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Emery, Senators oust Crosby, Penguins

Apr 20, 2007 - 3:58 AM OTTAWA (Ticker) -- Sidney Crosby's first postseason has come to a disappointing end.

Antoine Vermette and Chris Kelly each had a goal and an assist and Ray Emery made 20 saves as the Ottawa Senators wrapped up their best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Pittsburgh Penguins with a 3-0 victory in Game Five.

Dany Heatley also scored for the fourth-seeded Senators, who await an undetermined opponent in the conference semifinals.

"I definitely think we played the style of hockey we wanted to play," Emery said. "We stuck to the game plan for 60 minutes almost every night. ... The way we won the series had a lot to do with the way we dedicated ourselves to playing the system we talked about during the year."

The face of the new NHL, Crosby became the youngest player in league history to win the Art Ross Trophy this season, collecting 120 points in 79 games. The 19-year-old superstar recorded three goals - including the winner in Game Two - and two assists in this series, but it was not enough for the Penguins to overcome the Senators' tremendous advantage in playoff experience.

"It's so important to stay consistent, no matter how the game goes," Crosby said. "Although it was only five games, we learned a lot and we'll stay positive. We may be guilty of feeling ourselves out too much, but we needed to have better execution and capitalize on special teams."

"We more than achieved all expectations (this season), but at the same time, we personally had expectations of going farther in the playoffs, even playing in June," Penguins rookie Jordan Staal added. "After this loss, it's disappointing, especially after the season we had. Looking at that, we kind of feel good, but after this, we couldn't feel worse."

Pittsburgh, which had 14 players in its lineup making their postseason debuts, failed to cash in on three power-play opportunities in the first period in this one, including a pair of abbreviated 5-on-3 advantages in the game's first four minutes. Crosby recorded five of his club's nine shots in the session.

"Our special teams hurt us," Crosby said. "Last game, it's 1-1 and we can't execute. Tonight, it's 0-0 and have two 5-on-3s and can't capitalize. It's a game of missed opportunities, and we may have missed some opportunities there."

Ottawa went 0-for-2 with the extra skater in the opening period but cashed in during a chance early in the second to snap a scoreless tie.

The only player to appear in each of the team's 84 playoff games, captain Daniel Alfredsson made a pass from behind the net to Heatley, who knocked the puck past goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury 68 seconds into the period for a 1-0 lead.

"Alfredsson made a great play," Heatley said. "We kind of ad-libbed it there. We got a little step on their guys and Alfie made a great play to get the puck to me."

It proved to be all the offensive support needed by Emery, who turned aside nine shots in the first session, six in the second and five in the third for his first career postseason shutout. The 24-year-old recorded five blankings during the regular season.

"They had some chances at the start, but after we got a lead, we really shut them down," Emery said. "It's exciting. It's always good for a goalie to have that donut there."

"Emery made good stops at the beginning and the end when we needed it," Ottawa coach Bryan Murray said. "Emery took charge and never overplayed a puck."

Vermette doubled the Senators' lead at 6:20 of the second and Kelly netted his third goal of the series late in the period for a 3-0 bulge.

"Whenever a guy like myself can add offense instead of the guys who score on a regular basis, it makes it better for the entire team," Kelly said.

"That's been a huge part of our success in the last part of the season and in the playoffs," Heatley said. "They're stepping up, playing well and scoring goals. They all play great defensively, and the key has been our depth, this series especially."

Fleury made 23 saves for the Penguins, who had overcome a three-games-to-one deficit to win a series on two previous occasions - both against the Washington Capitals (1992 and 1995).

"Ottawa played better than us," Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien said. "There's nothing to be ashamed of. We lost to a team that has a chance to win the Stanley Cup."

With Pittsburgh Ottawa already trailing by a goal, Fleury made a brilliant glove save on Mike Fisher from alone in front less than three minutes into the second. But moments after Senators defenseman Anton Volchenkov's interference penalty expired, Vermette slipped the puck between Fleury's pads while falling to the ice during a partial breakaway to double Ottawa's advantage.

"Kelly made a good pass and I tried to open up Fleury's legs by moving side to side," Vermette said. "It was nice it worked out after I lost my balance. I saw the puck go in right away, so it was a pretty fun goal."

"I saw Vermette breaking through the middle," Kelly said. "It was a great move by him as he was hauled down. Then he goes five-hole, and that was the real nail in the coffin for them."

Vermette also recorded the secondary assist on the goal by Kelly, who grabbed a loose puck in the low slot and ripped it past Fleury with 2:05 left to cap the scoring.

"It was a great play by Vermette to get the puck into their end," Kelly said. "Chris Neil jumped in on the forecheck and tried to wrap it around. I just happened to be in the right spot at the right time."