On Monday the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Ottawa Senators to jump out to a 3 games to none lead in the 2008 NHL Conference Quarterfinals. Goals were plentiful for the Penguins in the 4-1 victory; Max Talbot scored in the 1st period, and Sidney Crosby, Jordan Staal and Marian Hossa would all score in the 3rd period against Ottawa goalie Martin Gerber.

“It was nice to finally get that first goal and have a good game, especially in this building where I basically started my career,” said Hossa after the victory. “But the most important thing is we’re up 3-0. That’s what counts.”

The lone Ottawa goal was scored in the 1st period, off the stick of Nick Foligno. Ottawa was in penalty trouble in this game early and often. They accumulated 9 penalties throughout the game, 3 of which from right wing Chris Neil.

Senators right wing Daniel Alfredsson made his first playoff appearance of the season last night, but was clearly still suffering the effects of a knee injury that has kept him out of action. He played in 17 minutes and had 4 shots on goal, a positive sign.

“He (Alfredsson) obviously wasn’t at full speed, you could see that, but he had hands, he had a couple of scoring chances,” Senators coach Bryan Murray said. “If anybody questions Daniel Alfredsson’s character again, I think I’ll approach them in an unkind way and set them straight.”

Game 4 of this series will happen on Wednesday night, at 7:00 ET. If the Senators lose, they’ll be eliminated and the Penguins will move on to the next round of the NHL playoffs.