Sidney Crosby scored for a third consecutive game as part of a four-goal first period in which the Penguins twice chased goalie Craig Anderson. The victor will face the Nashville Predators in the Stanley Cup final, which gets under way Monday.
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“I wasn’t anxious at all”, Hoffman said.
“I put it in my bag”.
“The outlet pass worked well for Ottawa”, Corsi said.
“That’s something they’ve developed individually and as a team, and that’s why we’re still here”.
The Senators head back home on the brink of elimination for the first time in their postseason.
The Senators quieted the Penguins early in the series, holding them to three goals through three games by playing disciplined hockey. While Crosby played it close to the vest with his comments, Ottawa coach Guy Boucher raised a few eyebrows and many sarcastic quips over social media after essentially “crowning” the Penguins after the barrage.
Anderson was the difference-maker in Game 6 and could have a similar impact in Game 7. They understand it. They understand whats at stake.. “We bought ourselves two more days together, and this team just wants to be around each other”.
And that, of course, meant returning to the smothering defence that had served the team so well, even if it had led to wide criticism about the style of play.
“We’ve gone through this, we know what to expect out of our group”, added 40-year-old forward Matt Cullen. “If you don’t trust it now, there isn’t a whole lot of hope for you”.
Ryan thought it was a building point for his team, but such a point may have arrived even earlier than that with the Sens killing off a pair of first period Pittsburgh power plays.
Anderson’s performance was even more impressive for coming on the heels of an very bad Game 5, in which he was pulled after allowing four goals on 14 shots.
Rust watched Games 3 and 4 while recovering from a concussion suffered during an open-ice collision with Dion Phaneuf in Game 2. “He was focused, he was determined, and he played the game the right way”. Stone then swung baseball-style at the sailing puck and nearly scored, putting the puck off the post.
Of course, that dramatic goal wound up being moot, as the game ended five minutes into overtime with Ryan’s score.
So he’ll never say that this playoff run provides any personal satisfaction after two teams that once considered him a cornerstone on defense – Calgary and Toronto – ended up trading him. In Sunday’s blowout loss, Boucher said, he thought his team tried to trade goals with the high-scoring Penguins – an odd choice for a Senators team that thrives on shutting down opponents. Battling with Zack Smith along the back boards, Malkin broke free and moved in front for a shot that was stopped by Anderson.
Trevor Daley goes after the puck in the crease, and ends up making contact with Craig Anderson while jamming his stick at the puck. Ottawa last scored a power-play goal in Game 1 of a second round series against the New York Rangers.
“You want an National Hockey League job where you have a chance”, Boucher said. “To see it go in I think we, and the collective community, took a breath of relief”. There have been several Game 7s for Pittsburgh in the interim on both sides of the ledger, though the Penguins are 2-0 in Game 7s under Sullivan.
Shots 34-19 for the Pens after 2.
This early goal from Mike Hoffman helped ease the tension. MacArthur got the puck to Claesson, who fed it to Hoffman. With just over four minutes remaining, they took a too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty and were done. Despite this, you can still get tickets for Tuesday’s Game 6.
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And now it’s Game 7, and the victor gets to play the Nashville Predators for the Stanley Cup. “And when that time comes, we’ll be ready”.
