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Jason Spezza and Josh Langfeld led Binghamton's powerful offense to a 5-2 playoff-opening win over Marc-Andre Fleury and the Penguins at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena.
Fleury was mediocre, stopping 24-of-29 shots, but it's hard to say whether even his best effort would have been enough to slow Binghamton's vaunted attack on this night.
"There's always something to do differently. There's always something you can say after the game," Fleury said. "I just wish I made some more saves tonight."
Goaltending became the focal point of the buildup to the series when Penguins coach Michel Therrien refused to announce his starter until the last possible second Friday night.
Binghamton had no such drama with its goaltending situation. Ray Emery is the clear No. 1 netminder and played like it, stopping 33-of-35 shots.
When asked to evaluate how the goaltending matchup worked out Friday night, Therrien was succinct.
"Ray Emery was very good," Therrien said.
And how about Fleury?
"Not very good," the coach added.
While it's easy to focus on goaltending, the Penguins probably lost the series opener on special teams.
In the first two periods, when the outcome was still in doubt, Binghamton went 2-for-5 on the power play and added a 4-on-4 goal for good measure. The Penguins, meanwhile, went 0-for-5 with the man-advantage.
"We played right with them 5-on-5," winger Matt Murley said. "They capitalized on their special teams."
Therrien was worried before the series that the Senators might benefit from some star treatment from officials, and early in the game, his theory suddenly seemed plausible.
Thirteen seconds in, Shane Endicott was given an elbowing minor for muscling up to Spezza on a faceoff. Shortly thereafter, Ryan Whitney was called for high-sticking Binghamton's Denis Hamel in front of the net.
Langfeld converted on the power play at 2:03 to put the B-Sens up 1-0.
"That referee tried to do everything he could to give the Senators all the breaks they need," Therrien said. "It started early in the game and put us behind the 8-ball right away."
The Penguins actually outshot Binghamton 15-4 in the rest of the first period, but Emery made key saves to keep them off the board.
One save in particular led directly to Binghamton's second goal. Emery stopped Endicott on a breakaway, and Jesse Fibiger lifted in his own rebound on the counterattack to give the B-Sens a 2-0 lead at 8:22.
The Penguins finally solved Emery at 1:44 of the second period when Murley tipped in a Drew Fata shot from the left point.
The Penguins kept working for the equalizer until a key penalty turned the tide back in Binghamton's favor.
With 4:07 left in the second, Kris Beech and Binghamton's Brian McGrattan got together behind the play.
McGrattan, who is known for taking penalties, drew one instead, as Beech was whistled for elbowing.
On the ensuing power play, a Brian Pothier shot from the point was blocked in front. Chris Kelly flipped the rebound to a wide open Spezza at the post. Down 3-1, the Penguins did not challenge again.
"If (the officials) don't let us play, we don't have a chance," Therrien said. "Wilkes-Barre is a proud franchise. We are a good organization. We deserve some respect right now. We hope it's not going to be like this all series."
