With Evgeni Malkin doing his best Mario Lemieux impression, even a healthy Kimmo Timonen might not have made a difference. The Philadelphia Flyers probably needed an in-his-prime Bobby Clarke, and maybe more, to stop this.
Malkin scored two dazzling goals five minutes apart to give host Pittsburgh a two-goal lead after Sidney Crosby tied it, and the Penguins rode their two big stars to a 4-2 victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals last night.
“We knew we had a special group here, and a young group that just needed to get experience. We're still learning a lot,” Crosby said.
The Penguins also showed a lot – speed, talent, even grit – and won for the ninth time in 10 playoff games to grab the series lead going into Game 2 tomorrow. Three more wins, and they'll play for their first Stanley Cup title since 1992.
Malkin, who is only 21 but is the leading scorer in the playoffs with 17 points following a three-point night, scored with 6.5 seconds left in the first period with a tired Flyers line on the ice to put Pittsburgh up 3-2.
The pivotal goal blunted much of the momentum the Flyers gained by briefly taking a 2-1 lead on Mike Richards' two goals.
“You turn pucks over and give up rushes against Crosby and Malkin, that's a game you can't play,” Flyers coach John Stevens said.
Malkin's first career short-handed goal, on a breakaway created by Sergei Gonchar's end-to-end pass early in the second, was the crusher for the Flyers, who didn't do much offensively after that despite taking 28 shots against goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.
Malkin missed his initial short-handed attempt before being leveled behind the net by Richards. Malkin got up and began skating toward the Penguins' zone. Before Malkin got there, Marian Hossa knocked the puck loose from Danny Briere, allowing Gonchar to sail it back down the ice to Malkin for a slap shot that flew past goalie Martin Biron before Biron could react.
The Penguins were high-flying throughout the game, creating odd-man rushes and breakouts with an extra gear the short-handed Flyers couldn't match.
The Flyers missed shutdown defenseman Timonen, who is out for the series with a blood clot in his left ankle that left Philadelphia without its top power-play point man and breakout passer. The Flyers repeatedly had trouble getting the puck up ice, stifling their offense.
AVS, COACH PART: Citing a difference in hockey philosophy, the Colorado Avalanche parted ways with Joel Quenneville, the team's head coach the past three seasons.
OLIE THE GOALIE GOING: Goaltender Olie Kolzig, 38, relegated to backup duty down the stretch and in the playoffs, said he will not return to the Washington Capitals.
