Here were the Pittsburgh Penguins, about to succumb to a lesser opponent once again under the tutelage of captain Sidney Crosby, who was deemed unworthy of the distinction by many following Sunday’s Game 5 loss.
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The Pittsburgh Penguins play the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on Tuesday, start time at 8:00 PM ET, live stream on NBC Sports Live Extra.
The Lightning had a 3-2 lead this series.
It has already been an up-and-down series to this point.
Even after Pittsburgh built a 3-0 lead, there was a shadow of doubt they’d pull through. One more victory and Tampa Bay will become the first team to make consecutive trips to the championship round since the Penguins and Detroit Red Wings did it in 2008 and 2009. They did it a year ago in the Eastern final against NY, beating the Rangers 2-0 in Madison Square Garden.
This is the time the National Hockey League has made a decision to implement a rule that so few ever have heard of?
Pittsburgh can win Game 7 without Crosby scoring a goal.
The Pittsburgh Penguins stayed alive in the NHL Eastern Conference finals with a 5-2 win at Tampa Bay on Tuesday, squaring the series 3-3 and forcing a decisive Game 7. “We believe we can do that”, Tampa Bay’s Ryan Callahan said. Tampa Bay boasts plenty of battle-tested Game 7 performers, including defenseman Anton Stralman, who is 7-0 in such contests, forward Brian Boyle (6-0) and defenseman Matt Carle (5-0). He has, in fact, delivered the dagger in all three games won by Pittsburgh in this series.
Sidney Crosby gave the Penguins a 3-0 lead with a goal in the second period, and the Penguins held off a charge by the Lightning in the third.
“Well, you want to produce, especially this time of year”, Crosby said Wednesday morning as the Penguins prepared to jet back to Pittsburgh. Crosby has the game victor in all three Pittsburgh wins so far in the series – a career high for game winners in a playoff year.
Tampa Bay players celebrated. He was on the ice for all four goals in Game 5; last night he was a plus-2.
Once evaluated, it was revealed that all tests/x-rays came back negative, and surprisingly Tampa Bay Lightning G Ben Bishop was back on the ice much sooner than anyone anticipated.
The Penguins have countered with a dynamic line of their own in the “HBK” line of Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel, which has combined for 17 goals and 45 points. Kessel has a team-leading nine goals along with nine assists, Bonino has three goals and a club-best 12 helpers and Hagelin is (5-7-12). Credit Penguins video coach Andy Saucier with an assist on that one after he alerted the bench to the offsides play.
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So let’s agree that whatever transpires in Game 7 at Consol Energy Center won’t have anything to do with momentum. Murray has the better goals-against average in the playoffs (2.33 to 3.04) and save percentage (.923 to.875) and has a 9-4 record in the playoffs. He scored a quick, handsome goal through Vasilevskly’s five-hole – but not before whizzing past Tampa Bay’s defense and snapping the shot home. “I’m not close enough -you want to be out there, but it’s just not that close yet to have to debate”.
