Thoughts: Flyers @ Penguins Gm 1

I'm watching the game tonight and I just want somewhere to toss down things that are flitting through my head as these teams square off in the first tilt of the Conference Finals. It'll probably read like an odd checklist of the most obvious things about the game, but I kind of want to do it regardless. Here goes...

[Just as a disclaimer, the format of this post is somewhat along the lines of what my favorite blog, Empty Netters, uses. Well, what they would use if they did their blogging half-assed...and were drunk.. But the inspiration for a "live blog"-esque post comes from them, so I'm aware of my borderline theft. Just trying to get a feel for the blogging world.]

FIRST PERIOD

I don't have the specific times I'm referencing, but Marian Hossa impressed me more in this first period than he did in an entire five-game series with the Rangers.

He twice put Flyers on their rear ends in the offensive zone either protecting or recovering a puck. I mean he put a shoulder into these hulking defenders and sat them down. What a ridiculously strong player.

If it isn't bad enough for opposing players that Hoss is strong as an ox but the guy is tenacious as hell. If you manage to get the puck from him in the offensive end--and that assumes you don't get knocked to the ice or that you can keep up with his elusive hands and stickhandling--you can rest assured that he will hound you all the way up the sheet in an attempt to retrieve what once was his.

He'll be worth every penny some team throws at him July 1st.

20:00 I really hope some casual fans, who maybe used to like hockey or were drawn in by this veritable all-star team Pittsburgh boasts, tuned into Versus to see what all the fuss was about because period was high-quality entertainment. There were goals, hits and chances galore. If that period can't win you over then my friend you might not be alive.

Before I even had the chance to comment on how the play on the ice wasn't really being reflected well by the shot clock, the Penguins knotted the game up and then took the lead in the period's closing seconds.

SECOND PERIOD

4:50 - What an incredible sequence of hockey. Brooks Orpik absolutely decimates Scott Hartnell behind the Penguin net, but gets called for a hold. Spectacular hit. On the ensuing PK, after a nice pokecheck by Marian Hossa just inside the Penguin blue line, Malkin is sprung on a semi-breakaway. With a Flyer draped on his back he gets a shot off that sails wide. He swoops around the net to retrieve the rebound but is drilled with a heavy body check behind the net by Mike Richards. He kind of hangs behind the play--in part to complain to the referee and maybe in part because he was scrambled eggs at the moment--and is found for another breakaway on a long stretch pass by Sergei Gonchar after the Pens thrart the Flyer rush that came the other way. He strides in and unleashes an absolute howitzer from the hash marks. Biron doesn't have a chance. The Mellon faithful go wild.

That was absolutely incredible. The series of events that just unfolded in the last few minutes are part of what make the NHL Playoffs the best tournament in all of sports. There were two bone-rattling hits, three, exciting end-to-end rushes and highlight reel-worthy, twine-bulging revenge enacted by a recently-humbled superstar.

That was good stuff. If some part of that doesn't make Top Plays on SportsCenter, go to hell ESPN.

9:10 - Does Sidney Crosby like making passes laying on the ice better than he does standing up? Hmmm... I spend a lot of time on the ice when I try to play ice hockey, but my thoughts are centered around crying or not getting back up, not making tape-to-tape passes from the ground.

13:00 - Malkin just threw all of his 6'3", 195lb frame into Braydon Coburn in the Flyer zone. Huge collision. It's difficult enough to have think about him every time the puck is on his stick because of his speed, vision and just how incredibly difficult it is to get the biscuit away from him. But the guy also brings the pain. I talked to someone I used to have Rangers season tickets with about how Crosby and Malkin would be the bane of our existence before Evgeni had even played an NHL shift. I don't think he believed me then--with how unknown of a commodity Geno was at the time--but do you think he believes me now?

18:00(ish) - Hossa is always on his horse to get back into the play. This might be the most obvious mark of a two-way player, but I'm a simple-minded person. I'm sure there are so many more brilliant things he does that a more insightful hockey mind could pick up on but depth isn't my thing so a perpetually hustling backchecker says two-way to me.

THIRD PERIOD

Not a lot doing in this third period. A little bit of nastiness at the end as Scottie Upshall and Kris Letang have some type of disagreement about their favorite Metallica albums. Upshall said his was St. Anger. Idiot. Incensed by this the other Penguins on the ice mob around him and give him the business. Derian Hatcher is picked up on the Versus mics whining about Ryan Malone having his gloves off. Pipe down psycho.

PENGUINS 4 FLYERS 2

Outside of a pair of glove saves and a puck that glanced off the crossbar, the Flyers didn't test Marc-Andre Fleury all too much in the second half of this game. That said, he was solid when he had to be, but the Flyers didn't really make him work up too much of a sweat tonight. I hope for the sake of a lengthy, compelling series the Flyers include "Shoot pucks at Penguin net" or "get meaningful chances" as part of their plan for Game Two and beyond. It might be crazy enough to work.