By Pat Pickens
For the fifth time in as many games, the Pittsburgh Penguins played well enough to build a third-period lead.
But unlike the previous three games, and thanks to their backup goaltender, that lead stood up, leaving Pittsburgh one win from the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Tomas Vokoun stopped 31 shots, pitching his second career playoff shutout, as Pittsburgh blanked the New York Islanders 4-0 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarter-finals on Thursday at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh.
The top-seeded Pens improved to 3-0 in odd-numbered games, taking a 3-2 series lead.
VOKOUN
The big question mark entering Thursday’s game was Pittsburgh’s goaltending situation.
With Marc-Andre Fleury unable to keep pucks out of Pittsburgh’s net, Penguins coach Dan Bylsma went with the 36-year-old Vokoun despite the fact he hadn’t started a playoff game in six years and had a 3-8 record in 11 previous post-season games.
“I was a little bit nervous, to be honest,” Vokoun said. “You wouldn’t be human if you weren’t. I haven’t played a long time in the playoffs. It’s hard to remember what to expect.”
Still, Vokoun played like the seasoned veteran he is. He made 14 first-period saves, as the Islanders peppered the Penguins net. Vokoun pointed out his save on Kyle Okposo — in which Okposo split Pittsburgh’s defence but was robbed on his backhand by Vokoun’s pad — as an important and lucky stop.
“I got a couple of fortunate bounces,” he said. “The puck stayed under my pad. After that, I felt pretty good.”
After Pittsburgh built a 2-0 lead, Vokoun robbed John Tavares twice. Just seconds after Douglas Murray made it 2-0, Vokoun made one of his best saves, kicking out John Tavares’ slap shot. New York’s captain stickhandled through Paul Martin, getting free, but Vokoun made a stellar save with his left pad.
“I think the save (Vokoun) made on Tavares, when he snuck through our D there, it was huge,” Bylsma said.
Less than 90 seconds later, Sidney Crosby’s goal made it 3-0.
Bylsma played coy when asked if Vokoun would start in Pittsburgh’s potential-clinching game Saturday.
“I’m going to revert to not telling you about my lineup,” Bylsma said. “(Vokoun) played pretty good in the game.”
LINE CHANGES
Though Vokoun for Fleury was the most high-profile switch, the Penguins moved Tyler Kennedy, Joe Vitale and Simon Despres into the lineup, removing Jussi Jokinen, Mark Eaton and Tanner Glass.
Those lineup changes worked, as Kennedy scored the game’s first goal, Despres was a plus-1 in 14:10, and Vitale was 9-1 in the faceoff circle.
But that wasn’t all the mixing and matching Bylsma did. With New York controlling play in the first period, Bylsma shifted Pittsburgh’s lines, moving Jarome Iginla up to play with Crosby and Pascal Dupuis.
“He’s a right shot, so it’s a little bit easier making plays on his end,” Crosby said on playing with Iginla. “We played together at the Olympics, so I know a little bit about him.”
Those changes also worked, as Iginla and Dupuis each gained assists on Crosby’s second-period goal.
“They’ve got some weapons over there, and they can switch them up,” Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. “They played harder than us. The better team won.”
Missing Andrew MacDonald with an upper-body injury, Capuano also was forced to make lineup alterations. He played two new defencemen, inserting veteran Radek Martinek and 24-year-old Thomas Hickey.
“I thought those guys did a good job,” Capuano said. “Our defence battled hard, and I thought our D did a good job of handling their pressure.”
Capuano also put Jesse Joensuu in for David Ullstrom.
Capuano was forced to make another switch, when he pulled goalie Evgeni Nabokov after Letang’s third-period goal. The veteran goaltender stopped just 23 of 27 shots and was removed for the second time this series.
Backup goalie Kevin Poulin stopped both shots he faced.
New York also lost second-line centre Frans Nielsen to a lower-body injury.
SUPERSTAR POWER
The Penguins’ superstars have put up video-game numbers through five games.
Crosby and Letang each had a goal and an assist, Thursday. Iginla, Dupuis, Evgeni Malkin, and Chris Kunitz each had assists.
Iginla, Dupuis and Malkin have recorded points in every game this series. Crosby only hasn’t because he missed Game 1 with an injury. Malkin and Iginla are tied for the playoff lead with seven assists, Crosby now has eight points in four games, and Letang’s six points are tied for the lead amongst all defencemen.
Letang’s stretch pass freed Kennedy for the game’s first goal — the eventual game-winner. Letang then netted a power-play goal, from Crosby and Martin, making it 4-0.
Pittsburgh’s power play scored its seventh goal, going 1 for 4. The Penguins power play is now 7 for 19 (36.8 per cent) through five games.
Crosby’s goal was arguably the goal of the playoffs. He took a pass from Iginla at centre ice, stickhandled and split New York’s defenders, then ripped a shot past Nabokov stick side, boosting the Penguins’ lead to 3-0.
On the other side, Tavares led New York with five shots. He and Okposo each had three-game point streaks snapped.
“We didn’t get to the front of the net,” Tavares said. “We had some chances, but we didn’t make it difficult enough on them.”
UNSUNG HERO
Kennedy hadn’t played since Pittsburgh’s last regular-season game, sitting out Pittsburgh’s first four playoff games as a healthy scratch.
Yet, his fresh legs were evident.
Kennedy scored the game’s first goal, when he got behind New York defenders Martinek and Mark Streit, received a stretch pass from Letang and beat Nabokov over the glove at 7:25 of the second.
“That’s a huge thing to score the first goal,” Vokoun said. “It took a lot of the weight off of our shoulders.”
The goal also ignited the crowd, and just 1:22 later, Murray potted his second of the playoffs — when he flicked a wrist shot that hit Nabokov’s glove and trickled behind him and in — that made it 2-0.
Nabokov, who said he was screened on Murray’s goal, admitted that goal was a backbreaker.
“I think we were pretty good up until they scored the second goal,” he said. “They scored the second goal, and we were flat after that.”
WE MEET AGAIN
Game 6 will be back on Long Island at the Nassau Coliseum, at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday.
