Down the Frozen River

Tag: Phil Kessel

  • San Jose at Pittsburgh – Game 2 – Sheary’s OT winner gives Pens 2-0 lead

    UnknownPittsburgh Penguins LogoThe Pittsburgh Penguins entered Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals on a three game winning streak, and First Star of the Game Conor Sheary’s overtime goal over the Sharks extended that streak to four.

    Game 1 featured the Penguins coming out to a hot start.  This time, it was the Sharks who had the pep in their step after Jeff Jimerson left the ice, most evident in the opening minutes when Chris Tierney centered a beautiful pass right in front of Matt Murray’s crease to Joel Ward, but his ensuing shot was held by Murray to end the attack.

    The Penguins responded well around the 5:30 mark when Sidney Crosby attacked the zone off a breakaway pass, but Martin Jones, just like Murray, was up to the pressure and deflected the attempt into the netting above the glass.

    An alarming play for the Sharks occurred a few minutes before the midway point of the period.  When simply trying to reset the play by sending the puck to the point, the offending blueliner not only allowed the puck out of the zone, but also become a giveaway that Jones was required to make a save on.

    Following that play, Pittsburgh certainly seemed to have the upper hand in play.  In the span of two or three minutes, Second Star of the Game Phil Kessel alone fired at least three shots on Jones’ net spread out over a couple shifts.  By the time nine minutes remained in the period, Pittsburgh had already fired nine shots to San Jose‘s three.

    The first power play of the game was awarded to the Pittsburgh Penguins due to Paul Martin misfiring on a pass to send it over the glass with 7:51 to go in the first period.  With the exception of a Kris Letang fan on an shot attempt, Jones and the Sharks did well to not yield any quality scoring chances.

    A quality penalty kill inspired the Sharks to reclaim the energy of the frame.  With a little over five minutes remaining, Tomas Hertl’s wrister rang the post, but the score remained at the scoreless draw.

    San Jose led some important statistics for the frame, including blocks (seven to four), takeaways (two to one), giveaways (three to five) and hits (18 to 14), but Pittsburgh had 11 shots (five more than the Sharks) and face-offs (57%) to keep the game scoreless.

    The second period began as much more of a back-and-forth affair, with both squads earning quality chances due in part to the long change, even if it didn’t show up in the shot totals.  Play also became noticeably more chippy, with the hits being harder and the 50-50 pucks along the board becoming more intense.

    Pittsburgh got on the board first after 28:20 of play.  Kessel gets credit for the tip-in on Nick Bonino’s initial shot (it ended up being his 13th assist of the postseason) to a wide open net (Jones had already attempted a save towards the near boards), with another assist from Carl Hagelin.  Bonino advanced the puck into the zone, followed immediately by passing to Kessel.  The wing tried to return the favor, but his pass was intercepted by Logan Couture, who passed deeper into the zone to Roman Polak.  Polak’s lazy pass to Brenden Dillon was almost intercepted by Kessel, but his pressure on the defender led to Hagelin completing the steal and passing to Bonino.  Bonino, originally drafted by the Sharks in 2007,  tried to reach across Jones’ crease, but couldn’t complete the play.  Since Jones had tried to close off the post on Bonino’s side of the cage, he was out of position for Kessel’s final tip-in attempt, giving the Pens a 1-0 lead.

    Half a minute later, Martin was found guilty of his second penalty of the night, this one a hi-stick on Evgeni Malkin.  The seventh best penalty kill of the playoffs continued to stand tall, refusing to yield an insurance goal on some impressive stick checks, blocks and takeaways.

    With a minute remaining and during an impressive Pittsburgh possession, Ian Cole committed interference against Couture (though those clad in black and gold would argue he embellished the infraction).  Impressively, it was the Pens who had more opportunities on the Sharks‘ power play leading into the second intermission, but neither scored, leaving the score favoring the home side by a tally.

    Pittsburgh took control of the period in blocks (six to five), shots (12 to five) and face-offs (55% for the entire game), while the Sharks maintained their aggressive play by throwing 12 hits to Pittsburgh‘s 11. The squads split takeaways and giveaways, with both teams doing one of each.

    Even though San Jose had a full intermission to draw up a power play plan, they could not convert on the residual 48 seconds of the man-advantage to start the third frame.

    San Jose had an exemplary break away opportunity after 4:12 of third period play, but once again Tierney’s attempt found iron, far from the first time a San Jose shot had met the same fate.

    Kessel did the same thing around the midpoint of the period.  He beat Jones five-hole, but the puck barely caught the left post at the proper angle to not deflect into the net, but away from it.

    Throughout the period, San Jose had possessions in the offensive zone on par with some of the solid chances they had in the first period, but each time Murray and the Pittsburgh defense refused to allow the Sharks their first strike.

