On his first goal tonight, which put the Penguins up 3-1 late in the second, Guentzel picked his spot on Braden Holtby.
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“Bones is a guy that’s a high-stakes player”, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. They would advance in 5 games, with Fleury playing significantly better than Bobrovsky.
That’s a shout out to second-line center Evgeny Kuznetsov, who struggled after March past year but played an essential part of the first-round series this season against the Toronto Maple Leafs by defending Auston Matthews. Fleury then withstood a barrage of shots in the final minutes to hold the lead. Sullivan said when asked about his thoughts during the scramble.
“I have a lot of confidence in him”, Trotz said. “We don’t need to elaborate”.
Desperate times called for a players-only meeting in the Washington Capitals’ locker room after they fell behind 2-0 in their second-round playoff series against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Fleury’s again been up to the challenge stopping 67 of 71 shots in the first to games of the series, again both Penguins wins and again largely due to their goalie.
Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin (71), of Russian Federation, skates with the puck against Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom (19), of Sweden, during the first period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series, Thursday, April 27, 2017, in Washington.
Capitals coach Barry Trotz knows that in chasing matchups sometimes “you allow the visiting coach to control your bench”. I think our fans have to appreciate what we have here. The pressure was on them before this series even started – being down 1-0 is just going to intensify that. After a Fleury save, the rebound went to T.J. Oshie, who appeared to have a big opening.
Empty seats began to appear throughout Verizon Center after Evgeni Malkin’s goal made it 5-2 early in the third period.
There’s no place like road for the Pittsburgh Penguins and other teams in the Stanley Cup playoffs. When these two get on the ice, it’s like they have a game between themselves.
Holtby isn’t the first goalie Guentzel has ripped one past this postseason and, at this rate, he won’t be the last. “We’ve got to shoot it quicker before they can get in those lanes”.
“He’ll tell you that he can be better”. “That’s how it goes”. “You knew they were going to push in their building in Game 1 and we have to find a way to answer in Game 2. It’s just a legendary game”, teammate Dion Phaneuf said. “They play hard for one another, and I think that’s what makes our team what it is”. “They’ve responded all year and they will respond again”. But that doesn’t always work as intended if the home team wants to keep its star players away from certain forward lines or defensive pairings.
The Capitals have certainly been there before against the Penguins. Matt Niskanen added a goal and Alex Ovechkin had two assists. But he has not been as good as usual in these playoffs, compiling a.911 save percentage and 2.62 goals-against average. In those games, Ovechkin has 36 goals and 29 assists for 65 points and Crosby has 30 goals and 47 points for 77 points. Pittsburgh LW Carl Hagelin (lower-body injury) took limited contact in the morning skate and remains day-to-day.
Ovechkin will turn 32 before the next regular-season opens, and while he’s still one of the league’s elite scorers, his championship window is certainly not widening. F Carter Rowney was scratched.
No Penguin’s D-man was over 37%. The total has gone under in eight of Washington’s last 11 games.
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