Down the Frozen River

Tag: Consol Energy Center

Jones carries San Jose on his back as Sharks defeat Penguins in Game 5

By: Nick Lanciani

Martin Jones and the San Jose Sharks never looked back after taking a 3-2 lead on a goal from Melker Karlsson in the first period, as Jones made 44 saves and the Sharks added an empty net goal to win 4-2 in Game 5 at CONSOL Energy Center on Thursday night.

Jones’s 44 saves came on 46 shots against with a .957 SV% in the sixty minute effort. Meanwhile Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender, Matt Murray, amassed 18 saves on 21 shots faced. In 58:43 TOI, Murray walked away with a .857 SV% despite entering Game 5 with a 2.09 GAA and a .925 SV% through his first 19 playoff starts this postseason.

Earlier in the day on Thursday it was confirmed that Tomas Hertl would not be in San Jose’s lineup once again, and that he remains day-to-day with a lower body injury.

Game 5 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Final kicked off with the fastest four goals scored by either team in Stanley Cup Final history. It only took 2:53 for the Sharks to make it 2-0, but at 5:06 of the first period, the Penguins had tied the game, 2-2.

Brent Burns kicked off the goal scoring just 1:04 into the night with his 7^th goal of the playoffs on a wrist shot that beat Matt Murray. Melker Karlsson (2) and Logan Couture (19) picked up the assists as Couture began what would be a three point twenty minute effort on the goal. The 1-0 lead was San Jose’s first in-game lead of the series.

Couture capitalized on a redirection for his 9^th goal of the postseason at 2:53 of the first period. Justin Braun had fired a shot that Couture knocked down just enough to change its destination from a routine save to a twine-seeking missile. Braun notched his 5^th assist of the playoffs on the goal and the Sharks led 2-0.

Shortly thereafter, Dainius Zubrus sent the puck over the glass and consequently received an automatic minor penalty for delay of game. While on the power play, Phil Kessel sent a beauty of a pass to Evgeni Malkin, as Malkin fired a wrist shot past Martin Jones to cut the San Jose’s lead in half. Pittsburgh had successfully converted on the power play with Malkin’s 6^th goal of the playoffs and his second power play goal in as many games. Kessel (12) and Kris Letang (12) were credited with the primary and secondary assists at 4:44 of the 1st.

Carl Hagelin scored the tying goal 5:06 into the opening period. Nick Bonino fired a shot that Hagelin in turn redirected past Jones for his 6^th goal of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Bonino was credited with the only assist on the goal (his 14^th of the postseason).

With the score tied at two San Jose had to endure a crucial penalty kill after Brent Burns caught Brian Dumoulin with a high stick nearly midway through the period; at a time where all of the momentum had appeared to have swung 180 degrees in favor of the Penguins.

But the Sharks penalty kill, as well as the goaltending of Jones, worked effectively and San Jose prevailed unscathed by the Pittsburgh power play that had already scored on their first opportunity of the night.

At 14:47 of the first period, Karlsson received the puck from Couture and sent a wrist shot past Murray for his 5^th goal of the postseason and gave the Sharks their second lead of the night. Couture (20) and Brenden Dillon (2) had the assists on the goal that made it 3-2 San Jose. Couture’s assist on Karlsson’s goal capped off his three-point night.

As the period came to a close, the Sharks held onto the one goal lead heading into the first intermission. In the first four games of the series both teams had only totaled five goals, but in the first period alone of Game 5, both teams yielded five goals combined on the scoreboard.

The Penguins outshot the Sharks (15-7) and led in faceoff wins (15-10), giveaways (2-1), takeaways (5-4) and blocked shots (9-4). Both teams had 13 hits aside after twenty minutes of play. San Jose had yet to see time on the man advantage and Pittsburgh converted on one of their two man advantage opportunities of the first period.

A scoreless second period encountered two penalties and numerous desperation saves from Jones. Pittsburgh served and killed off a bench minor for too many men at 5:58 of the period, while San Jose killed off Karlsson’s slashing minor that was assigned at 10:30 of the 2^nd.

With forty minutes in the books the Sharks still led 3-2 despite trailing the Penguins in shots on goal 32-15. Both teams tied in hits (23-23) and blocked shots (10-10) after two periods.

Meanwhile the Penguins led in faceoff wins (24-23), giveaways (4-2) and takeaways (7-5) after two. San Jose went 0/1 on the power play and Pittsburgh had gone 1/3 on the power play entering the second intermission.

An eventful, save filled, third period saw its crescendo in the last six minutes of regulation, when Hagelin took a penalty for hooking at 14:04 of the third, giving the Sharks their second power play of the night. While Pittsburgh kept the puck out of their defensive zone for the most part on the ensuing penalty kill, the Sharks had a couple phenomenal scoring rushes while being outshot by a 2:1 ratio.

With about 90 seconds left on the clock Penguins head coach, Mike Sullivan, instructed Murray to vacate the net in favor of an extra attacker. In turn, Pittsburgh would take a timeout shortly after a stoppage in play, to try to rest their key players and draw up a surefire way of tying the game.

Whatever plan the Penguins drew up, they could not execute, as the Sharks eventually cleared the zone and Joe Pavelski tallied his first goal of the series on an empty net. Pavelski’s 14^th goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is now the 3^rd most in a postseason by a U.S. born player (behind Kevin Stevens’ 17 goals in 1991 with Pittsburgh and Joe Mullen’s 16 goals in 1989 with the Calgary Flames). Joe Thornton had the sole assist— his 18^th of the playoffs— on Pavelski’s goal.

With about four seconds left in the game and after a whistle for a routine cover up by Jones, Sidney Crosby and Marc-Edouard Vlasic got into it a bit as the rest of the skaters on the ice gathered in a scrum. Crosby and Vlasic each received roughing minors and the game became a 4-on-4 battle for the remaining seconds on the clock in regulation.

Time ticked down and the Sharks walked away with a 4-2 victory in Pittsburgh.

Thursday night’s win was San Jose’s 6^th road win of the postseason, which surpassed their previous franchise record set back in 2004. Likewise, the Sharks improved to 9-0 in this postseason when leading after two periods. The Penguins fell to 0-5 while trailing after forty minutes.

Pittsburgh led in shots on goal (46-22), hits (32-30), giveaways (10-2) and takeaways (7-5) at the final horn of Game 5 and San Jose led in faceoff wins (36-34) and blocked shots (17-10). The Sharks finished the night 0/2 on the man advantage and the Penguins went 1/3.

With the win in Game 5, San Jose became just the 15^th team to win Game 5 while trailing 3-1 in the series (in 33 of such series’ in NHL history). Pittsburgh now leads the 2016 Stanley Cup Final three games to two (3-2) heading into Game 6 at SAP Center in San Jose.

