by ANGIE CARDUCCI, Inside Hockey

Updated: May 4, 2008, 9:40 PM EST 17 comments

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Why the Penguins won: Regardless of whether the Penguins are able to sign Marian Hossa after the season, the 29-year-old forward has more than justified Pittsburgh's decision to acquire him at the trade deadline. In Game 5, Hossa shed the label of being a guy who can't score in the playoffs in dramatic fashion, notching two goals, including the series-winner 7:10 into overtime. Evgeni Malkin also continued to be an offensive force in the series, recording an amazing 10 shots on Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist and scoring a beauty off the backhand at 12:40 of the second period to give the Penguins what, at the time, seemed to be a commanding 2-0 lead.

The young Penguins were accused of acting out in frustration toward the end of Game 4, their first loss of the playoffs. But in Game 5 they frustrated the Rangers instead, allowing New York to hand them seven opportunities on the power play. After the Penguins went scoreless for all of Game 4 and the first 28:45 of Game 5, Hossa put Pittsburgh on the board with Rangers defenseman Michal Rozsival in the box, and breathed life and confidence back into the Penguins' offensive stars.

The Penguins' defense again limited goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury's workload, especially during their four penalty kills when they continued to do a good job of forcing the Rangers to take low-percentage shots from the perimeter. But again the 23-year-old netminder was sharp when he needed to be, stopping 20 of the 22 shots he faced. Fleury's most important saves may have come in the first minute of the game, when the desperate Rangers, facing elimination, stormed out of the gate with two good chances in the first 20 seconds and four shots on goal in the first minute. By shutting down those early chances, Fleury prevented the Rangers from capitalizing on the momentum of their big Game 4 win.

Why the Rangers lost: After Game 4, Rangers captain Jaromir Jagr said the difference between the two teams was the intensity; up three games to none, Pittsburgh knew it was playing in a non-critical Game 4, while for New York it was a Game 7. This Game 5 was essentially another Game 7 for the Rangers, and if they had been able to win it, closing the series gap to 3-2 and heading back to New York, the complexion of the series would have changed dramatically.

New York again came out looking like a team fighting for its playoff life, but after Pittsburgh shut the door early, the Rangers became frustrated and got into penalty trouble. At least one break didn't go New York's way — 1:32 into the second period, Ryan Malone clipped Chris Drury under the face shield and drew significant blood, but escaped without a penalty call — but the Rangers failed to keep their composure and spent eight minutes of the period killing off Penguins power plays. Pittsburgh outshot New York 17-4 in the period, with the Rangers failing to register a single shot in the final 14:50 of the frame. New York forced Lundqvist, who faced 40 shots, to be nothing short of spectacular to keep them in the game. And the Rangers abandoned the physical game that had been a crucial part of their Game 4 win, getting outhit by Pittsburgh 36-19 in regulation.

Two young Rangers led a frenetic comeback attempt early in the third period, with 21-year-old center Lauri Korpikoski — playing his first NHL game in place of the injured Blair Betts — scoring on only his second career shot to cut the Penguins' lead to 2-1. Just 1:22 later, 23-year-old Nigel Dawes, denied on an outstanding chance at the end of the first period, took a pass from Scott Gomez and made a nice move in front of the net to beat Fleury from in close. The 2-2 tie held until overtime, but the Rangers again got a bad break when Drury was called for a double minor — ironically enough, for high-sticking Malone and drawing blood — toward the end of regulation. The Penguins started overtime with 2:41 remaining on the man advantage, and although the Rangers' penalty kill stood tall, the sheer exhaustion of facing so many chances may have caught up with them on Hossa's eventual winner.

Play of the game: Although Hossa's overtime goal was the more dramatic of his two tallies, the first came thanks to sheer hard work from the sniper's underappreciated two-way play. Thirty seconds into the power play, the Rangers attempted to clear, and the puck tipped off of Hossa's stick and was sailing out of the New York zone. Hossa threw his body down at the blue line, reaching out his stick and whacking the puck back into play, and about 30 seconds later found himself open on the right side of the net to take a pass from Malone and put it home. Honorable mention goes to Malkin, who muscled his way past Rangers defenseman Paul Mara and toward the net, then whirled around to backhand the puck past Lundqvist.

What's next? The Rangers head into an off-season that could significantly redefine the makeup of the team. Cornerstones like Lundqvist, Gomez and Drury are locked up long-term, and several young players like Brandon Dubinsky, Marc Staal, Ryan Callahan and Dawes will be important parts of the team going forward. Some of the team's veteran leaders, however — like Brendan Shanahan, Marty Straka and, most importantly, Jagr — are considering retirement or playing overseas next year.

For the Penguins, it's on to the Battle of Pennsylvania as they'll face their fiercest rival, the Philadelphia Flyers, in the Conference Final.

Interestingly, it's also a battle between the team that finished last in the East two years ago, Pittsburgh, versus the one that held that dubious distinction last season, Philadelphia. The Flyers are a physically punishing team that knocked out offensive-minded Montreal in five games, so the Penguins' offensive stars will have their work cut out for them.

Philadelphia has also stepped up its game offensively, with threats like Daniel Briere and Pittsburgh native R.J. Umberger. With the 8-1 playoff run the Penguins carry into the series, however, it'd be tough to bet against them.