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The Penguins missed a couple of prime scoring chances — and an opportunity to break a scoreless tie — in the final minutes of the second period of Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinal at Bell Center.

They took out their frustration on the Canadiens as time expired.

Sidney Crosby missed a wrister from the right circle and Evgeni Malkin a shot from the slot on a power play with 2.6 seconds remaining. Montreal defenseman Hal Gill was called for holding with 11.7 seconds left.

Following a faceoff, Crosby fell near the net and remained on his knees, holding his helmet. When Montreal defenseman Roman Hamrlik skated toward Crosby and bumped the Penguins captain, Malkin and winger Chris Kunitz came to Crosby’s defense and started a wild scrum.

Kunitz grabbed Hamrlik. Malkin tangled with Brian Gionta, Crosby with Scott Gomez and Kris Letang with Josh Gorges.

For their part, Letang and Gorges drew two-minute roughing penalties.

When he beat Montreal defenseman Ryan O’Byrne to a puck on the right-wing boards, Matt Cooke found himself on a breakaway against Canadiens goalie Jaroslav Halak.

Cooke, who has four playoff goals, beat Halak on a forehand-to-backhand shot for the Penguins’ lone goal in Game 2. This time, the lefty-shooting winger stuck with a wrist shot at 6:20 of the second period.

Halak stopped it with his leg pads to keep the score knotted at 0-0.

The first period of Game 3 ended in a scoreless tie.

The Penguins should be thankful for that.

They were outshot, 7-5, in the first frame, as the Canadiens had several scoring chances in the final three minutes: Michael Cammelleri missed the net wide right on a breakaway in which he crossed over on defenseman Mark Eaton.

Moments later, Maxim Lapierre hit the crossbar.

Another shot slid past goalie Marc-Andre Fleury near the goal line.

Sidney Crosby doesn’t regret revealing that the Montreal Canadiens were his favorite club in childhood.

“There’d be a different topic if it wasn’t that,” he said this afternoon.

Nor does the Penguins captain expect a warm reception here tonight for Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinal.

What Crosby does have warm memories of is his rookie debut at Bell Center, both first coming out on the ice and scoring two goals – including the winner – in a 6-4 victory over the Habs as a rookie in January 2006.

“I remember it was a two-on-one on (Jose) Theodore,” Crosby said of the first-period goal, assisted by Tomas Surovy. “It was pretty special. I was just happy to be here. Obviously, I wanted to score but just playing here was a dream-come-true. To get my first goal here was a lot of fun.”

The “Crosby Sucks!” chants have been going on randomly for about a half hour now at Bell Center, uniting Canadiens fans throughout Bell Center. It’s an atmosphere that no longer has the allure it once did for Crosby, who hasn’t scored a goal here since his debut.

Crosby has two goals and seven points in eight career games at Bell Center.

“You’re on the road,” Crosby said. “Just being happy to be here, that feeling changes pretty quickly. You’re in an environment that’s pretty hostile, as far as being a road team. It’s loud and it’s a challenge so you have to focus according to that.”

Bell Center promises to be the loudest building the Penguins have played in during the Stanley Cup playoffs, but Crosby said the key is to focus on the game and not the excitement created by Habs fans.

“You just have to be able to shut all that out and realize the difference between momentum with the way you play and the momentum from the crowd,” Crosby said this afternoon. “The hits always seem bigger and a shot from the point seems like it’s a breakaway. As long as you’re aware of that and you’re able to separate that, you’re fine. You get to your game and play with confidence. But that’s one thing you’ve got to be aware of.”

Penguins winger Bill Guerin, who didn’t practice this morning, is out with an undisclosed injury for tonight’s Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Montreal Canadiens.

Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said Guerin missed the morning skate for “maintenance” reasons, and is expected to update Guerin’s status after the game.

It will be interesting to see who skates on the Sidney Crosby-Chris Kunitz line, although Pascal Dupuis appears to be a likely candidate if, as expected, the second line consists of Evgeni Malkin-Alexei Ponikarovsky-Max Talbot.

Bylsma already said he intended to play Mark Letestu, who could center the third line with Matt Cooke and Tyler Kennedy.
Another option could be Chris Conner.