A win for the Penguins in Game 6 on Sunday would clinch their fourth Stanley Cup championship in franchise history. Meanwhile a win at home for the Sharks would send the series back to Pittsburgh for a Game 7 on Wednesday, June 15th.

Game 6 is Sunday night at SAP Center in San Jose. Puck drop is scheduled for a little after 8:00 PM ET and the game can be viewed on NBC in the United States, as well as on CBC and TVA Sports in Canada.

June 10, 2016
Bonino and Penguins win Game 1 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Final

By: Nick Lanciani

Nick Bonino’s third period goal with less than five minutes remaining in regulation, accompanied by Matt Murray’s stellar goaltending, proved to hold out for the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 3-2 Game 1 victory in the 2016 Stanley Cup Final opener.

Murray made 24 saves on 26 shots faced for a .923 SV%, while San Jose’s Martin Jones made 38 saves on 41 shots against for a .927 SV% in an equally impressive performance, despite the loss.

Game 1 marked the first appearance in a Stanley Cup Final game for Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. Thornton had made 150 playoff appearances with the Boston Bruins and San Jose Sharks before Monday night, while Marleau broke his record 165 playoff games before playing in a Stanley Cup Final game in his 18^th season with the Sharks.

This year marks San Jose’s first Stanley Cup Final appearance in their silver anniversary season (25^th year as a franchise for those of you who are unaware), while it is the fifth appearance in the Final for Pittsburgh.

Dainius Zubrus picked up the first penalty of the 2016 Stanley Cup Final at 8:54 of the first period after catching Pittsburgh’s Ian Cole with a high stick. The Penguins were unable to convert on the ensuing man advantage.

Bryan Rust scored the first goal of the series and gave Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead 12:46 into the first period. Rust’s wrist shot came on a failed attempt from Justin Schultz that resulted in the puck finding its way to Rust with a large gap in the net to the right of Jones. The goal was Rust’s 6^th of the postseason and was assisted by Schultz (3) and Chris Kunitz (7).

A little over a minute later— 1:02 to be exact— the Penguins scored again and doubled their lead to 2-0. This time it was Conor Sheary with a wrist shot goal, his 3^rd of the playoffs at 13:48 of the period. Sidney Crosby (10) and Olli Maata (5) picked up the primary and secondary assists.

After twenty minutes of play in Game 1, the Penguins led 2-0 on the scoreboard and 15-4 in shots on goal. Likewise, Pittsburgh also led in giveaways (2-1) entering the first intermission. The Sharks led in hits (17-16), faceoff wins (11-8) and takeaways (2-1) after one period, while both teams had seven blocked shots apiece.

Ian Cole hooked Melker Karlsson early into the second period and gave the flaming hot San Jose Sharks power play unit an opportunity just 1:14 into the period. While on the power play, Tomas Hertl gathered the puck and fired a wrist shot that beat Murray, right through the five hole, to cut the Penguins lead with a power play goal.

The goal was Hertl’s 6^th of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs and the first in the history of the Stanley Cup Final era for San Jose. Hertl’s power play goal was assisted by Joonas Donskoi (5) and Brent Burns (15) at 3:02 of the 2^nd period.

While dominating in momentum, Martin Jones kept the Sharks in the game with some incredible leg pad saves that robbed Pittsburgh of surefire goals.

Patrick Marleau tied the game, 2-2, with his 5^th goal of the playoffs on a slick wraparound, backhand goal, that he was able to angle off the skates of Murray into the twine at 18:12 of the 2^nd. Burns picked up his second assist of the night, his 16^th of the postseason, and Logan Couture notched the secondary assist, his 17^th of the playoffs, on Marleau’s goal.

At 18:52 of the 2^nd period, Joe Pavelski tripped up Brian Dumoulin and was sent to the penalty box, giving Pittsburgh another power play. Meanwhile, Pavelski had some company in the sin bin and was joined by Joe Thornton in the San Jose box after Thornton had received a roughing minor after the stoppage in play for Pavelski’s penalty.

While Thornton was battling Evgeni Malkin, Malkin slashed Thornton and was promptly sent to the box for his minor infraction. All in all, Malkin and Thornton’s penalties canceled one another, while Pavelski’s penalty put the Penguins on a normal 5 on 4 power play.

With forty minutes in the books, the score was tied 2-2.

Pittsburgh continued to lead in shots on goal (23-17) and led in every other category heading into the 2^nd intermission, including hits (27-26), faceoffs (23-21), giveaways (6-4), takeaways (5-2) and blocked shots (17-11). San Jose had gone 1/1 on the power play, while the Penguins were 0/2 on the man advantage.

Marleau would come under fire for an illegal hit to the head on Rust 4:47 into the third period. Rust briefly returned to the game before returning to the quiet room and being forced out of the lineup. Pending league review, Marleau only served a minor penalty in Game 1 for the hit. Penguins head coach, Mike Sullivan, indicated that he was not a fan of the hit and believes the league should take proper action, while informing reporters after the game that Rust is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Pittsburgh was not able to score on the ensuing power play from Marleau’s illegal hit on Rust and the game continued without major infractions as a result of the increased tensions between the two teams.

Nick Bonino received a pass from Kris Letang and fired a wrist shot past Jones 17:27 into the third period to give Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead. Bonino’s goal, his 4^th of the postseason, would prove to be enough for the game-winner. Letang (9) and Carl Hagelin (8) were credited with the assists.

Shortly thereafter, Penguins fans inside CONSOL Energy Center were on edge when Ben Lovejoy hooked Marleau and was subsequently penalized and sent to the box at 17:51 of the 3^rd. San Jose had scored 11 power play goals in 18 playoff games entering Monday night and had scored their 12^th in their 19^th game in the 2^nd period, but was unable to convert on their most crucial man advantage of the night in the third period.

With an empty net, the Sharks fought to keep the puck in the offensive zone, but Pittsburgh would have none of it and kept clearing it out of the zone. A couple failed attempts at the empty net had San Jose rejuvenated to go at one more attack, but the Penguins forced turnovers and made the Sharks opt to go with dump and chase plays.

One final clearing attempt was all that Pittsburgh needed, especially as icing was waved off. Penguins fans rejoiced as their team had won Game 1 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Final. Pittsburgh now leads the series 1-0 with their 3-2 win on Monday night.

Game 1 of this year’s Stanley Cup Final became the seventh Final series opener to be decided by one goal in as many seasons. As well, the game-winning goal has been scored in the last five minutes of regulation or later in each Stanley Cup Final series opener since 2011.

