Penguins vs. Senators Game 3

OK so since I'm admittedly a huge Penguins fan I decided to do something I did a couple years back with the Stanley Cup Finals. I'm going to try the best I can to keep a running log of my emotions and reactions to things going on during the game.

6:30pm - Half hour until the puck drops. This will be the first game I've actually been able to watch in this series because I had to work during Game 1 and had a previous engagement during Game 2. I've got the day off today due to a buddy from back home being in town for the week and staying with us. This should be a fun one tonight.

7:00pm - The hockey package just kicked in and we've got the CBC feed tonight. which means Jim Husson will be the play by play guy. Opening montage showing highlights from the first two games is pretty sweet. CBC reporting that Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson will play tonight.

7:04 - On ice ceremony begins with a Roman Empire type theme. A senator is standing at center ice with a shield and sword giving one hell of a battle cry speech. This may have been the coolest team entrance in the history of hockey. Wow.

7:08 - National anthem time. United States up first. This guy singing has a great booming voice. I'm impressed. Fans respectful, which is good.

7:10 - Canadian national anthem. Mix of English and French....and the fans just took it over. I love when the fans sing the national anthem like that. I seriously get chills. We're going to the puck drop right now.

7:13 - Devorski and Leggo calling the game. Puck drops and the Sens win it. We're under way in Ottawa.

7:14 - Alfredsson makes his 2008 playoff debut to a standing ovation. Sens with the first shot and Fleury covers.

7:15 - Chris Neil runs own Kris Letang in the corner and while on the ice he punches him in the face. Power play Penguins. Come on boys, let's get one.

7:17 - Hossa in clean, slapper...POST! Soo close. Pens back in the zone, couple good saves by Gerber.

7:18 - Penalty killed, Pens with a couple good chances. As the penalty expires Dupuis lets a rocket go and Gerber eats it up.

7:19 - Max Talbot runs into Gerber while going for a loose puck. Gerber and Talbot both going for the puck. Power play Senators.

7:21 - Fleury makes two solid saves during the kill. The second one was on a rebound chance by Alfredsson who is looking good in his first game back since getting his bell rung by Mark Bell of Toronto.

7:23 - Fast pace to start the game as we head to the first commercial break of the evening. Penguins kill the penalty and only surrender one good scoring chance. The penalty kill has been much improved since getting Hal Gill and Pascal Dupuis. It's going to have to be good if they want to make a run at the Stanley Cup.

7:28 - It looks as if the Penguins are trying to weather the storm right now. It's been pretty much all Ottawa so far. Fans chanting Fleury's name for the first time tonight.

7:31 - Pens generating a couple more chances now. Fleury is standing tall and keeping Ottawa off the board in this crucial time of the game, stopping 11 shots so far.

7:37 - Hitting is picking up as the pace is slowing just a bit. Gonchas just threw a huge hit in the offensive zone. Yeah, Gonchar...who knew right?

7:42 - Penalty on Ottawa. Donovan lost his stick and ripped Ruutu's stick away. Donovan sits fr 2 minutes.

7:44 - Gerber absolutely tones Malone from point blank range with the glove. Nice save. Pens best chance so far.

7:45 - Penalty killed. Pens being too passive on the power play. Plenty of chances to just put it on net and they elected to pass. I'm not exactly happy with how the second half of the power play went.

7:47 - Massive scrum in front of Fleury with three Senators hacking at it. No idea how it doesn't go in.

7:49 - First period comes to a close. The Pens seem to be finding some space now and are attacking the net much better than they were to start the game. Fleury is the hands down star of the period. After one period your score is 0-0.

8:01: Don Cherry has me near tears from laughing so hard. They just showed two clips of Marc Savard looking at his stick and caressing the blade on the bench. Don narrates "see what he's saying there....I love you.....I'll stroke you. You kids out there, pay attention. Take care of your sticks, they cost a lot of money."

8:07 - Second period underway.

8:09 - Bouncing puck eludes Whitney, Foligno picks up the puck and fires it through the legs of Fleury. 1-0 Senators.

8:11- Pens fourth line forces three turnovers in the offensive zone and force Gerber to make a couple solid saves.

8:16-SCCCCOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! MAX TALBOT GOES 5-HOLE ON A BRILLIANT MOVE!!! 1-1!! Announcers were just talking about how the Senators goal seemed to wake up the Pens who are now skating harder and making crisper passes.

