Vokoun Provided Stability Penguins Needed to Rout Islanders

Tomas Vokoun's 31-save shutout was an integral part of the Penguins 4-0 win over the Islanders in Game 5. (Jason Cohn)

The Pittsburgh Penguins were heavily favored going into their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series matchup with the New York Islanders. Following a 5-0 thrashing in Game 1, everyone thought a Penguins sweep was inevitable. The Islanders though didn't get the memo. A 6-4 win on Tuesday sent the series back to Pittsburgh tied 2-2.

What had gone wrong for the Penguins? A major issue was the lack of consistency and confidence from goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury shut out the Islanders in Game 1 on May 1, but he allowed 14 goals in the three games since. This left head coach Dan Bylsma no choice but to give veteran Tomas Vokoun the start in Game 5.

Fleury struggles in net date back to last year's postseason. He has allowed 40 goals in his past 10 postseason games. The decision to make the change was difficult though seeing that Fleury had started every Penguins playoff game since 2007. When Vokoun took his place between the pipes for the opening faceoff Thursday night, it was the first time in 12 years someone other than Fleury started a playoff game for the Penguins.

The Penguins had brought Vokoun in for a situation such as this. During this past offseason, he was signed to a two-year contract to provide insurance in case Fleury struggled. When Fleury did struggle, Bylsma knew that he must turn to Vokoun. This would be the veteran's first appearance in a Stanley Cup playoff game since 2007.

Even though Vokoun is in his 14th NHL season, has played 700 career regular-season games and has 300 career victories, he admitted that felt the nerves throughout the day.

"I don't care who you are, you get a little nervous. I think you wouldn't be human if you weren't," Vokoun said. "I just tried to stay focused, but you don't want to get too focused because you don't want to wear yourself down thinking about the game four hours before the game starts. But it's still a game and you have to enjoy it."

The Penguins did not need Vokoun to be extraordinary. When you have a dynamic offense like the Penguins do, you just need a solid performance from your netminder. You just need him to make the saves he is supposed to make.

In Game 5, Vokoun did exactly that, especially when the Penguins need it the most. The Islanders controlled the first period. They had a number of great opportunities and outshot the Penguins 14-7, but Vokoun stood strong and would not give in.

The Penguins offense took control of the game from there. With three second period goals, they took control of the game. A third period power play goal by Kris Letang iced the game away. Vokoun made 31 saves enroute to the shutout.

"He was solid," Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said of Vokoun. "Hopefully we didn't make things too tough on him. We didn't do a great job of helping Marc out and we wanted to make sure we did a better job in front of our goalie. He made some good saves, but I think we did a better job in front of him and at keeping the puck down in their end a little more."

The Penguins will hit the road and look to wrap the series up on Saturday night. Following his solid performance in Game 5, it is expected that Vokoun will get another start. Once again, the Penguins don't need him to be extraordinary. If Vokoun can be solid like he was in Game 5, this is a team that is fully capable of making a run at Lord Stanley's Cup.