After sixty minutes the Penguins finished the night leading in shots on goal (41-26), faceoff wins (33-29), giveaways (10-8), takeaways (10-4) and blocked shots (21-15). Both teams had 36 hits aside and San Jose went 1/2 on the power play, while Pittsburgh failed to convert on all three of their man advantage opportunities on the night.

Pittsburgh improved to 9-0 in the regular season and playoffs when Bryan Rust scores a goal.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, Monday night was just the 2^nd time in history that the opening two goals of the Stanley Cup Final were scored by rookies (Rust and Sheary). Howie Morenz was the last rookie to score the first two goals in the 1924 Stanley Cup Final en route to the Montréal Canadiens 6-1 victory over the Calgary Tigers of the Western Canada Hockey League. For the record, 1924 was two years prior to when the NHL obtained sole possession of and competition for the Stanley Cup.

Game 2 of this year’s Stanley Cup Final is scheduled for Wednesday night in Pittsburgh at 8:00 PM ET and can be seen on NBCSN in the United States and on CBC and TVA Sports in Canada.

May 31, 2016
Penguins force Game 7 with 5-2 victory over Lightning

By: Nick Lanciani

Well, Evgeni Malkin made true on his words— there will be a Game 7 in Pittsburgh on Thursday.

Sidney Crosby’s 6^th goal of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs proved to be the game-winner for the Pittsburgh Penguins after a third period surge by the Tampa Bay Lightning, as Pittsburgh walked out of Amalie Arena on Tuesday night in Game 6 with a 5-2 win.

Matt Murray was in net for the Penguins after some speculation over whether or not Marc-Andre Fleury would return to the goal after his Game 5 flub in a 4-3 overtime comeback for Tampa on Sunday. Instead, it was Murray in goal for the Pens, staving off elimination for at least one more game day. Tuesday night was the first time this postseason that Pittsburgh was facing elimination.

Murray made 28 saves on 30 shots on goal for a .933 SV% in the 60 minute effort, while Andrei Vasilevskiy came up with just 29 saves on 33 shots faced for a .879 SV% in the loss.

After an overturned goal early into the first period, the Tampa Bay Lightning fell out of rhythm and the Pittsburgh Penguins settled in for an eventual 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

Here’s how it happened.

Lightning fans in attendance jumped from their seats as Jonathan Drouin thought he had scored on a beautiful rebound from Matt Murray into the wide open net vacated by an out of position Penguins goaltender (Murray). But with 14:48 to go in the first period, Penguins head coach, Mike Sullivan, used his only coach’s challenge of the night to review the goal and see if the play entering the zone was offside.

As Tampa entered the zone, Drouin had lifted his left leg, which was trailing his already-in-the-offensive-zone- right leg as the puck just barely crossed the blue line, thereby making Drouin offside. Multiple angles confirmed it and the call on the ice was overturned. The Lightning were offside and had not scored as a result. Play resumed, scoreless.

Drouin’s overturned goal was the 8^th overturned goal of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Evgeni Malkin added fuel to his own fiery passion for the game upon a retaliation infraction at 14:20 of the first period. Malkin received a two-minute minor penalty for slashing Tampa Bay captain, Ryan Callahan, and gave the Lightning their first power play of the night. The Bolts were unable to capitalize on the man advantage and the Penguins escaped a bad situation with one of their top forwards in the box with no harm.

Two penalties in a span of 41 seconds doomed the Lightning on their penalty kill unit’s first appearance of the night. Anton Stralman was called for interference on a subjectively early/on time hit, depending who you ask, on Tom Kuhnhackl at 17:09 of the 1^st and Victor Hedman was called for delay of game for sending the puck over the glass at 17:50 of the 1^st period. With Tampa’s top defensive pair (Stralman and Hedman) in the box, Pittsburgh went to work on a 5-on-3 power play opportunity.

Phil Kessel hacked at a flubbed pass from Sidney Crosby and ended up putting the puck at the back of the net for his 9^th goal of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Crosby (9) and Malkin (9) picked up the assists on the power play goal at 18:46 of the period.

With the goal, the Lightning gained a man back on the penalty kill and were able to escape the ensuing 5-on-4 advantage for Pittsburgh unscathed.

After twenty minutes of play, the Penguins led 1-0 on the scoreboard and 14-4 in shots on goal, continuing their trend of outshooting the Lightning, as they entered Game 6 with a 196-131 shots on goal advantage over Tampa. The Bolts led in hits (7-6), faceoff wins (16-4), giveaways (7-3) and blocked shots (6-4), meanwhile Pittsburgh went 1/2 on the man advantage in the first and the Lightning went 0/1.

Tampa started the second period with an extra jump in their step that they quickly lost and found themselves trailing the Penguins all over the ice.

Kris Letang made it a 2-0 game with his 2^nd goal of the playoffs scored on a nice wrist shot with a Penguin screening Vasilevskiy in front of the net. Conor Sheary (5) and Nick Bonino (12) notched the primary and secondary assists on Letang’s goal at 7:40 of the 2^nd period.

Ondrej Palat slashed Carl Hagelin just past halfway in the second period and received a minor penalty, which put Pittsburgh on the power play at 10:06 of the period. The Penguins were unable to convert on the man advantage and the Lightning were successful on the penalty kill without committing too many turnovers.

With 25.6 seconds left in the period, Sidney Crosby made it a 3-0 game with his 6^th goal of the playoffs on a wicked impressive wrist shot that beat Vasilevskiy. The lone assist went to Patric Hornqvist and was his 4^th assist of the postseason.

Forty minutes were in the books and the Penguins looked all but sure to have the game easily wrapped up by the second intermission, but Tampa Bay’s Brian Boyle had other plans in mind, at least in terms of entertainment value for the Lightning fans that packed Amalie Arena on Tuesday night.

Five and a half minutes into the third period, Boyle fired a shot that bounced off a Pittsburgh skater and wound its way behind Murray to get Tampa on the board and cut the Penguins lead to two. The goal was Boyle’s 4^th of the postseason and made it 3-1.

Trailing by two, the Lightning drummed up several more quality chances before finally breaking through Murray’s brick wall with another goal from Boyle. His 5^th of the playoffs, Boyle’s second goal of the night was assisted by Slater Koekkoek (1) and Jonathan Drouin (9) at 12:43 of the 3^rd period. Plenty of time left for Tampa to make things interesting.

But nearly five minutes after Brian Boyle earned his 1^st career multi-goal playoff game, Bryan Rust skated in on Vasilevskiy on a costly breakaway.

