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Crosby shines, Halak pulled in Penguins’ 6-3 win

Image (1) Crosby6-thumb-250x166-10625.jpg for post 1347

It was all about quality over quantity tonight in Pittsburgh, as Sidney Crosby and the Penguins made quick work of the Montreal Canadiens en route to a big 6-3 win. After Jaroslav Halak put together a magical three game run to take out the first-place Capitals, he looked entirely human and a bit out of sorts tonight as the Penguins took a 1-0 series lead.

What the Washington Capitals could never do against the Habs, the Penguins were able to do in dominating fashion; after killing 32 of 33 penalties against the Capitals the Habs gave up four power play goals to the Penguins, including three straight with the man advantage after the Canadiens were able to take an early 1-0 lead.

Sidney Crosby, while not putting up tremendous numbers, had another lunchpail game as he made big hits, played great defensively and did all the little things needed to keep the puck alive on several occasions. It was his brilliant cross-crease pass that put the dagger into the hearts of the Canadiens tonight, as he fed Alex Goligoski for an easy tap-in goal that gave the Penguins a 5-3 win.

Tonight though, even with Crosby’s inspired play, the story will once again be centered around Jaroslav Halak. Two days ago it was based on Halak’s tremendous play against the Capitals and tonight it will once again be about his inconsistency. Halak allowed five goals on 20 shots and did nothing that resembled the confident and motivated goaltender that ended the Capitals’ season. While Washington used a blitzkrieg approach to their offense, peppering the net with shot after shot, the Penguins took a more patient approach. Pittsburgh would use just the slightest of hesitations in their puck movement to throw off the defense and penalty killing of the Canadiens.

He appeared to be fatigued and just not mentally into the game, and was barely able to make much of an effort on the fifth goal by the Penguins. He was eventually pulled, although I’m guessing the move was more about giving him some rest than it was about benching him in favor of Carey Price.

While some surprises are always expected, I’m guessing we’ll see Halak back in net once again for Game 2.