.
As usual the officiating left something to be desired because the crew missed several calls on both teams which could have changed the course of the game. This played out well for the Penguins because if they had gotten themselves into Penalty trouble as they have been prone to do they might have lost. However, they worked extremely hard to get pucks to the net and obscure Lindback's vision. Many Penguin players consistently sprinted up and down the ice tonight including, Crosby, Malkin, Hornqvist, Kunitz, and Sutter. The rest of the team was able to step up and hustle all night and they worked together to acheive success to move to the first round of the playoffs.
The Penguins will have their trusted goaltender Marc-Andre Fluery between the pipes for the playoffs, who also just earned his 10th shutout of the season. You could tell Fleury understood how important this game was for his team because he made incredible acrobatic saves to keep all 28 shots by Buffalo out of the net. If Fluery can keep playing like he did tonight going into the playoffs it will go a long way to help the Penguins succeed.
It has been a year since the Penguins were eliminated by the Rangers after being up 3-1 in the series. This first round matchup in 2015 will be one of the most interesting series because of the animosity these teams share with one another. The Rangers won the President's Trophy this season which means they have the most points in the regular season. The Blue Shirts are the big dogs of the league and they are going to face a Penguins team who have struggled offensively for two months. The on going injuries the Penguins have endured are partly to blame for their strife and they had a scare tonight when Perron went head first into the end boards after he tripped over Fluery's pads but he never left the ice and played with tenacity for the remainder of the game.
Playoff hockey is here and the Penguins and Rangers series will most likely kickoff on Thursday. The speed of New York is well matched by Pittsburgh. New York won 3 out of 4 meetings with the Penguins during the regular season but all of that is thrown out once the playoffs start, it is a new season. Crosby said after tonight's game, "Hopefully we can build on this. It doesn't matter how you get in, you just gotta get in there." The Penguins have to play with 5 defensemen due to injury and salary cap restriaints. Hopefully the Penguins have gained confidence from with tonight's win and are able to build on their successes from the season. It is time to look forward to Thursday night in New York at Madison Square Garden. As Mike Lange would say, "Get in the fast lane Grandma!"