With a deke and a forehanded shot that slid past Vasilevskiy’s leg pad, Rust scored his 3^rd goal of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs and put the Penguins back up by two. Chris Kunitz (5) and Olli Maatta (3) were credited with the assists on Rust’s goal at 17:52 of the third period in what was now a 4-2 game.

Neither team committed a penalty in the third period and both teams swapped a couple of chances before Jon Cooper had to make the call to pull Vasilevskiy in favor of an extra attacker with about 75 seconds left in the game.

Bonino promptly tallied an empty net goal for Pittsburgh at 19:06 of the third period and made it an unreachable three-goal lead. His 3^rd of the playoffs, Bonino’s goal made it 5-2 and was assisted by Ben Lovejoy (2).

With the win, road teams improved to 42-41 this postseason. In the entire 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs, road teams were 38-51. Pittsburgh improved to 47-1 when leading after two periods this season (regular and postseason combined). Their only loss came in Game 5 to the Lightning.

The Penguins last rallied from a 3-2 series deficit in the 2009 Stanley Cup Final against the Detroit Red Wings. Having forced a Game 7 for Thursday night, the Penguins have a chance to reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2009. Tampa is looking to go to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history, having lost in last year’s Stanley Cup Final run to the defending champion, Chicago Blackhawks.

The Lightning also defeated the New York Rangers on the road in Game 7 of the 2015 Eastern Conference Final, for the record.

Pittsburgh and Tampa have faced each other in a Game 7 only one other time in Stanley Cup Playoff history. They met each other in the 2011 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals and the series came down to a 1-0 victory for the Lightning in Game 7 on the road at CONSOL Energy Center.

Some final stats from Game 6…

The Penguins led in shots on goal (34-30) and blocked shots (15-8), while the Lightning dominated in hits (26-18), faceoff wins (39-31), giveaways (17-7) and takeaways (8-6). Pittsburgh finished the night 1/3 on the power play and Tampa ended Tuesday’s action 0/1 on the man advantage.

The Lightning were still without Ben Bishop and Steven Stamkos and it is unclear whether or not either one of them, if not both, may return for Game 7 on Thursday night in Pittsburgh at CONSOL Energy Center.

Puck drop for Thursday is scheduled for 8 PM ET and the game can be viewed on NBCSN in the United States and on CBC and TVA Sports in Canada.

May 25, 2016
Lightning hold on for 4-3 win in Game 4, Series Tied 2-2

By: Nick Lanciani

The Tampa Bay Lightning had just enough in them by the third period to hold off a charging comeback from the Pittsburgh Penguins to win 4-3 in Game 4 of the 2016 Eastern Conference Final on home ice at Amalie Arena on Friday night.

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 35 saves on 38 shots faced for a .921 SV% en route to the victory, while Matt Murray made just 26 saves on 30 shots against before being replaced after the second period in the loss.

Murray’s replacement, Marc-Andre Fleury, made seven saves on seven shots faced in the third period.

Ryan Callahan kicked off the scoring with the second fastest playoff goal in franchise history for the Lightning, just 27 seconds into the first period on redirect. Victor Hedman fired a slap shot from the point that Callahan tipped past Murray for the goal, which was just his 2^nd of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Hedman (8) and J.T. Brown (2) notched the primary and secondary assists.

Adam Hall had the fastest playoff goal for Tampa, 13 seconds into Game 2 of the 2011 Eastern Conference Final in Boston.

Carl Hagelin gave the Bolts their first power play of the night when he was sent to the penalty box for tripping Lightning forward, Alex Killorn, at 1:10 of the first period. Tampa was unable to convert on the power play.

The Lightning also failed to take advantage of another man advantage when the Penguins were penalized for too many men on the ice at 7:59 of the first period. Phil Kessel served the bench minor for Pittsburgh.

Andrej Sustr found the back of the net on a breakout for Tampa at 14:28 of the first period and gave the Bolts a 2-0 lead with his first goal of the playoffs. Nikita Kucherov (6) and Alex Killorn (7) picked up the primary and secondary assists on Sustr’s goal.

With two minutes left in the first period, Chris Kunitz and J.T. Brown got into a little bit of a shoving match that set the tone for the rest of the game. Both players received roughing minors and were sent to the locker room early to cool off before the first intermission commenced.

After twenty minutes, Tampa was leading 2-0.

The second period began with a Pittsburgh power play just a little over two minutes into it. Kucherov was called for boarding on a hit that shook up Ian Cole for a minute or two, before he regained himself and continued to play the rest of the night.

The Penguins were unable to convert on the man advantage and failed again to do so when Jonathan Drouin was sent to the box for holding almost four minutes later.

At 11:38 of the 2^nd period the whistle had blown on a delayed call against the Penguins, except Kris Letang continued to shoot the puck up the boards and into a passing by Drouin. Several Lightning players, including Drouin, were sure to let Letang know they did not appreciate the extracurricular effort.

As a result, Matt Cullen was sent to the box with the original infraction of holding and his friends Brian Boyle and Letang each took a trip to their respective boxes with him (Boyle for roughing, Letang for roughing and cross checking). Because Letang took two penalties at once, the Penguins were shorthanded for four minutes and the Lightning went to work on a lengthy power play opportunity.

Vasilevskiy had just denied a shorthanded breakaway with a huge save to keep it a 2-0 game, when the Bolts found a way to get going to the other side of the ice and start generating rebounds. Drouin found a rebound in the low slot, off of Murray, and sent it to the back of the twine to give Tampa a 3-0 lead with a power play goal. Drouin’s goal was his 4^th of the postseason and 3^rd of the series.

Ondrej Palat (5) and Hedman (9) were credited with the assists on the goal.

In a largely undisciplined second period, the Lightning again took another penalty when Alex Killorn tripped Evgeni Malkin with less than five minutes remaining in the period. Pittsburgh was unable to generate any successful offense on the ensuing power play.

Tyler Johnson added another goal for Tampa with what would become the game-winning tip-in goal at 17:48 of the 2^nd period. An errant shot by Kucherov caught enough of Johnson to deflect past Murray to give the Lightning a 4-0 lead. Johnson’s goal was his 6^th of the playoffs and was assisted by Kucherov (7) and Killorn (8).

With forty minutes in the books the Lightning were ahead 4-0 on the scoreboard and led in shots on goal (30-22), faceoff wins (23-22) and blocked shots (6-5). The Penguins led in hits (18-17) and giveaways (8-7) in what was a tight possession battle that had yet to translate on the scoresheet. Pittsburgh was 0/3 on the power play entering the second intermission and Tampa was 1/3.

Penguins head coach, Mike Sullivan, made the executive decision to replace Murray with the veteran— though back from an injury and yet to have seen much action in the playoffs— Marc-Andre Fleury after Murray allowed four goals through forty minutes of play.