8:23 - Talbot is being rewarded with more ice time as he has had a ton of chances so far this period along with the rest of the fourth line in Ruutu and Laraque.

8:26 - Penguins are controlling the play right now. Gonchar had a great chance after dancing his way into the slot, but refused to shoot the puck. The Sykora, Malone, Malkin line is starting to come on as well. Pens going on the PP again after Neil takes another dumb penalty.

8:31 - Massive pile in front of Gerber. Leggo blows it dead as the puck was still free from the tv camera angle. Letang fires into the net, but it obviously doesn't count. Bunch of penalties assessed during the scrum and the Pens will have another power play as a result.

8:35 - Puck worked down low to Hossa who tried to tap in a puck that bounced through and off the post. Pens soo close once again.

8:40 - Wow is the pace picking up again and just like the first period, the hitting has picked up as well. Lots of bodies being crunched into the boards. Man do I love playoff hockey!

8:46 - 27-26 in shots at the end of the second period in favor of the Senators. My heart is racing and I think I'm going to be sick from all the nerves. There's something not right about that, but I don't care, I'm a die-hard fan and live and die with every second that passes during games. Need to go take a walk to calm down a bit after a pretty even period.

9:03 - Time to strap in for what should be a great third period.

9:04 - SCCCCCOOOOOOORRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! SIDNEY CROSBY SCORES ON A 2-ON-1!!!! 2-1 PENGUINS. Goal scored at :12 of the period. WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

9:07 - SCOOOOOORRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! JORDAN STAAL TIPS ONE BEHIND GERBER AND IT'S 3-1!!! Goal scored at 1:11 of the period. What a start to the third period for my boys!!!

9:09 - Chris Neil does it again. His third dumb penalty of the game. Eventually this will come back to haunt them and already down two goals this could be fatal. Play under review to see if it's 3-2 after Fleury got plowed into.

9:10 - Leggo waives it off. No goal. YAY!

9:13 - Gonchar is going to be a hated man by the rink crew after that power play. Three slappers from the point leave welts in the endboards. At least he's shooting now though, so I can't complain too much.

9:14 - Dave Nonis fired as Canucks GM. Wonder if that's because he couldn't make a deadline deal for someone who could actually score.

9:15 - What a scrum in front of Fleury who somehow made about 4 saves while on his stomach in the crease. I'm sitting on pins and needles here. This clock needs to start moving a lot faster. Penalty on the Penguins during the scrum and the Senators will get a chance to cut the lead to 1 goal.

9:18 - Two penalties on Ottawa. Staal gets a stick to the face resulting in a 4-minute penalty and Malone gets tripped up in the neutral zone. As a result it's a 4-on-3 powerplay for the Penguins. A goal here could quite possibly end this game and make me very happy.

9:23 - Whitney returns to the ice and it's now 5-on-3. Great chance at the side of the net gets blown dead by a quick whistle. The Penguins decide to call timeout to keep the top unit on the ice.

9:25 - SCCCCOOOORRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! WELCOME TO PITTSBURGH MARIAN HOSSA!!!!! A POWER PLAY GOAL AND IT'S 4-1 PENS! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! This is one guy I've wanted to see get one for a while. He's had soo many chances in this series so far and one finally goes in.

9:28 - TV timeout with 8:55 to play. I'm starting to be able to taste a 3-0 series lead, but I refuse to say that this game is over. Until the clock reads 00:00 I'm not celebrating.

9:33 - Pens are now playing shut down hockey and seem to be content with just dumping the puck in the corner and letting the Sens skate 200 feet. 6:00 left in the period, which is good because I haven't eaten dinner yet and I'm sure that's playing into my upset stomach right now.

9:40 - Two minutes left. Still not getting excited.

9:41 - One minute left in the third. Getting closer.....

9:42 - IT'S OVER! PENGUINS WIN 4-1!!! TAKE A COMMANDING 3-0 SERIES LEAD!!!!!

What a game! I was nervous as all hell heading into the third period, but Sidney Crosby eased my fears with that goal just 12 seconds into the period. Now we will have a chance on Wednesday night to send the Senators packing. I'll be at work, but I'm going to seek out a broom in the building just in case.

This was a lot of fun for me and I hope you enjoyed it even if you're a Senators fan.