Senators goalie Craig Anderson finally cracked against the Penguins in Game 4. (Jana Chytilova/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

The Ottawa Senators finally proved they knew how to take a lead. They just didn’t know how to hold the lead.

That might sound like an old Seinfeld bit, but no one in Ottawa was laughing.

After Milan Michalek and Kyle Turris staked the Sens to a 2-1 edge during an entertaining first period, the Pittsburgh Penguins roared back with six unanswered goals on the way to a 7-3 win and commanding 3-1 series lead.

Here are some observations from the pivotal Game 4:

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The Penguins hope Jussi Jokinen juices a power play that may have cost them Game 3. (Jana Chytilova/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

Neither the Pittsburgh Penguins nor the Ottawa Senators were happy with the sputtering offenses that produced just one goal apiece in regulation in Game 3. So it’s no surprise that both Dan Bylsma and Paul MacLean are looking to add a little more punch to their rosters for tonight’s crucial Game 4 at Scotiabank Place.

In for Pittsburgh is Jussi Jokinen. For Ottawa, it’s Mark Stone.

Jokinen will see his first action in the series after sitting out the first three games, likely replacing Tanner Glass. He could skate on the fourth line tonight, with spot duty elsewhere to help out on face-offs, and should see time on Pittsburgh’s second power play unit. Don’t be surprised if he makes a big impact.

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Colin Greening scored the winning goal in double overtime for the Senators (Jana Chytilova/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

The Ottawa Senators have it all wrong.

They call themselves “The Pesky Sens,” swiping a catchphrase from the Dallas Stars and using it as a hashtag on Twitter. It wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t so misleading.

The Senators aren’t pesky. They’re resolute, resilient. They proved it again tonight, just when everyone was ready to write them off, piecing together their biggest win of the postseason by beating Pittsburgh 2-1 in double overtime in Game 3 to cut the Pens’ series lead to 2-1.

We’ve all made that mistake before. This is the same team that seemed destined for the draft lottery after losing Jason Spezza, then Craig Anderson, then Erik Karlsson in rapid succession. But the Senators proved everyone wrong, not just earning a playoff berth, but knocking off the second-seed Montreal Canadiens with ease.

So maybe we shouldn’t have been surprised to see them send what looked like a sure loss into overtime with a shorthanded beauty in the final minute off the stick of captain Daniel Alfredsson.

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Sidney Crosby scored a hat trick in 21 minutes against the Sens on Friday night. (Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

The Ottawa Senators couldn’t beat the Pittsburgh Penguins even when they managed to keep Sidney Crosby off the score sheet in Game 1. So you can imagine how well things went when Sid went off for a hat trick in Game 2.

Crosby’s three-goal game, his first in more than two years, paced Pitsburgh to a 4-3 win over the Senators Friday night. The Pens now own a 2-0 lead with the series heading back to Ottawa for Game 3 on Sunday.

This was the Kid at his best. Crosby’s first goal came on a quick burst up the wall that left Erik Karlsson in his tracks before he wristed one by Craig Anderson just 3:16 in. His second came on a vicious snapper that beat a baffled Anderson to the short side 13 minutes later. He completed the trick 1:15 into the second, timing his release to take advantage of a moving screen out front before blasting one over the keeper’s shoulder from the top of the circle.

That was it for Anderson, who was pulled for the first time this season. And really, that was it for the Senators as well. Sure, some sloppy play from goaltender Tomas Vokoun kept them in the game, but Crosby’s star turn was too much for Ottawa to overcome.

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Pittsburgh’s Pascal Dupuis took over the postseason goals lead with a shorthanded tally against Ottawa. (Getty Images)

By Sarah Kwak

The Penguins scored in every possible way on Tuesday night, showing once again their offensive depth and flexibility as they handed the Ottawa Senators a 4-1 loss in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Pittsburgh’s special teams shined, contributing two power play goals and a shorty, but despite the big win, the game was a perfect display of the Penguins’ strengths and weaknesses. This team has, without question, the conference’s best lineup from top to … well, not quite bottom.

After starting goalie Marc-Andre Fleury’s meltdown in Game 4 of the first-round series against the Islanders, Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma turned to backup Tomas Vokoun, a 36-year-old veteran who hadn’t played a postseason game since 2007. Vokoun went on to seal the series with two wins and Bylsma stuck with him for the opener of Round 2. Though he made 35 saves in a solid effort, Vokoun did not erase the sinking feeling that if the Penguins are to lift the Stanley Cup in June, it will be despite their goaltending and not because of it.