Phil Kessel kick started the comeback attempt for the Pens with his 8^th goal of the playoffs 1:18 into the 3^rd period. Nick Bonino (11) and Brian Dumoulin (6) tallied the assists.

Evgeni Malkin scored his 4^th goal of the postseason (his 1^st of the series) just past the eleven minute mark at 11:13 of the third period to cut Tampa’s lead in half. Ian Cole picked up his 2^nd assist of the playoffs on Malkin’s goal that made it a 4-2 game with plenty of time remaining.

Thirteen seconds after Malkin scored, the Lightning committed their last infraction as Killorn was guilty of tripping up Letang. The Penguins were once again, on the power play for the fourth time of the night and found a way to convert in its closing seconds.

Chris Kunitz notched his 3^rd goal of the postseason on a pass from Justin Schultz at 13:08 of the third and brought Pittsburgh to within one. Schultz (2) and Conor Sheary (4) assisted on Kunitz’s goal. What had been a 4-0 lead for Tampa was now a nerve-wracking 4-3 battle.

With over a minute and a half remaining in the game, Sullivan motioned to Fleury to vacate his net and head for the bench in exchange for an extra attacker.

Facing desperation, Vasilevskiy stood tall in his net and picked up his first career playoff win that was not in a relief appearance for the Lightning. Tampa Bay had held off the momentum swinging Penguins in a raucous third period and tied the series 2-2.

What looked like it would be a blowout turned out to be a close 4-3 victory for Tampa and a hard fought battle for Pittsburgh. After sixty minutes, the Penguins finished the night leading in shots on goal (38-37), hits (29-27), faceoff wins (33-31) and giveaways (10-7), while the Lightning clung on to an advantage in takeaways (4-2) and in blocked shots (14-6). Both teams wrapped up the night 1/4 on the power play.

Game 5 is scheduled for Sunday night at 8:00 PM ET at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh. It can be seen on NBCSN for viewers in the United States and on CBC and TVA Sports in Canada.

May 21, 2016
Crosby’s overtime goal lifts Penguins over Lightning in Game 2

By: Nick Lanciani

Sidney Crosby scored just 40 seconds into overtime to help the Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on home ice at CONSOL Energy Center in Game 2 of the 2016 Eastern Conference Final.

The goal was Crosby’s first career Stanley Cup Playoff overtime winner and the Penguins improved to 3-1 in games past regulation this postseason. Matt Murray made 19 saves on 21 shots faced for a .905 SV% in the win.

Despite a tremendous 38 save effort on 41 shots face, Andrei Vasilevskiy’s .927 SV% wasn’t enough for the Lightning to pull off their second straight victory on road ice in the series. Tampa fell to 2-1 in games that have lasted longer than 60 minutes this postseason. With Ben Bishop out of the lineup with a lower body injury, Vasilevskiy was called upon to start in goal. Including Monday night’s effort, Vasilevskiy has never won a playoff game in which he has started through seven career playoff appearances. He’s won twice in relief efforts, however.

Pittsburgh tied a franchise record, per Elias Sports Bureau, with their third overtime playoff win this year (a team record they’ve recorded in 2001 and most recently in 2009— which was also the year they won their third Stanley Cup).

Monday night saw the return of Anton Stralman to the lineup for Tampa Bay. Stralman had been out since March 25^th with a fractured tibia. Bishop was out of the lineup as expected for the Bolts, but Ryan Callahan was a late scratch due to the flu. Game time decision, Justin Schultz, was in the lineup for the Penguins in Game 2.

Matt Cullen kicked off a tumultuous first period of scoring with his 4^th goal of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at 4:32 of the first period. Cullen fired a snap shot past Vasilevskiy on the rebound to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead. Eric Fehr (1) and Tom Kuhnhackl (4) picked up the primary and secondary assists on Cullen’s goal.

Phil Kessel followed up with a goal of his own a little over five minutes later to give Pittsburgh a 2-0 lead, just 9:37 into the game. The goal was Kessel’s 6^th of the postseason and was assisted by Nick Bonino (9) and Carl Hagelin (5).

Fans inside CONSOL Energy Center seemed quite pleased with an early two-goal lead, less than half a period into the game, despite the news that the Lightning sent out earlier on Monday that Penguins fans would be asked to remove their Pittsburgh garb if they are seated in certain sections for Games 3 and 4 at Amalie Arena.

Penalties only seemed to motivate the Tampa Bay Lightning, as they seemed to lead to goals for the Bolts almost three minutes after each penalty kill.

Alex Killorn took a minor penalty for holding Crosby at 13:23 of the first period and gave Pittsburgh their first power play of the night. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on who you ask), the Penguins were unable to convert on the man advantage.

Anton Stralman led a breakout for Tampa and fired a wrist shot on Murray that beat him and cut Pittsburgh’s lead in half to make it 2-1. Stralman scored his first goal in his first game back since being injured. Jonathan Marchessault (1) and Victor Hedman (7) were awarded the assists on Stralman’s goal.

At 16:53 of the first period, Jonathan Drouin hooked Kessel and was sent to the penalty box. Shortly after being freed from the sin bin, Drouin capitalized on the Lightning’s momentum after a successful penalty kill.

Drouin received the puck from J.T. Brown and fired a wrist shot past Murray to tie the game at 2 with about 50 seconds left in the period before the first intermission. Matt Carle was given the secondary assist.

After twenty minutes of play, the Penguins were outshooting the Lightning 14-8 and leading in hits (18-13) and faceoff wins (10-8). Tampa Bay, on the other hand, led in takeaways (2-1) and blocked shots (5-3) after one. Neither team committed an official giveaway, nor had converted on the man advantage, with the Lightning yet to even having seen a power play and the Penguins failing to score on two power play opportunities.

Ondrej Palat had an excellent scoring chance broken up by Murray as the Pittsburgh netminder tripped up Palat. Kessel served the tripping minor charged to Murray and Tampa went on their first power play of the night at 7:02 of the second period. Tampa was unable to convert on what would be their one and only man advantage on Monday night.

At one point Vasilevskiy made an unbelievable glove save, flashing the leather and keeping the score tied.

With forty minutes in the books, the score was still 2-2 and the Lightning had begun to swing some of the game stats in their direction, despite still being outshot (22-15) and outhit (32-25). Tampa was leading in faceoff wins (22-19), takeaways (5-4) and blocked shots (12-7) heading into the third period.

Despite swapping countless scoring chances and save after save being made and matched at each end by the spectacular effort of the goalies, there were no goals in the third period. There weren’t any penalties either, which led to plenty of action packed transition hockey and breakout opportunities.

