Pens Take Game Three, Canes Go up 2-1 on B's

Game Three was an exhibition of how I thought this series would unfold.

The Pens outshot the Caps 42-23. They drew 14 penalty minutes, as opposed to only taking four penalty minutes, themselves. The play was clearly in the Pens' favor.

Evgeni Malkin was finally able to strut his stuff last night. "Geno" registered nine shots on net, scoring once, and was clearly the best player on the ice outside of Caps' netminder Simeon Varlamov. Malkin really turned it on in the third period and overtime, driving the net and dangling defenders at will.

Sidney Crosby (two assists) and Alex Ovechkin (one goal, one assist) continued to play well. Crosby's second assist came off of a pivotal face-off win in overtime which saw Kristopher Letang blast a slap shot off of a Caps' defender and past an unsuspecting Varlamov.

The Pens showed some fight, prevailing with a win despite a weak Ovechkin goal just over a minute into the contest, and also allowing Nicklas Backstrom to tie the contest with just under two minutes left in regulation.

The Caps looked flat all game. They weren't able to generate many chances, and as a result, only drew two Pittsburgh penalties. If it wasn't for Simeon Varlamov, who played a heckuva game, the score could've been lopsided in the Pens' favor...

Down in Raleigh, the Canes were able to take Game Three courtesy of a Jussi Jokinen overtime strike.

The Canes were able to use the energy of their passionate fans to outplay the Bruins, nearly doubling them in shots 41-23.

If the first ten Carolina playoff games are a sign of things to come, Jokinen could be the next name on a long list of surprising playoff heros. This is the same player than went unclaimed on waivers in February before being traded to the Hurricanes a few days later.

Jokinen now has five goals in these playoffs, including a game-winning goal with under a second left in regulation in the first round to go along with last night's overtime marker.

It's guys like Jokinen that the make the playoffs so enjoyable. Yeah, it's great to watch superstars like Crosby and Ovechkin go at it, but I find it just as exciting to watch a relatively unknown guy like Jokinen make a name for himself...