Goalie Tomas Vokoun wasn’t sharp in Game 1, but neither was Pittsburgh’s defense. (Jeanine Leech/Icon SMI)

By Brian Cazeneuve

PITTSBURGH — Maybe Penguins coach Dan Bylsma was working on his curveball for a stint with the Pirates in case he needs something to do during the summer. Asked if he was considering yanking goalie Tomas Vokoun, the dutiful backup who had given Pittsburgh much-needed relief until his shaky outing in the Pens’ Eastern finals-opening 3-0 loss to Boston, and replacing him with embattled starter Marc-Andre Fleury for Game 2 on Monday night, Bylsma essentially said no.

“We lost Game 1. But Tomas played real well in the game, was strong in the game, made big saves. So the wins and losses isn’t necessarily an indicator of what we’re going to do with the goaltending situation,” the coach said before a game the Penguins suddenly feel they must win.

Bylsma didn’t seem to be opting for the straight change, at least not yet, but he also indicated that he still sees Fleury as the man his team would likely ride at some point: “I’m confident in Marc-Andre Fleury as a goalie and confident in what he can do when he gets in there.”

That’s when, not if.

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Tuukka Rask was stellar against the Pens in Game 1, recalling Tim Thomas’ performance in 2011. (Gene J. Puskar/AP)

By Brian Cazeneuve

PITTSBURGH — Postseason scoring leader David Krejci scored twice and goalie Tuukka Rask was superb, stopping 29 shots while stifling Pittsburgh’s high-powered offense as the Bruins succeeded in doing what many thought they would try to do: force the Penguins to lose their discipline and composure.

The Pens, frustrated early by Rask and his goalposts, unraveled with sloppy play. Sidney Crosby took two penalties, Matt Cooke was ejected in the second period for nailing Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid in the back and sending him into the boards, and Evgeni Malkin wound up in a fight. The end result was a 3-0 win for Boston in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Finals series, the first time the Pens have been shut out since Toronto’s James Reimer made 25 saves in a 1-0 win on Feb. 1, 2012. The last time the Pens were blanked in a playoff game on home ice was on April 27, 2011 when Tampa Bay’s Dwayne Roloson eliminated them with a 36-save, 1-0 win in Game 7 of their first round series. The Penguins had scored three or more goals in all six of their previous postseason home games, with a total of 26 during that span.

For all their skills, the Penguins do a poor job away from the puck, and most of all, both teams now know that the Bruins can win the series. Clearly, the Pens are going to have to pull themselves together, as they were forced to do in their opening round against the Islanders. The main concern now, though, is that backup goaltender Tomas Vokoun, such a settling influence in that series and against Ottawa, looked shaky tonight and ignited talk that Marc-Andre Fleury may have to be reinstalled between the pipes. If that happens, it will be a huge x-factor in this series.

Here are some more thoughts and observations from Game 1:

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The Bruins will be out to grind down Sidney Crosby with their depth. (Gregory Shamus/NHLI via Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

Snapshot

It’s been 21 years since Boston and Pittsburgh last clashed in the postseason. Now that they’re meeting again, the Bruins will look to Jaromir Jagr, the man who helped wipe them out back in 1992, to guide Boston past its old nemesis and back into the Stanley Cup Final. The Bruins paid a steep price for Jagr at the deadline, but to this point the veteran has been a passenger more nights than not. The B’s are hoping the chance to suit up against his former team will bring Jagr out of his funk. If not, maybe the pressure of matching up against the player the Bruins originally tried to acquire, Jarome Iginla, will light a fire under the 41-year-old winger.

Although the Jagr-Iginla storyline is sure to be front and center heading into the series, the real key will be the game-within-a-game battle between Sidney Crosby and Patrice Bergeron. Former Team Canada linemates and now the game’s top offensive and defensive forwards, the two will likely be joined at the hip for the duration. It’s a good bet that Crosby, free of the restrictive headgear he wore in the first two rounds, will find a way to get his points, but his challenge will lie in preventing Bergeron from doing the same.

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James Neal (center) scored a hat trick in the Penguins’ 6-2 Game 5 win. (Joe Sargent/Getty Images)

By Sarah Kwak

When the Senators had a parade of players hauled on to the injured reserve, they were expected to sink. When they dropped five in a row in early April, people thought their postseason hopes were gone. And yet Ottawa found ways to win games, make it to the playoffs, make it past the first round.

Well, after a season of exceeding expectations and proving doubters wrong, Ottawa finally reached the end of its line; after 58 games, the Senators just could not muster any more of their magic this year, and their surprisingly excellent season ended Friday night as they fell to Pittsburgh, 6-2, in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Captain Daniel Alfredsson’s remarks after Game 4 — he had intimated that the end was imminent for his team, that he didn’t think it was likely his Senators could come back — turned out to be spot on. “With their depth and power play right now, you know, it doesn’t look too good,” Alfredsson said.

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By Allan Muir

We know this much about the Ottawa Senators. Placed on a slab and fitted for a toe tag early this season after Jason Spezza, Craig Anderson and Erik Karlsson were dispatched to the long-term IR, this team hopped off and danced a jig on its own grave just to prove everyone wrong. So maybe writing the Sens’ obituary before they have a chance to play Game 5 in Pittsburgh tonight is a bit foolish.

Granted, Daniel Alfredsson, the team’s captain, doesn’t like Ottawa’s long-term chances for survival, but that doesn’t mean they won’t live to fight at least one more day.

“If you ask anyone and they looked at our series, I don’t think there’s too many people who would have pick us right now. That’s what I meant,” Alfredsson said by way of explaining his post-Game 4 quote that the Sens probably wouldn’t win the series. “We have an opportunity and we’re still in the playoffs. We have always responded when we were up against the wall and I expect us to do the same thing [in Game 5] and give ourselves a chance to win a game and come back [to Ottawa for Game 6].”

GAME 4: Muir’s take | Recap | Boxscore | Highlights | Complete postseason schedule

Whether they come into the contest as never-say-die warriors, or with the easy calm of a team that has nothing to lose, the Senators still face long odds of extending the series against a Pittsburgh squad that proved it could keep its foot on the gas in Wednesday’s 7-3 thumping.

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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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