Pittsburgh regained a dominant lead in shots on goal (38-21) after regulation and led in hits (47-36), giveaways (9-3), as well as takeaways (7-5) heading into overtime. The Lightning barely led in faceoff wins (33-32) and held a 17-13 advantage in blocked shots after sixty minutes of play.

From the puck drop in overtime the Pens entered the offensive zone and fired off two quick shots on Vasilevskiy. Tampa’s defense had struggled to defend in the first half of the first period and showed signs of sluggish play in the first 30 seconds of overtime. But all it took was 40 seconds for the game to be over when Bryan Rust flipped the puck over to Crosby, who in turn riffled a wrist shot by the blocker side of Vasilevskiy for the game-winning overtime goal.

The goal was Crosby’s 4^th of the playoffs and was assisted by Rust (2) and Brian Dumoulin (5).

The Penguins had won Game 2 by a score of 3-2 and tied the series 1-1 less than a minute into sudden death overtime as they regained some momentum on home ice after dropping Game 1 in the series. The Lightning were grateful to have tied the game— and kept it close— in the manner they did, but yearned for a 2-0 series lead heading home for Game 3, but it wasn’t meant to be.

And with that, the series shifts to Tampa, Florida for Game 3 at Amalie Arena on Wednesday. Puck drop is scheduled for 8:00 PM ET and the game can be seen on NBCSN for American viewers and on CBC and TVA Sports in Canada.

May 17, 2016
Lightning Win Game 1, Lead Eastern Conference Final 1-0

By: Nick Lanciani

The Tampa Bay Lightning were victorious on road ice in Game 1 of the 2016 Eastern Conference Final, beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 at CONSOL Energy Center on Friday night.

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves on 26 shots faced for a .962 SV% in 46:55 TOI in the win, while Matt Murray made just 17 saves for the Penguins on 20 shots faced for a .850 SV% in the loss. Ben Bishop played just 12:25, made 9 saves on 9 shots against and left the game with an injury in the first period.

Ryan Callahan took a five-minute major penalty for boarding Penguins defenseman, Kris Letang, almost three minutes into the first period. Letang remained down on the ice briefly, before being helped up by the Penguins training staff and skating off on his own power and walking to the locker room. He would return later in the first period.

Ben Bishop went down with a lower body injury a little over twelve minutes into the first period after trying to handle the puck in the trapezoid. Bishop skated to reach the puck, mishandled it and quickly tried to get back into position in the crease. He awkwardly extended his left leg and fell backward as the puck skipped by and the refs blew the whistle for the Lightning athletic training staff to tend to his injury. Bishop suffered a similar lower body injury in last year’s Stanley Cup Final.

Bishop was stretchered off the ice and transported to a local hospital for further evaluation. Anredi Vasilevskiy replaced Bishop in goal and Kristers Gudlevskis soon worked his way to the Tampa bench in the second period to serve as the Lightning’s backup in case Vasilevskiy went down.

Alex Killorn kicked off the scoring for the Lightning when he sent a backhand past Matt Murray on a breakaway for the 1-0 lead. Killorn’s goal was his 4^th of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs and was assisted by Victor Hedman (6) at 18:46 of the first period.

Tyler Johnson was injured on a hit along the boards late in the first period and appeared to have suffered a lower body injury, if not at least a leg or knee injury. He returned to Tampa’s bench in the second period.

After twenty minutes of play the Bolts led 1-0 on the scoreboard. Pittsburgh led in shots on goal (10-6) and faceoff wins (9-7) after the first period and Tampa led in hits (16-14) and blocked shots (6-4), while both teams recorded two giveaways and three takeaways each. The Lightning had yet to see the man advantage after one and the Penguins were 0/1 on the power play through twenty minutes of play.

Evgeni Malkin hooked Victor Hedman just 1:46 into the second period and was sent to the penalty box for a minor infraction, giving Tampa their first power play opportunity of the night. The Lightning went right to work on the man advantage and peppered Murray with a couple of decent chances.

Valtteri Filppula found Ondrej Palat as he was crashing the net on a rebound. Palat backhanded the puck while he was falling past an out of position Murray for his 3^rd goal of the postseason. Filppula (4) and Jason Garrison (5) picked up the assists on the power play goal that was scored at 2:33 of the second period.

With a 2-0 lead the Lightning set into a rhythm.

Nikita Nesterov gave Pittsburgh a power play after hooking Conor Sheary at 7:50 of the second period. The Penguins were unable to convert on the man advantage. Likewise the Bolts were unable to convert on their man advantage three minutes later when Matt Cullen tripped Hedman.

At 18:25 of the second period, Jonathan Drouin potted his 2^nd goal of the playoffs on a one timer from Palat as the Lightning entered the offensive zone on a 3-on-1 rush. Palat (3) and Filppula (5) notched the assists on Drouin’s goal that made it 3-0 Tampa Bay.

A mere 24 seconds later, Hedman tripped Sheary and set the Penguins up with another power play. This time, Patric Hornqvist fired a shot past Vasilevskiy and Pittsburgh scored six seconds into the power play, thus ending the shutout bid for Vasilevskiy and cutting the Lightning’s lead to two. The goal read as Hornqvist’s 6^th of the postseason, assisted by Sidney Crosby (8) and Phil Kessel (8) at 19:05 of the 2^nd.

Tampa Bay still went into the second intermission with a 3-1 lead on the scoreboard. Pittsburgh continued to lead in shots on goal (19-15) and faceoff wins (26-10), while the Lightning led in hits (28-24) and blocked shots (15-9). Both teams had three giveaways and three takeaways each. The Bolts were 1/2 on the power play and the Pens were 1/3 on the man advantage after forty minutes of play.

With the exception of shots on goal and lots of saves, not much happened in the third period. There was no more scoring in the game and only a couple more penalties distributed.

Ondrej Palat drilled Brian Dumoulin into the boards face first 15:14 into the third period and received a two-minute minor penalty for boarding, as Dumoulin took some time to gather himself and be helped off the ice by his teammates, Nick Bonino and Kris Letang. Penguins fans were not pleased and it was the fourth time in the night that a player required extra time to recover from a potential injury on a play in the game.

With less than three minutes to go, Penguins head coach, Mike Sullivan, called for Murray to vacate the goal in exchange for an extra attacker in a last ditch effort for Pittsburgh to try to tie the game and at least force overtime, if not score three goals to win it before the end of regulation.

But the extra skater was to no avail as the Penguins iced the puck a couple of times, forcing Matt Murray back into the goal, and the Lightning held off the Pittsburgh offense.

