PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Pens stick with Arturs Silovs in net for a second elimination game in the first round series against Philadelphia Monday night at PPG Paints Arena.
In his first playoff start with the Pens, the 25-year-old Silovs stopped 28 of 30 shots in a 4-2 win Saturday night in Philadelphia. Included in that were a couple of key saves to keep the seven-game series alive.
Stuart Skinner started the first three games with a 3.08 goals against average and .873 save percentage facing 71 shots. Pens head coach Dan Muse said leading up to Game 4 they just needed a change after losing three straight.
“I think both guys have done a really good job,” Muse said Monday morning. “I think it’s good that both guys were always engaged and ready to go. There was never that long lull of anybody not playing for a really long time. There was a rhythm that guys were able to keep throughout the course of the year and they were able to build off the rhythm of the games they were playing.”
“They are guys who have played well for us all year and can make big saves for us,” said Pens forward Bryan Rust. “We’ve got a lot of confidence in our goalies.”
Playing our game
It’s not that the Pens dictated play Saturday, but they got to more of their game. What the team said leading into Game 5.
“Our start was good, similar to Game 3,” said Pens captain Sidney Crosby. “I thought we seemed to generate a lot more throughout the game. There’s going to be momentum swings in games especially in the playoffs, as long as we can control those flows a little bit. It got a little open there at some points, but for the most part we generated chances consistently and that’s what you want.”
“I still think there is another level we can get to, I believe strongly in that,” Muse said. “It started with the play with the puck, the puck support, I thought that was better. When you have that it leads you to being in better positions to navigate through the neutral zone. Overall, some of the decisions being made to set up the O-zone, overall was better, but there was room for even more.”
“It was more in line with the way we want to play.”
“I think it’s playoff hockey, it’s got to be defense first from everyone,” said Pens defenseman Ryan Shea. “I think defense wins championships especially in the playoffs. I think it’s just making that first pass available. Even if you go through all three periods of having a boring game, but at least you play simple, you make the right play first. It’s not really the time of the year where we are going to jeopardize that by making an extra play or a costly play.”
“Take what the game gives us, when we start to get impatient we try to start to force things and plays that may not be there is when they take the puck,” Rust said. “And they are good in transition and go the other way.”
“I think we just need to continue to work hard. I think it’s a series where we’ve had to be more simple and more patient, we need some more of that.”
LISTEN to pregame reaction from Crosby, Rust and head coach Dan Muse
LISTEN to pregame reaction from Crosby, Rust and head coach Dan Muse
