Charlotte goaltender Mike Murphy gave the Penguins their first power play opportunity just 1:55 into the game when he played the puck behind the goal line in the right corner, but the Penguins were unable to cash in.
The teams played the first half of the period with tight defense, and Charlotte’s portion later forced the Penguins into a neutral zone turnover. Zac Dalpe picked up the puck, skated in from the left point and took a snap shot that sailed through a screen and past Brad Thiessen at 15:10.
The Penguins then tied up the game in the second period, a play started by a Keven Veilleux steal in the neutral zone. Veilleux turned up ice, put on a burst of speed down the left wing, and centered for a driving Geoff Walker who had a tap-in to beat Murphy at 4:29.
But moments later, successive penalties to Joe Vitale and Tim Wallace led to a two-man advantage for Charlotte. Ryan Craig and Robert Bortuzzo made two important clears to allow Vitale to return, but a quick seam pass from Casey Borer found Jon Matsumoto at the bottom of the right circle. Matsumoto one-timed the puck along the ice, beating Thiessen at 7:18 on a five-on-four advantage and giving the Checkers a 2-1 lead.
Matsumoto tallied his second power play goal at 5:03 of the third period by lifting a puck over the outstretched pad of Thiessen, giving Charlotte a 3-1 lead.
The Penguins then cut back into the lead when Andrew Hutchinson made a long headman pass for Tim Wallace. The puck deflected to the side boards away from Wallace, but the winger managed to hurry a backhand centering pass that found a wide-open Brett Sterling. Sterling deposited a wrist shot past the blocker of Murphy at 6:26 for his first goal of the postseason, but the Penguins could get no closer.
Thiessen falls to 4-3 on the season, making 16 saves. Murphy improves to 4-1 with 28 stops. The Penguins ended the night 2-for-8 on the power play and 4-for-6 on the penalty kill.
Game Two of the East Division Finals will be played on Saturday, April 30 at 7:05 pm. Individual tickets are on sale at the Mohegan Sun Arena box office, through any TicketMaster outlet, online at ticketmaster.com, or by calling 1-800-745-3000.
Ticket packages for the 2011 Calder Cup Playoffs are also currently available through the Penguins’ ticket offices by calling (570) 208-PENS.
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