Pittsburgh gets Cooke-ing early
So this is what the Bruins have to look forward to in the conference finals?
Well, obviously they have to get through Philadelphia first. But after watching Pittsburgh dismantle Montreal in last night’s Game 1, they should really send Montreal some sort of bounty for taking out Washington and postponing a potential Bruins-Penguins match-up.
The Penguins not only did in the Canadiens with their power play (four goals) but also with some physical play from all-time Bruins nemesis Matt Cooke.
Yes, Cooke is capable of doling out punishment, legally. Montreal over-reacted to the clean hit and took an extra minor. That led to Pittsburgh’s second of four power-play goals on the night. I’m sure the Habs, pleased their talk-radio callers, though, by retaliating in a timely manner.
Without Andrei Markov the already-ragged Habs had no chance to catch the Pens. Montreal found out early that shutting down Pittsburgh’s power play wouldn’t be as easy as cutting off Washington’s (1-for-33 against the Habs’ PK in the first round).
Just one day removed from winning their Game 7 in D.C., the Habs obviously lost some steam as the night went on. Even “Goaltending Jesus” himself Jaroslav Halak had to be pulled after allowing five goals on 20 shots. Line changes became a labor for Montreal, as the Habs were called for a too-many-men penalty that led to a Krsi Letang man-advantage goal, and were later burned for a slow change by a Craig Adams goal.
With just one day off before Sunday’s Game 2 in Pittsburgh, Montreal might find it tough to recover and get back into the series. After the miracle they pulled off in Round One, however, I wouldn’t count the Habs out. If I’m the Bruins, I just count my lucky stars I’m not the sacrificial lamb at the Mellon Arena this weekend.
