TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Sidney Crosby and Co. kept pressing and shooting until the Pittsburgh Penguins finally imposed their will. They’ve dealt with injuries hitting their key players before and prevailed. The Lightning saw the home return of D Anton Stralman, who missed the first two rounds of the playoffs recovering from a broken leg and returned for Game 2…. Two years ago, in a dream ratings match-up, the Los Angeles Kings beat the New York Rangers. But in saying that, Pittsburgh’s put us in a position to be like that.
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Big game from Kucherov: If there was ever a time the Lightning needed an offensive show from Nikita Kucherov, it’s now.
All four Stanley Cup semifinalists have taken extra steps to counteract spring temperatures in their buildings, including renting large dehumidifiers to reduce the slushiness of the surface.
They did it by once again pressuring the Lightning from the moment the puck dropped. Three games in, he’s still at nine. I mean, he’s scored a ton of goals in this league. Three went to double-overtime, and one went three OTs.
Major pushback: The Lightning were disgusted with their performance on home ice in Game 3.
With 10 seconds left in the second period, Pittsburgh broke a scoreless tie, as Kessel intercepted a Jonathan Drouin pass with his skate, broke ahead down the right side, and Hagelin scored on a rebound off Kessel’s shot. The Matt Cullen-led fourth line has carried the play whenever its been on the ice.
The action is so highly aerobic that a forward’s shift lasts less than a minute.
Crosby has since responded with the game-winning goals in Games 2 and 3 of the series, and Malkin got on the board with an assist in Game 3.
By comparison, Curry played 39 minutes 40 seconds of the Warriors’ loss to Oklahoma City on Monday in the NBA’s Western Conference finals. He contributed just 10 goals among 28 points in 68 regular-season games and had one goal and a minus-4 rating in five playoff games. That’s a serious downturn compared to some of the other efforts from Kuch during the 2016 NHL Playoffs.
But the Conference Finals are actually decent matchups, with the Penguins and Lightning in the East, and the Sharks and Blues in the West.
Cooper, 48, and his wife Jessie have twin eight-year-old daughters and a six year-old son and as much as possible they try to avoid the trappings of celebrity. Offense has dwindled in the decade-plus since the lockout forced the cancellation of the 2004-5 season. But there’s also some battle missing from his game. There are things you have to consider other than hockey.
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Malkin assisted on Crosby’s power-play goal that proved to be the victor in Game 3 on Wednesday night, Malkin’s first point since Game 2 of Pittsburgh’s second-round victory over Washington. They’ve also got to rediscover their desire.
