Does It Get Any Better?

Quite honestly, no.

Last night's Game 3 tussle between the Penguins and Capitals was not only dramatic hockey theater, but a gut-wrenching playoff game. The Pittsburgh fans had waited for two days to welcome their team back to Mellon Arena, after falling behind in the series two games to none.

Most of their frustration was pent up at Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin, who's seventh goal of the postseason put the dagger in Pittsburgh's comeback hopes late in Game 2. He has been a nearly unstoppable force for Washington so far in the playoffs, and not even the Penguins' top defensive pairing of Hal Gill and Rob Scuderi has been able to contain him.

Rookie goaltender Simeon Varlamov, at the tender age of 21, has taken over the net for the Capitals and hasn't looked back. A gluttony of remarkable saves kept his team in the game early in last night's Game 3, and coupled with Ovechkin's quick tally in the first period, Washington went into the dressing room after the first period ahead 1-0.

The first goal seemed to unnerve the Penguins, who came out in the second period buzzing. They threw everything in Varlamov's direction, but the rookie sensation stood tall. Back-t0-back saves on Ruslan Fedotenko and Evgeni Malkin a goal-mouth sequence appeared to be deflating for Pittsburgh, but they built momentum with an odd-man rush from Fedotenko and Max Talbot. Fedotenko's second goal of the playoffs tied the game on a funny bounce off defenseman Milan Jurcina's skate, and Mellon Arena came to life.

But in the end, the story of Game 3 was the resurgence of center Evgeni Malkin. Teammate Sidney Crosby has done most of the goal scoring for Pittsburgh in the playoffs, and Malkin has endured criticism in the media for his disappearance in the current series. Until last night, it had been a battle of Crosby vs. Ovechkin, something the league is reveling in.

Malkin's power-play goal with just under five minutes remaining in the third period sent a charge through The Igloo, but the Capitals, who had led for most of the first two periods, would not go away. Penguins winger Pascal Dupuis took an interference penalty with 2:38 left, and Nicklas Backstrom banked a rebound of goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, sending the game to overtime.

In the overtime, the two teams exchanged scoring chances until midway through the period when the ice began to tilt. Malkin put on a stickhandling display and undressed the Capitals defense, leading to another scramble in front of Varlamov. The rookie repeled all the Penguins' chances until Kris Letang's shot from the blue line after a faceoff win.

The puck glanced off Capitals defenseman Shaone Morrisonn before it reached Varlamov, who had no chance to react to the shot. With the victory, the Penguins slowly climbed their way back into the series, now trailing 2-1. Game 4 is tomorrow night back in Pittsburgh, and the Capitals hold the cards.

A strong effort and win from the Capitals puts the Penguins on the brink of elimination, and the Caps could knock out the Pens in D.C. Sunday afternoon. If the home team holds serve again (as has been the case in the series), it's a tied series and all bets are off.

On tap tonight:

-Game 4: Vancouver at Chicago, 8 p.m. (VERSUS)--Can the Blackhawks even the series, or will the Canucks and Roberto Luongo head home to Vancouver with a chance to advance?

--Game 4: Detroit at Anaheim, 10:30 p.m. (VERSUS)--The Ducks have been the better team in this series as the 8th seed. Will the defending champions have a response after getting a quick whistle late in Game 3, or will the upstart water fowl put them on the plank?

PREDICTIONS:

1.) Chicago 4, Vancouver 2

2.) Detroit 3, Anaheim 2 (OT)

Photo Credit: clydeorama (Flickr.com, Creative Common)
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