Other thoughts from Game 1:

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Goalie Craig Anderson can extend the series by getting inside the heads of the Penguins’ top scorers. (Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

Snapshot

On paper, the Pittsburgh Penguins appear to be coming into their second-round series against the Ottawa Senators as heavy favorites. The Pens swept the teams’ three regular-season meetings on the way to the Eastern Conference crown and feature a star-studded lineup that was deepened by GM Ray Shero at the deadline. But Pittsburgh struggled to get past the gritty New York Islanders in the first round, victimized by lapses in discipline, lack of focus and sketchy goaltending. Was that the product of playing against an inferior opponent, or evidence that this is a team ripe for an upset? The Senators, meanwhile, arrive on a high after throttling the second-seeded Canadiens in five games. Netminder Craig Anderson gives Ottawa a chance to win every night, and the special teams are feeling the flow. And while no one other than Sens owner Eugene Melnyk will admit it, there might just be a little residual bad blood in the wake of the Erik Karlsson-Matt Cooke incident earlier this season. This sets up as a nasty, fast-paced series.

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Tyler Kennedy hugs Brooks Orpik after Orpik’s game-winning goal in overtime in Game 6. (Kathy Willins/AP)

By Allan Muir 

The NHL playoffs revolve around the discovery of unlikely heroes. And they don’t come much less likely than Brooks Orpik.

The stay-at-home defender failed to score a single goal during the 48-game regular season. He’d never lit the lamp in 77 postseason contests. But when Tyler Kennedy put one on a tee for him 7:49 into overtime, Orpik blasted a miraculous shot that somehow managed to hit the crossbar and both posts before crossing the goal line to give the Pittsburgh Penguins a series-clinching 4-3 win over the gritty New York Islanders.

Despite being outplayed in every facet of the game by the Isles, the Penguins relied on character and experience to fight back from three deficits before finally ending the season of the gutsy eighth seed.

Fair to say the Isles deserved a better fate. They outshot Pittsburgh 38-21. They outhit the Pens. They crushed them in the face-off circle. But they couldn’t put them away when when they had the chance, and that’s the difference between a team that goes on and a team that goes home.

John Tavares, Colin McDonald and Michael Grabner scored for the Islanders. Jarome Iginla, Pascal Dupuis and Paul Martin also tallied for the Pens, who now move on to face the Ottawa Senators in the second round.

Here are some observations from the game:

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Goalie Tomas Vokoun (92) had a solid showing in place of Marc-Andre Fleury. (Justin K. Aller/Gettty Images)

By Eli Bernstein

This series was supposed to be a cakewalk for the Penguins. After demolishing the Islanders 5-0 in Game 1, you could almost hear Morgan Freeman narrating their march to the next round. (No? Just me? OK, then.)

But after that initial pasting, the Islanders decided that they wanted to savor their first playoff appearance since 2007. What resulted were wide-open games that featured overtime heroics, wild momentum swings and delirious, bottle-throwing Long Island crowds as the Isles fought back to tie the series at 2-2. Game 5 in Pittsburgh would be pivotal, and each side had a glaring question mark in net that needed to be addressed. The Penguins got their answer in the form of a 4-0 shutout that put them back in control, 3-2, as they return to New York for a potentially decisive Game 6 on Saturday night. The Islanders, on the other hand, have a tough choice to make.

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Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury allowed huge rebounds and was consistently out of position in Game 4. (Getty)

By Sarah Kwak

Well, it turns out that the 5-0 blowout from Game 1 between the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders was a pretty misleading opening act. Since that game, which the Penguins dominated, each meeting has been a wildly exciting and competitive contest. You want sound goaltending, by-the-book defense, blocked shots or clogged neutral zones? Change the channel. At this point, this series is all about entertainment value.

Game 4 on Tuesday at Nassau Coliseum delivered another frenzied night, as the Penguins and Isles traded goals all contest. New York finally took a lead midway through the third period, when John Tavares banged in his own rebound for the game-winner as the Isles defeated Pittsburgh 6-4 to tie up the series at two games apiece.

Some observations:

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After proving he’s a bona fide workhorse No. 1, Ryan Suter will be tough to beat. (Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

This morning, the NHL announced the three finalists for this year’s Norris Trophy, given annually to “the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-around ability in the position,” as chosen by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. And not one of them was named Lidstrom, Chara or Weber.

In fact, all three of this year’s nominees — Pittsburgh’s Kris Letang, Montreal’s P.K. Subban and Minnesota’s Ryan Suter — are first-timers. A signal of a changing of the guard among the league’s elite blueliners? That’s never a bad thing. All three deserve the recognition.

So, who’s going to win it?

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