Pens take a very shaky 2-1 series lead

Okay three games in, and it is already a roller coaster ride for us Pens fans.  After a 5-0 blowout win in the opener, the Penguins blew a 3-1 lead to the Isles at home in Game 2 to lose 4-3 and also give the Islanders some real confidence that they could win this series.  Scary to me, was the fact that it was looking like a movie I had seen before in Game 2, between giving up the lead, taking penalties, making poor puck management decisions, really bad defensive zone structure, and Fleury giving up a couple of questionable goals, despite being stellar early in the game.  Instead of a commanding lead in the series going to Long Island, the Pens had let the Islanders off the mat, and now they really believed they could win this series.  Then in game 3, the Pens fell behind 2-0 early in period one, then came roaring back to go into the second period ahead 3-2.  When Douglas Murray scored late in the second period to put the Penguins up 4-2 going into the third, it really seemed like the Pens had grabbed control of the game, and hopefully the series.  But no, flashbacks again to last year's debacle, and the Pens get outshot 13-3 in the third, give up a shorthanded goal, and another two goal lead to send the game into OT.  Thankfully, Brian Strait took a penalty in OT, and Chris Kunitz scored his second goal of the game off of a beautiful feed from Sidney Crosby to win this game, despite the sloppy play.  Crosby's assist was his third of the game, giving him 2 goals and 3 assists in just two playoff appearances this season.  The Penguins dodged a bullet and now have a 2-1 lead in the series, though it feels a bit shaky to me.  The Penguins got through today's game by going 3 for 5 on the power play, while getting badly outplayed 5 on 5.  They also gave up their second two goal lead in as many games, though this time they overcame that problem to win the game.  The Islanders now really believe they can win this series, and despite being a much less talented team, they are giving the Penguins all they want.  In fact, outside of game one, they have looked like the more composed team for the most part.  That said, Pittsburgh, with a win on Tuesday can take a stranglehold on the series.  Some things I think I think:

Despite the fact that Tomas Vokoun was brought in to be an option should Fleury struggle, and Fleury has had a couple of games where he has let in some questionable goals, he also has a .923 save percentage overall, and has made some huge saves while being let out to dry by his defense.  The issue is that this has been his issue in recent post season play.  Great play getting nullified by morale sapping bad goals at key moments.  That said, I think Fleury should start the next game and his play in that game would dictate if it is Vokoun time.

Evgeni Malkin leads the NHL in playoff points with one goal and five assists, while Jarome Iginla has a goal and four assists.  The damage has mostly been done on the power play, while the five on five play of the Malkin-Iginla-Bennett line has been pretty quiet.  If it were me, I would put Kunitz with Malkin and Iginla with Crosby to try to get better 5 on 5 production, but I sure would not mess with the power play.

Pascal Dupuis leads the NHL in playoff goals with three, and Paul Martin has three assists from the blueline for the Penguins.

I was feeling pretty good about my smarts when Deryk Engelland looked out of place in game two and Simon Despres was in his place.  Then Despres was beaten badly in the first period, leading directly to the first two Islanders goals, and I remembered that I am not that smart.

The Penguins have 12 goals in three games, and nine players scored those goals.

There are too many parts of the Pens game that look just like the Flyers series last year to make me a little uneasy, but I still think that the depth of the Pens will ultimately will make it tough on NYI to win this thing.