Game Four Recap (Penguins 3, Senators 1)

Among the great Stanley Cup playoff traditions, the handshake line might be the best. A mere moment after two teams are fighting for their lives, they've got to line up and shake hands with each other. In theory, all those grievances and temporary hatreds melt away in that gesture of sportsmanship. The losers wish the winners luck as they move on. In some other sports there's a sort of amorphous mass of people after the game, and some manner of congratulations going on, but it's haphazard and not at all comprehensive. Not everybody shakes everybody's hand. The Stanley Cup playoffs handshake line, in contrast, is like a leftover from Little League or YMCA league, only you've got to do more than just slap hands with the guys that beat you.

Or at least that's how it usually works. Thanks for screwing it up, Martin Brodeur.

But the Penguins advanced and executed the handshake line without incident. The elimination game was a perfect example of how playoff hockey works. So much deserved press goes to the Penguins' young offensive stars-- Malkin gets a nice little write-up in Sports Illustrated this week-- but the supporting cast makes the indispensable plays. The opening goal is scored by Malkin on the power play off a feed from Crosby, who also ices the game with the empty-netter. The game-winner, though, is scored on a nifty backhander by Jarkko Ruutu...


The Penguins' Stanley Cup teams of '91 and '92 had their own Scandinavian agitator getting the other team off its game. Ruutu is this year's model. Now all he's got to do is match Sean Avery's misery index. Without taking a penalty.