The Pittsburgh Penguins, the top seed in the NHL Eastern Conference playoffs, have dropped the first two games of the Eastern Finals on their home ice to the Boston Bruins.
Boston eviscerated the high-powered Penguins in Game 2, cutting up the Pittsburgh defense, as well as goaltender Tomas Vokoun in a four-goal first period. Brad Marchand scored twice in the period, and Vokoun was pulled after just 17 minutes.
Marchand did not gloat following his superb performance in Game 2, knowing that the Penguins have more than the requisite firepower to come back in this series. "It doesn't matter what the series is at right now," Marchand said. "If they get the next one, they're right back in it. The next one is the one that's most important."
Still, Vokoun was the man Penguins coach Dan Bylsma turned to when the New York Islanders torched Marc-Andre Fleury in Round 1 of these playoffs. Now, he's left in a quandary, choosing between two struggling netminders.
Fleury entered the game to cheers from the home crowd, and the Penguins scored quickly after he subbed in, closing the gap to 3-1. Marchand silenced the crowd and killed any positive vibes in Consol Energy Center soon after, though. His two first period goals were ruthless. His first came 28 seconds into the game, casting a pall over the arena. The second was three minutes after Pittsburgh's first and only goal, removing all doubt about the outcome.
Vokoun faced 12 shots in his 19 minutes of play, allowing a quarter of them to get past him. Bylsma now has a serious dilemma in deciding between Vokoun and Fleury, who also allowed three goals. He did not commit to either goalie following the loss.
"It's tough,'' said Bylsma. "We got down, 3-0, and I don't think there was a lot of fault in those three goals by the goaltender so it's tough to evaluate given the breakdowns and the type of scoring chances that they scored on for both goaltenders.''
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