A 10-year-old boy who suffers from a rare genetic disorder received a surprise Tuesday from the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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Because, that’s all it’s ever been for the Washington Capitals, for 42 years and counting.
Pittsburgh killed off a 5-on-3 Washington power play lasting 54 seconds, only to have Cole’s penalty create another one.
A three-goal lead gone – and his team’s momentum right along with it – Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan provided a reminder heading to overtime of Game 6 of a relentlessly entertaining playoff series against the Washington Capitals. No, there is absolutely no reason to panic at this point, but let’s be honest, if you follow the Penguins, things are not all sunshine and rainbows. Ovechkin has five points in the series. Perhaps Evgeni Malkin and Ovechkin, depending on who you talk to.
The Penguins shocked their critics by winning three games against the Capitals. All 16 teams in the Stanley Cup Playoffs have their eyes on the same prize, and these smaller victories are nice, too, even if just to show progress.
Well, in Game 5, Holtby stole the goaltending spotlight.
Forget the score sheet, or the advanced statistics, Ovechkin and T.J. That trio emerging as a threat made it much more hard to cover Crosby and Malkin. The Penguins will host the first two games in the series; the Lightning will host Games 3 and 4 at Amalie Arena.
Ovechkin (and Oshie and Backstrom) having one hell of a series against PIT.
Forget the group that started the season; this was the exact scenario that would’ve railroaded any Pittsburgh team since the franchise’s 2009 Cup win.
What’s the Deal with Patric Hornqvist? Coach Mike Sullivan denied that it was due to an injury, or a benching, but rather a part of game maneuvering.
“Great play by the D to get it up, Haggy and Phil been goin’ all series, and it’s never pretty, the winners like that”, Bonino told NBC’s Pierre McGuire. The Penguins went 2 for 3 on the power play. The Swedish product is particularly valuable against a Washington team that is trying to pound Pittsburgh into submission. He now has 12 points in 11 games these playoffs. That included one stretch when they were penalized three times in 122 seconds for delay of game after shooting pucks over the glass. He is certain the puck is in the net and the game is over and is nearly stunned that it is not.
After the Penguins played so poorly in game two of the Rangers series, they bounced back in game three and shut down the “Blueshirts”.
Right, but some of them made more significant contributions than others, and the others are named Crosby and Malkin. A sequence early should have ended it there, but Holtby made several “how did he do that” saves, and Jay Beagle dove to deflect a puck off the goal line, only to prolong the agony.
For the Penguins, Matt Murray has been sensational.
Veteran Marc-Andre Fleury, the team’s usual No. 1 goalie, has been on the bench as the backup but hasn’t played since March 31 after suffering a concussion.
Meanwhile, defenceman Olli Maatta practised in full on Monday and could very well return to the Penguins lineup for Game 6.
This, basically. Penguins aren’t in this spot without Murray.
It was rare to see Crosby so introspective and unguarded as he was sitting in his stall Game 6.
The moral of the story is to temper your expectations. The Caps don’t need to be blown up as part of a rebuild, with so many good pieces in place, starting with goalie Braden Holtby.
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It wasn’t that long ago that a lot of pundits were saying that the window for the Penguins was closing, but now they are off to the conference final. After starting the series 0-for-14, the Pens finally broke through for a powerplay goal in Game 5.
