GAME THREE RECAP (Penguins 3, Capitals 2)

When all else fails, you flip the script. In Games One and Two, the Penguins played pretty much the same game. They came out strong and generated early chances which led to getting the opening goal. Then they expended a lot of energy trying to add to the lead, only to be stoned by a hot goalie. Then they watched as the Capitals were far stronger in the third period and put them away.

To that end, it was pretty easy to see the silver lining when the Capitals scored a bizarre fluke goal a minute and change into the first. Mike Green dumped the puck into the Penguins zone and it skittered around the boards to the zamboni door, where it took a weird hop, uh, right into the high slot. But that's no big deal, right? Marc-Andre Fleury should be in position to make a save on an unscreened long-distance shot, shouldn't he? Oh, well. I suppose he would have been in position if he hadn't ventured behind the net and inexplicably lost his stick. Oh, well. Maybe the closest Capital won't be a sharpshooter. Oh, that's Ovechkin.

An early goal for the road team takes the fans out of the game early, so the building was quiet while both teams played a choppy and sloppy first period. There wasn't much of the crisp passing or great skating from either team in the first. Later we'd learn that the ice quality might have played a role in slowing down the teams. Bruce Boudreau called the ice "sticky," and the puck bounced progressively more as the night wore on. The difference is that the Penguins have played nearly fifty games on the ice this season alone, and over a dozen home playoff games in April and May over this season and last, so they're used to lousy ice.

So instead of playing two great periods and losing in the third, the Penguins changed things up and played a lousy first and a great second and third. The question was whether the Capitals would be able to match their third period efforts from Games One and Two. This time, they didn't.

It didn't hurt that Rob Scuderi did a fantastic job of limiting Ovechkin's chances. Scuderi's not one of their most physical defensemen, but he's more positionally sound than anyone else on their blueline. In Games One and Two, Bruce Boudreau apparently tried to match lines to get the Russian line against the Scuderi-Gill pairing, and Dan Bylsma was only too happy to continue the matchup when the series landed in Pittsburgh. It's worth noting that in Ovechkin's Game Two ownership of the Penguins, his second goal came on the power play off the draw, and his third came when he was matched against the Gonchar-Orpik pairing. If-- and this is a pretty huge "if"-- Scuderi is able to replicate his even-strength success in keeping Ovechkin mostly to the perimeter and taking away his open ice and if-- and this is also a gigantic "if"-- the Penguins are able to stay out of the penalty box, they have a shot at winning this thing.

Of course, the best development of the night was Evgeni Malkin's decision to play a role in the series outcome. He hadn't been all that visible in the road games, and in comparison to the attention Ovechkin and Crosby received for their matching-goal-for-goal performances, Malkin had been on the outside looking in. It's not hard to imagine him minding that, though, if the team could still manage to win. Malkin's always seemed a little tentative when he's sharing an arena with Ovechkin. I don't know whether the shadow Ovechkin casts is so large that Malkin's shyness becomes all the more pronounced, or whether it's just because Ovechkin delights in taking runs at Malkin whenever he can, but when the two have played head-to-head, it never seemed to me that Malkin consciously elevated his intensity to the degree that Ovechkin does. A few minutes into the second, he turned the corner. He started to lug the puck with confidence, and made some strong moves to the net. He was sprung on a breakaway that didn't miss by much, and his puck possession forced the Capitals into taking at least two penalties, including the hooking call on Alexander Semin at 14:31 of the third that led to Malkin's go-ahead goal, a screened wrist shot that might be the deal-breaker, ladies.

Seeing Malkin hit his stride was such a nice reminder of how the best dominant players have different styles. Ovechkin's skating is like a furious, jerking blur, often ending with that windmill windup. Sidney Crosby's like the most talented grinder to play the game, with otherworldly passing skills but a playing style that's essentially built around an unparalleled work ethic. Malkin's fluid, comparatively upright posture looks more like Mario Lemieux's profile than anybody else's, right down to the fact that each of them sometimes looks to be skating slowly, all the better to hide a deceptive fifth gear. And when he's on, he can skate through everybody else on the ice with the puck, and they haven't got a prayer of taking it from him. Even tonight, when the puck bounced for everybody else, it stuck to Malkin's stick like it was glued on. I'd love to think the signature turning point of the series will be his marathon romp through the Capitals' offensive zone, around and through Semin and Ovechkin until the former took a penalty and the latter angrily slapped the puck down the other end of the ice when the referee blew the whistle.

None of it would have meant much without Kris Letang's overtime winner, of course, but the press jockeys who vote for the three stars know the score: Malkin was named first star, the crowd cheered and a fanbase breathed a sigh of relief. As we were filing out, we heard a louder-than-normal commotion ahead of us in the Arena's bowels. Turning the corner, we saw twenty or so people surrounding Malkin's dad, offering him congratulations and snapping cameraphone pictures. Malkin's parents have become the go-to reaction shot subjects in game telecasts over the past calendar year. They're not owner's-boxing-it, so they're the easily-spotted middle-aged Russian couple among all the people in jerseys. Malkin's play seemed to be even a notch better when his parents came to the States last year, so they're regarded as good luck charms. Mr. Malkin was loving the well-wishes, posing for pictures with everybody who asked and taking some guy's hat (as shown here). I said to my dad, "Hey-- see if you can get next to him and I'll get your photo." There's more commotion and noise and a blocked view and by the time I catch sight of them, my dad and Geno's dad are locked in a big celebratory hug, like they'd been comrades all their lives. Now that's a good night of hockey.