Pens seize 1-0 lead behind perfect power play

The Montreal Canadiens probably guessed what kind of night it would be when their best defenseman was injured near the midpoint of the first period, and the Penguins scored a power-play goal because of it.

After a first-round upset of Washington that ranks among the most stunning in NHL history, the eighth-seeded Canadiens tried to play much the same way against Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Big mistake.

The Penguins didn't repeatedly attempt one-man rushes into a collapsing defense, or endlessly pass the puck around the perimeter on the power play while looking for an opening that was rarely there. They were patient, they capitalized on chances when they got them and, most of all, they weren't the Capitals during their 6-3 victory.

No, they were much better. And on the power play, they were perfect.

Defensemen Sergei Gonchar, Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski scored on the power play as the Penguins seized the series lead on Friday, two nights after Montreal completed a remarkable comeback from a 3-1 deficit by upsetting Stanley Cup favorite Washington.

Sidney Crosby didn't score for the second game in a row but set up two goals, and Jordan Staal also scored with a man advantage before getting hurt as the Penguins went 4 for 4 on the power play. By contrast, the Canadiens killed all but one of 33 Capitals power plays during the first round.

"The PK (penalty kill) killed us," forward Tomas Plekanec said. "Obviously they've got a different group of players (than Washington) and they have two strong units."

A much different strategy, too.

The Penguins repeatedly screened goalie Jaroslav Halak to reduce his reaction time. Rather than trying to carry the puck through traffic, as the Capitals often did, they instructed their undefended point men to keep pumping one-timers at the net.

The Penguins' first three goals — by Gonchar and Staal in the first period and Letang early in the second — all came from center point and couldn't be stopped by Halak, who turned aside 131 of the Capitals' final 134 shots. Against Pittsburgh, he let in five goals on 20 shots before being replaced in the third period by Carey Price.

"They beat us in the special teams department," Montreal forward Scott Gomez said. "I mean there's a reason they hoisted the Cup last year. If you make mistakes, they're going to jump on them."

On Thursday, Penguins forward Pascal Dupuis hinted that Montreal's penalty kill wouldn't be nearly as successful as it was against Washington. He also predicted Halak would be lifted during the series. What he didn't say was it would occur so early.

"We watched some tapes and just tried to exploit their weaknesses," Letang said. "Special teams always comes up big in the playoffs."

Crosby, however, insisted there wasn't a big shift in strategy.

"We talked about getting traffic, we talked about getting pucks through, and we executed — that's the difference," Crosby said. "When you do the right things, you give yourself a chance. We got some good areas to get shots away. I still think we can get more shots, still think we can generate more."

With another quick turnaround before Game 2 on Sunday afternoon, the Canadiens probably don't have enough time for defenseman Andrei Markov to heal. He sustained a lower body injury while being upended by Matt Cooke's hard hit along the boards in the first period and didn't return.

"Anytime you lose one of the best d-men not only on our team, but in the league, other guys have got to pick it up," Gomez said.

The Penguins also could be without one of their best defensive players in Selke Trophy finalist Staal. He hasn't missed a game to injury in four NHL seasons, but didn't return after being undercut by defenseman P.K. Subban near the midpoint of the second period. Staal was favoring his right leg as he left the ice.

Illustrating how Montreal's night went, Markov's injury inadvertently set up the second of the Penguins' four power-play goals.

As Markov was being attended to by trainers, two Canadiens players drew roughing penalties — and only one Penguins player did — during a series of skirmishes at mid-ice. Staal scored his second goal of the playoffs near the end of that power play.

"We weren't able to get into the shooting lanes (on the penalty kill) and they're good on the power play, too," defenseman Josh Gorges said. "They moved it around well, but we have to be stronger."

The Canadiens understand their chances of upsetting the Penguins will be significantly reduced if they go down 2-0 to a team that has won eight of its past 10 playoff series.

"We knew it wasn't going to be easy. No one in this room thought we were going to sweep these guys in four. We knew it was going to be a long series," Gorges said.

One more loss like this and it might not be.