There were scoffs and rolled eyes when Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said Selke Trophy finalist and third-line center Jordan Staal was “day-to-day” Saturday after surgery to repair a severed tendon in his right foot.
So, it was to the surprise of almost everyone watching the Penguins practice inside Montreal’s Bell Center when Staal took the ice and skated lightly for five minutes in a sweatsuit this morning – just four days after the surgery.

“I know there were a few chuckles when I said he was day-to-day, but he is day-to-day,” Bylsma said. “He’s doing well, progressing and you saw him on the ice for a short time without his gear on, testing out his foot on the skate – so he will remain day-to-day.”

Staal definitely appeared to be favoring his left leg, as you can see on <a href=”http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/s_679449.html” target=”_new”>this video</a>.

While Staal is not expected to play tonight in Game 3 against the Montreal Canadiens, Bylsma didn’t rule a return much earlier than expected. In fact, Bylsma indicated that it’s just a matter of giving Staal time to heal.
“We would not be risking anything, in terms of his health or the procedure that he had,” Bylsma said. “I talked to a doctor about the procedure. There would be no risk right now. He just has to heal from a surgical wound and get back in his boot and be comfortable doing that, so there’s not a risk in terms of weighing if he should play or shouldn’t play.”
In other news, Penguins winger Bill Guerin did not skate – Bylsma called it “maintenance” – and will be a game-time decision. Bylsma also said the Penguins are “planning to insert” center Mark Letestu into lineup.

The Penguins return to Canada with a 1-1 split in their best-of-seven series in the Eastern Conference semifinal, a similar scenario from their first-round rumble with the Ottawa Senators.
This time, the Pens are in the hockey capital at Montreal’s Bell Center.
We’re left wondering if this is going to be another case of Capital punishment, after the way the Habs handled Washington.
Montreal managed to beat the Penguins in Game 2 the same way they beat the Capitals, proving that their rope-a-dope style is no fluke.
TSN’s Ben Valentine wonders what happened between Game 1 and Game 2.
Si.com’s Daren Eliot shares the secret to Jaroslav Halak’s success.
Si.com’s Kostya Kennedy wonders if the Habs are destiny’s darlings.
While the Penguins enjoy being on the right side of a love-hate relationship with Matt Cooke, they certainly weren’t counting on him to be one of their top goal-scorers.
Then again, no one was expecting Mike Cammalleri to give the Pens such fits in that department.
Or Sidney Crosby to go scoreless in Game 2.
After showing signs of frustration, Crosby will face a media crush in Montreal that will magnify his every move.
But ESPN’s Scott Burnside says this trip is a sort of homecoming for some Penguins.

A turnover in the neutral zone led to a Montreal goal by Michael Cammalleri, who tallied for an NHL-best eighth time in the playoffs to give the Canadiens a 3-1 lead with 2:54 remaining in Game 2 at Mellon Arena.
Sidney Crosby tried to pass from center ice to Evgeni Malkin on the boards and a Montreal defenseman poked it out of the air and fed Cammalleri, who beat Marc-Andre Fleury with a top-shelf wrist shot to glove side.
The Penguins had outshot the Canadiens, 30-5, over the last two periods to that point.

Jaroslav Halak owes a debt of gratitude to this guy.
Nearing the end of the Penguins’ second power play of the third period, winger Chris Kunitz fired a slap shot from the top of the right circle that sounded like it hit the crossbar.
Actually, it ricocheted off the Montreal goaltender’s mask.
The Canadiens escaped with their second penalty kill of the period, and Halak with his face intact.

The Penguins outshot the Canadiens, 17-3, in the second period but surrendered the only goal and are trailing, 2-1, at the second intermission of Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal at Mellon Arena.
But a Montreal mistake could prove costly.
Canadiens defenseman Hal Gill was called for a tripping penalty with six seconds left when he upended Max Talbot, who rebounded a Chris Kunitz shot in the high slot.
Gill will start the second period in the penalty box, and the Penguins will have their first power-play opportunity of the game after going 4-for-4 in Game 1 on Friday night.