That is pretty much I feel. I had to check the score again this morning to make sure all that stuff really happened last night. That game had so many amazing, "momentum changing" plays that it was just surreal. The Bryzgalov save on Letang followed by Flyers SHG, the Pens scoring another goal in the final minute of the first, Couturier scoring with 2.8 secs left, Bryzgalov giving up a bad goal to start the third and Cooter singlehandedly getting it right back, Jagr getting the game winner, topped off by 2 hat tricks. Ridiculous.
Nothing in this series would surprise me anymore, so I don't want to presumptuous about what's going to happen next. What is clear though, is that the Penguins are utterly incapable of holding a lead against the Flyers. This is a carry-over from the regular season. I also said the first goal wouldn't matter much in this series given the offense capabilities and defensive carelessness of both of these teams, but I sure thought multiple goal leads would matter. Not so much. It is hard for me to imagine the Penguins winning 4 of 5 games when no lead is safe.
Notes:
-Did I say something about Giroux being invisible in game 1? People probably noticed his hat trick and three assists last night. It felt like November again with Giroux doing it all.
-As good as Giroux was, Cooter was nearly as good. Matched up against the presumptive MVP of the season, Cooter smoked him. It's not hyperbole to talk about his future franchise center potential. Of all the pieces moving in the Richards and Carter deals last summer, Cooter may be the best player of them all. There is nothing missing from his game. Skating, passing, a quick accurate shot, size he knows how to use, and off-the-charts awareness.
-Stats:
-Cooter was the second teenager in NHL history to score a hat trick, with the other coming in 1945.
-Cooter and Giroux teamed up as first pair to get a hat trick in the same playoff game since 1990.
-The Flyers trailed 2-0 for the 9th time in their last 14 games.
-Not a great game from Bryz, though he did make a few big stops which is really all you ask for in a game like that. Let's just enjoy...
-On the same play, what they don't show on that NBC broadcast is one of the worst dives I have even seen a hockey player make. Kris Letang brings soccer-style "play-acting" to the NHL, as Matt Read bumps him in the arm and Letang throws his head back, screams in "pain", and goes down like a sack of bricks. Lost in the shuffle of all of last night's madness is the Penguins shameful diving. Letang and Crosby throw their head back any time anything happens (you might think guys with concussion histories would be a little more careful about the potential whiplash!), and Neal has been guilty of some serious embellishment on two calls this series too. No one even pointed it out on a broadcast last night, but in typical Penguins fashion, Kunitz breaks his stick with a slash on Coburn's ankle, and seconds later a Penguin flops at the slightest contact and draws a penalty. Disgraceful.
-27 minutes of ice time for Coburn last night, including 24 at even strength. That is 5 minutes more than anyone else on the team.
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