Hornqvist took one last penalty as time expired for cross checking Matt Carle at 20:00 of the third.

The Penguins finished the night leading in shots on goal (35-20), faceoff wins (35-23) and giveaways (9-4). The Lightning had not only won the game 3-1, but had also ended the night with an advantage in hits (40-31), takeaways (6-4) and blocked shots (20-10). Tampa finished the night 1/2 on the power play and Pittsburgh finished the night 1/4.

This is the Penguins first visit back to the Eastern Conference Final since 2013 when they were swept by the Boston Bruins. The Lightning are making their second appearance in a row in the Eastern Conference Final, having defeated the New York Rangers last year in the 2015 Eastern Conference Final en route to an unsuccessful Stanley Cup Final run against the Chicago Blackhawks.

In other news and notes…

Heading into Game 1 the Tampa Bay Lightning had not lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the regular season in all three occasions. The Lightning had scored at least four or more goals in each of their wins against Pittsburgh, with their most recent victory having been a 4-2 win at CONSOL Energy Center on February 20^th.

Game 1 marked the fourth time in the past 35 years in which both goalies were 21 years old or younger, as noted by Elias Sports. A 20-year-old, Tom Barrasso, of the Buffalo Sabres faced a 21-year-old, Mario Gosselin, of the Québec Nordiques in the 1985 Division Semifinals, while Bill Ranford of the Boston Bruins and Patrick Roy of the Montréal Canadiens squared off as 19 and 20 year olds and then 20 and 21 year olds, respectively in the 1986 and the 1987 Division Semifinals prior to last night’s 21-year-old matchup of Matt Murray and Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Sidney Crosby’s assist was his 83^rd career playoff assist and moved him past Jaromir Jagr (82 assists) for sole possession of the second most playoff assists in Penguins franchise history.

Tampa Bay now has a 1-0 series lead heading into Game 2 on Monday night in Pittsburgh. Puck drop is scheduled for 8:00 PM ET and the game will be televised on NBCSN in the United States and CBC and TVA Sports in Canada.

May 14, 2016
Miller and Brassard lead the Rangers in game 2

The New York Rangers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins by a score of 4-2 in game 2. The Rangers were lucky that, Henrik Lundqvist was able to keep his playoff streak of 112 in this game. The Penguins also got a boost as Evgeni Malkin returned to their lineup after missing a lot of time due to injury.

The first period saw chippy play from the opening whistle with Chris Kreider and Patric Hornqvist pushing one another before the game even started. This was a sign of things to come as the Rangers were throwing their weight around.

The Rangers ended the period outhitting the Penguins 22-4. Both teams exchanged chances the best chance of the period went to Derek Stepan, who got a breakaway to only see it turned aside by Jeff Zatkoff.

The second period saw the first goal of the game 3 minutes in as Pittsburgh forward, Phil Kessel scored. The game stayed like this and a big glove save on Rust got the Rangers into the game. Keith Yandle scored on a backdoor play from Derick Brassard and J.T. Miller picked up the assists on the play.

The Rangers continued as they capitalized on a lucky bounce and Brassard put one past Zatkoff. The Penguins challenged the play for offside and they lost on a very close call.

J.T. Miller continued his strong night with his 3^rd assist of the night coming on a backdoor play to Mats Zuccarello with about 3 minutes left in the second period.

The 3^rd period saw the Rangers continue strong play as Chris Kreider got his first goal of the playoffs. Derick Brassard picked up his 3^rd point of the game with an assist on the goal.

The Penguins weren’t going to be blown out as Kessel struck on the powerplay again to cut the lead back down two. Evgeni Malkin picked up an assist on the goal earning his first point of the playoffs in his first game.

J.T. Miller and Derick Brassard both had 3 point nights and were the game changers in my eyes. I joked around in saying J.T. Miller thought he was a point guard tonight creating the plays and racking up the assists. The Rangers were able to hunker down and not allow another goal

Game 3 will be New York Tuesday April 19^th at MSG with the series tied at 1-1.

April 16, 2016
Hornqvist’s Hat Trick Helps Penguins Win 5-2, Take 1-0 Series Lead on Rangers

By: Nick Lanciani

Patric Hornqvist tallied a hat trick in the midst of a 4-point night and 5-2 victory for the Pittsburgh Penguins over the New York Rangers in Game 1 of their 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs Eastern Conference Quarterfinals matchup. Antti Raanta suffered the loss for the Rangers, having made 16 saves on 19 shots for a .842 SV% in 39:54 time on ice.

Wednesday night’s action was Jeff Zatkoff’s first career NHL playoff appearance and first career Stanley Cup Playoff win. He made 35 saves on 37 shots on goal for a .946 SV%. Zatkoff had a .896 SV% in his last five appearances during the regular season, dating back to January 18^th. He took to the ice for warmups with Tristan Jarry as his backup as Marc-Andre Fleury was unavailable due to his ongoing recovery from a concussion.

New York Rangers goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist, was injured late in the 1^st period, after receiving a stick in the eye from his teammate and defenseman, Marc Staal. Lundqvist stayed in the game until the end of the period and made 10 saves on 11 shots against for a .909 SV% through 20 minutes.

During this final minute of play in the first, Patric Hornqvist (1) went hard to the net and received a pass from Conor Sheary (1) and sent the puck past Lundqvist to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead with 17.6 seconds to go in the period. Kris Letang (1) picked up the secondary assist on the goal.

The second period was similar in nature to the first period in that both teams swapped a couple of power play opportunities. Pittsburgh’s special teams weren’t able to capitalize on consecutive penalties to Rangers forwards, Chris Kreider and Dominic Moore, at nine seconds into the period and at 10:02, respectively. Meanwhile, New York’s power play was powerless on Trevor Daley’s tripping penalty with 8:14 to go in the 2^nd.

At 18:56 of the second period, Sidney Crosby snapped a quick wrist shot past Raanta on a breakaway to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead. Crosby’s first goal of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs was assisted by Hornqvist (1).

After forty, the Penguins were leading 2-0 on the scoreboard, but trailing 21-18 in shots on goal to the Raners.

Pittsburgh began the third period playing a little catch-up hockey after amassing six penalty minutes just 2:08 into the period. Karl Hagelin was given a four minute double minor penalty for high sticking Rangers forward, Kevin Hayes, while Pittsburgh defenseman, Ian Cole, was sent to the box with a two minute minor for interfering with Eric Staal in front of Zatkoff.

