Crosby Leads Penguins, Eliminates Capitals
May 14, 2009 by Jeanne Dupuis
Filed under Highlights, NHL Playoffs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals
It was the game many of us were looking forward to (and hoping for) ever since it was announced that the Washington Capitals would square off against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2009 Eastern Conference semifinals. The series has been fiery hot and I was sure that Game 7 was going to sizzle but all I got was fizzle.
image: Zuma Press
To say that I was shocked by tonight’s game would be an understatement. I wanted the Penguins to win but not like this. I wanted it to be gritty and tough but, instead, the Pens dominated that Caps but I will concede that much of the shift was due to the surprisingly shoddy goaltender displayed by Simeon Varlamov. After playing so spectacularly, the young netminder picked the most important game of the series to completely fall apart and was pulled and replaced by Jose Theodore who had not been seen between the pipes since early (game 1?) of the quarterfinals.
I’ve got to give credit to Sidney Crosby for earning the hype throughout the series and especially in tonight’s game. He led his team and opened scoring in the first period and then again in the third (both on a power play). He also registered an assist. His rival, Alexander Ovechkin, didn’t leave the ice empty handed – he did score a nice wrap-around goal late in the second. In the end, though, Crosby and his team skated away with a huge 6-2 victory over the Capitals.
The Penguins will have to wait and see who wins the Boston Bruins/Carolina Hurricanes series tomorrow night to find out who they will face in the Eastern Conference Finals.
