Paris is sitting pretty, just a win away from hoisting the EURO Cup overhedd, and it was a goal from a fourth-liner that looms as the biggest of the series so far.
After losing Game 1 by a 6-2 score, Paris has surged ahead with three wins in a row. In Game 4, Paris used a four-goal first period to put St. Petersburg in a deep hole. But the Red Stars, buoyed by the play of Blake Wheeler, the leading scorer in the playoffs this season, managed to climb out of it when Valterri Filppula scored in the third period. When his shot beat Tuukka Rask and tied the game, it looked like St. Petersburg had the momentum they would need to send the series back to Russia even at 2-2. Paris seemed to have lost control of the game and wasn’t doing much right. But 26-year-old Sergei Zinovjev, who hadn’t scored yet in the post-season, crashed the net as Kris Letang shot from the point. St. Petersburg goalie Pekka Rinne stopped the shot but it dropped next to him and before he realized he didn’t have it in his equipment, Zinovjev was able to get a stick on it despite the fact Dmitri Kalinin was hitting him down to the ice. His goal seemed to deflate St. Petersburg and it had the opposite effect on Les Rouges Eiffels and their loud fans.
It was the second one-goal Paris win of the Finals. In Game 2, Mike Green scored twice and Alexander Semin won it in double overtime for the Eiffels, who came to play and outshot St. Pete 58-38. Twenty-seven of those Paris shots came from 3 players: David Perron, Corey Perry and Evgeny Malkin. The latter two logged an exhausting 42 minutes of ice time in that game. The tensest moments for the fans and coaches in overtime were during five powerplay advantages – 2 for St. Petersburg and 3 for Paris. No powerplay goals were scored in overtime. Semin’s goal was his only point in the finals so far. He has taken just 9 shots, has one hit and no blocked shots in the four games. Another Paris forward who seems to be only along for the ride is Joffrey Lupul. Playing on a line with Malkin and Perry, he has one point – an assist – so far in the finals. By contrast, defenseman Mike Green, who didn’t play in Game 1, is a big reason the Eiffels are up 3-1 in the series. In the last three games, he has 2 goals, 1 assist, 10 shots, 8 hits and 6 blocked shots.
Game 3 would have been another one-goal Paris win if not for the empty-netter Drew Miller put in in the final minute of the third period. Paris was again firing on all cylinders in that game, outshooting the Red Stars 48-20. Malkin led everyone in shots with 7 and he had a goal and an assist in the win. The big Russian seemed to be invisible in Game 4, however, with just one shot on goal in 24 minutes of ice time. Perron leads the team in scoring in the series with 6 points, with Perry a point behind him.
St. Petersburg needs two things to happen if it hopes to keep playing after tonight and come up with the memorable comeback Cup win: allow fewer shots by tightening up on defense; and get more scoring from its secondary forwards. The top line of Blake Wheeler, Erik Cole and Brad Richards has been good. Each member of that line has at least 2 goals and 3 assists in the finals, with Wheeler scoring 4 goals. Richards has played a hitting game, which is different for him, being credited with 9 hits and 4 blocks. Second-liners Martin St. Louis and Olli Jokinen have zero goals and only 3 points combined.
