Kris Letang has known both ends of the emotional spectrum in these playoffs. Just one game after deflecting the game-winning goal into his own net to give the Canadiens life in Game 4, he atoned for his mistake with a powerplay goal late in the first period, that helped the Pens win a closely played contest at Mellon Arena and put the Habs on the brink of elimination.
Sergei Gonchar scored what would end up being the game winner midway through the 2nd, ripping a one time blast from the point through traffic. Marc-Andre Fleury rebounded as well, making 32 saves and playing shutout hockey for the first 59 minutes. Mike Cammalleri finally snuck one past him on a powerplay in the final minute of play, but the Penguins survived a last minute flurry to give themselves a chance to end this series in Montreal on Monday night.
Perhaps the biggest thing lacking from the Penguins’ offense right now is Sidney Crosby. The young captain has still not scored a goal in this series, and Malkin has been less than productive as well. The Penguins have gotten by without them so far, but they’ll need to have their big guns start firing if they’re going to eliminate a Montreal team that has already proven they won’t be eliminated easily.
Despite making only 23 saves, Halak was still pretty solid for the Habs. He has been the great equalizer for this club all playoffs long, and if they want any chance of surviving this series, he’ll have to continue that. Another big factor for them has been big blueliner Hal Gill, who missed most of the 3rd period after being cut on the back of his leg in a collision. If Gill can’t go on Sunday, it will only put that much more pressure on Halak and the rest of the Canadiens’ defensive squad to keep tabs on Crosby and the rest of the Pittsburgh scorers.
