Game 2: Habs 3, Pens 2

24 seconds of hell.
Canadiens- 3
Mike Cammalleri (Plekanec, Kostitsyn) 1-15:24
Mike Cammalleri (Halpern, Gorges) 3-17:48
Scott Gomez (Poulot, Gionta) 3-18:12
W- Price (34-36)
Penguins- 2
Evgeni Malkin (Crosby, Goligoski) 2-0:40
Mark Letestu (Comrie, Martin 3-8:42
L- Fleury (21-24)
RECAP
All in all, the Penguins really deserved to win this game, and they surely would have had it not been for a 24 second lapse late in the third in which they conceded 2 straight very soft goals to tie the game up and then jump ahead. The final goal was really the worst, as Gomez simply threw the puck on net without any intention of scoring and it managed to trickle its way past. They seemed to be on the right track of fixing the problems that plagued them Thursday night when their entire body of work fell apart for 24 seconds. Before Gomez netted the GWG, Mike Cammalleri had 2 of his own (1 was a tip-in). Any Pens fan who watched the series last year probably expected this, and Comrie delivered. Even Carey Price looked good, making 34 saves on 36 shots and kept many of the Pens' shooters in check. It was quite the physical game, with PK Subban getting an opening shower of boos before proceeding to agitate and try to draw whistles from nearly every Penguin on the ice.

Game Changing Play
Obviously it was Gomez's goal, which pretty much left Fleury and the rest of the team awestruck at how that puck found its way into the net.

Grades
Offense- C- 2 goals against Price and the Habs is really nothing to be proud of. Granted that Carey played quite well but to have 36 shots and only convert 2 is a disappointment.
Defense- B- Improved from their disaster Thursday night and only played 24 seconds of disaster. Actually they made plenty of errors but for the most part were able to recover.
Fleury- C- He made some great saves, but 2 of the 3 goals (even maybe even the third) were pitiful. I know he is capable of more.
Powerplay- B- Though I know the powerplay was not credited the goal, Malkin's goal was really on the PP (player just coming out of box when goal was scored). Still much room for improvement.
Penalty Kill B+ The object of a PK is to keep your opponent from scoring, and the Pens did that so I guess you can say their PK was effective.

3 Big Points

-Pens showed improvement from Thursday, but it still may be a few more games before this team starts playing up to their full potential. That being said, they could still go get some wins.

-Malkin is playing out of his mind right now, but even he can only carry the team so far. It's time for Sid and Fleury to show some life.

-Another solid game from former WBS guys Tangradi and Letestu, and Ben Lovejoy also looked decent in his Pittsburgh debut.