New York was quick to capitalize on their 5-on-3 advantage, with Derek Stepan scooping up a power play goal on the rebound and cut the Penguins lead in half. Stepan’s first of the playoffs was assisted by Rick Nash (1) and Derick Brassard (1). But the Penguins were quick to answer back in a hurry, notching a short-handed goal scored by Tom Kuhnhackl (1) on a two-on-one from Nick Bonino (1) and Kris Letang (2). The goal was Kuhnhackl’s first career Stanley Cup playoff goal and gave Pittsburgh a 3-1 lead.

Patric Hornqvist followed up with a power play goal at 8:02 of the third period with his second of the night, assisted by Phil Kessel (1) and Sidney Crosby (1). Hornqvist poked the puck into the net before Raanta could figure out that it had slid behind him and gave the Penguins a 4-1 lead. Rangers head coach, Alain Vigneault, used his coach’s challenge to review the goal for goaltender interference, but the call on the ice was upheld after Hornqvist had clearly allowed Raanta a chance to play the puck.

With lots of time left in regulation, Stepan netted his second of the night at 10:11 of the third, pulling the Rangers to within two once again. Dan Boyle picked up an assist on the goal. New York had been outshooting Pittsburgh 34-27 at the time of Stepan’s goal to trail 4-2.

Finaly, Patric Hornqvist completed his first career playoff hat trick with under three minutes to go in regulation on an empty net goal. The goal was assisted by Crosby and Trevor Daley. Hornqvist became the first Penguins player to score a hat trick in the team’s playoff opener and the first player to do so for any team since Alexander Mogilny did so with the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 9, 2003, per the NHL’s public relations department.

After 60 minutes of play, the Pittsburgh Penguins rejoiced in a 5-2 win and a 1-0 series lead over the New York Rangers.

This is the seventh time- third straight season in a row- that the Rangers and the Penguins have met in the postseason. New York was 1-2-1 in four games against Pittsburgh during the regular season. Having earned their only win in a 3-0 shutout by Henrik Lundqvist on February 10 at CONSOL Energy Center.

Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday afternoon at 3:00 PM EST in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and can be seen on NBC, before the series heads up to Madison Square Garden on Tuesday for Game 3.

April 14, 2016
TRADE: Penguins acquire Schultz from Oilers

By: Nick Lanciani

On Saturday the Edmonton Oilers sent defenseman Justin Schultz to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a third round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

Schultz is a 25-year-old pending RFA who has 101 points (28 goals, 73 assists) in 248 career NHL games through three-plus years with Edmonton.

He had his best season in 2013-2014 when he established career highs in goals (11) and points (33) in 74 appearances with the Oilers. The 6’2″, 193-pound blue liner had 3-7-10 totals in 45 games with Edmonton this season.

A native of Kelowna, British Columbia, Schultz was one of the NHL’s top rookies during the lockout shortened 2012-2013 season, earning a spot on the NHL All-Rookie Team after producing 8-19-27 totals after playing in all 48 games. Prior to January 2013, Schultz began his professional play with the Oiler’s American Hockey League affiliate, Oklahoma City Barons (AHL) where he went on to amass 18-30-48 totals in only 34 games with the Barons.

He won the Eddie Shore Award as the AHL’s best defenseman that season, despite playing in less than half of the games. Schultz was also a member of the AHL First-Team All-Star and All-Rookie Team at the end of that same season.

Schultz has represented Canada at the IIHF World Championship, recording four assists in eight games.

The University of Wisconsin product played all four years of college eligibility (2009-2012) and was a NCAA All-American as well as a Hobey Baker Finalist in each of his last two seasons. Schultz was originally selected by the Anaheim Ducks in the second round (43rd overall) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, but never signed with Anaheim.

Instead, the young defenseman joined the Oilers as an unrestricted free agent following his collegiate career.

Edmonton retained 50 percent of his remaining salary in the deal.

The Oilers begin their journey without Schultz as a defenseman on Sunday night at home versus the New York Islanders while the Pittsburgh Penguins will likely be joined by Schultz in their lineup on Monday night against the Arizona Coyotes from the CONSOL Energy Center.

February 28, 2016
Numbers Game: Look to the Rafters- Pittsburgh Penguins

By: Nick Lanciani

What will retired numbers look like around the league in the future? While there’s only a finite set of numbers to utilize on the back of a jersey, many teams choose to retire (or honor) some numbers based on extraordinary circumstances, dedication to the organization, or legendary status.

With that in mind, I explore what each team around the NHL might do in the coming seasons. Feel free to speak your mind and drop us a line in the comments or tweet to @DtFrozenRiver using #DTFRNumbersGame.

For each team, I thought of former and current players that should have their numbers retired now or once they hang up the skates.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Current Retired Numbers- 21 Michel Briere, 66 Mario Lemieux

Recommended Numbers to Retire

87 Sidney Crosby

To say the Pittsburgh Penguins will never retire Crosby’s number 87 sweater after his career is over is like saying penguins can fly.

71 Evgeni Malkin

The same goes for Malkin, as long as the relationship between the club and player never goes sour.

81 Phil Kessel

That’s right, I’m calling it. The Penguins will retire Phil Kessel’s number 81 one day. Not only am I crazy for making this declaration before he even touches the ice in a Pittsburgh sweater, but, well on second thought, that’s pretty much the only reason why I’m crazy. Kessel can score, that’s a fact. And anyone that plays alongside Crosby or Malkin is automatically made ten times better (if you’re not the one scoring, you’re the one passing the puck to Sid the Kid or Geno).

So that’s why I think his number will see the rafters in Pittsburgh in the future, aside from the fact that he’s finally found an organization he can settle in for longer than ever before. *I wrote this before the season started, as things are right now, his Pittsburgh venture is about as memorable as Colby Armstrong’s days in the Steel City.*

14 Chris Kunitz

Kunitz may be the first beneficiary of the Crosby-Malkin affect, as he is closest to retirement, but while he has been superb for the Penguins, his number 14 likely won’t rest alongside Michel Briere’s number 21 and Mario Lemieux’s number 66.

29 Marc-Andre Fleury

If he lets more beach balls by him, then all bets are off. Otherwise, Fleury’s the best goaltender Pittsburgh has seen in a long time, but is that enough to put number 29 out of commission after his career is over?

58 Kris Letang

Letang will likely be around for a long time in Pittsburgh and given the fact that he’s their best defenseman, there’s a good chance number 58 will see immortality above the ice at the Consol Energy Center. His health issues aside, Letang is one remarkable player in all of his resilience and persistence in the game. Including his health, Letang is superhuman.

9 Pascal Dupuis

As a player, Dupuis was committed to the Penguins through and through. He might not have been the greatest there ever was, but he’s certainly worthy of receiving the distinction of having his number retired by Pittsburgh. Best of luck to Dupuis in his transition to the front office aspect of the game within the organization.

December 27, 2015