    San Jose finally got on the board with 4:05 remaining in regulation, courtesy of a Third Star Justin Braun snap shot (his first tally of the playoffs) assisted by Couture (his 18th helper of the postseason) and Ward.  The goalscorer collected the puck in the near corner and dumped back behind Murray’s cage to Couture with a little influence from Ward.  After fighting off pressure from three Penguins, he returned the puck to Braun, who was positioned beyond the near face-off circle.  He immediately fired his snapper to beat the netminder glove side.

    San Jose was certainly motivated by their tally as they dominated most of the remaining play of regulation.  Specifically within the final minute, there were two individual scrums in front of Murray’s crease, but neither time could the Sharks break the draw, making Game 2 the first overtime contest of the Cup Finals.

    San Jose may have only fired the puck nine times in the third period, but it led Pittsburgh‘s attempts by a trio of shots, but the Pens still fired the puck nine more times throughout regulation.  Overall, regulation favored neither team statistically, with the Sharks leading in blocks (16 to 14), giveaways (four to eight) and hits (42 to 35), while the Penguins won shots, face-offs (54%) and takeaways (eight to five).

    Although the Sharks were thankful to get the game to overtime after trailing for almost half the game, it was the Penguins that not only had more experience, but also more success.  They’d won three of their five overtime playoff games (although only one of those losses was charged to Murray), while Jones and the Sharks were a win-less 0-3.

    Overtime lasted a whopping 2:35 before Sheary won the game over Jones’ glove.  Crosby won the face-off from the far boards (his 11th helper of the playoffs), which was collected by Letang.  The defenseman quickly passed to the winger at the top of the far face-off circle, who fired his wrister for his second goal of the Stanley Cup Finals – a goal in each of the Penguins‘ wins.

    Murray earns the win after saving 21 of 22 shots faced (95.5%), while Jones takes the overtime loss, saving 28 of 30 (93.3%).

    Game 3 is scheduled for an 8 p.m. eastern puck drop three days from now.  That Saturday’s game may be viewed on CBC, NBCSN or TVAS.

  • Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh – Game 7 – Rust scores both goals en route to the Eastern Title

    Unknown-1Pittsburgh Penguins Logo

     

     

     

     

    With a 2-1 Game 7 victory, the Pittsburgh Penguins earn a date with the San Jose Sharks in the Stanley Cup Finals.

    Steven Stamkos made his first return to the ice after recovering from his blood clots.  That malady had kept him sidelined since the last day of March, almost two full months.

    The easiest thing to say about the first period is that it was just about even, not favoring one team or the other.  Although Tampa Bay almost certainly won the possession metric and effectively used those efforts to apply pressure on Second Star of the Game Matt Murray, Pittsburgh had more quality chances.

    That being said, it was the Lightning who had the first quality chance.  It was a breakaway with one more skater to beat – defenseman Olli Maatta.  Before the Bolt could rear back and fire, the third-year Penguin performed a quality poke check to neutralize the attack.

    Third Star Evgeni Malkin was busy in the period, but not always for Pittsburgh’s benefit.  He had at least two strong opportunities, but both times his efforts did not yield a goal.

    He was also the first penalty of the contest, interfering with Ondrej Palat at the 6:52 mark.  The Bolts‘ power play lasted only 31 seconds, cut short when Brian Boyle slashed Nick Bonino.

    Pittsburgh led the first frame in hits (eight to five), face-offs (56%), blocks (seven to six) and takeaways (three to two), while Tampa was the better squad in the giveaway (one to four) and hit (16 to 10) departments.

    The second period had many more goals than the first, made true by First Star Bryan Rust’s snap shot only 1:55 after resuming play.  He was assisted by Chris Kunitz (his sixth helper of the postseason) and Malkin.  Waiting at the offensive blue line, Geno received a long pass from Maatta in the defensive zone.  Almost immediately after crossing into the zone, he left the puck for Kunitz, who found the rookie streaking towards Andrei Vasilevskiy’s crease.  He scored from between the face-off dots over the netminder’s glove.

    A minute later, play transitioned into a four-on-four scenario once again as tempers started flaring, with Ian Cole (elbowing) and Cedric Paquette (roughing) both earning a seat in the sin bin.  During this time, the ice was certainly slanted towards Vasilevskiy’s cage, as Sidney Crosby and the Penguins took advantage of the less-congested ice to fire three quality shots (two by the captain) over two opportunities, all saved by the Lightning netminder.

    Even once Cole and Paquette returned to the rink, Pittsburgh still maintained heavy pressure in their own offensive zone.  It wasn’t until the 8:43 mark that Tampa had a real opportunity on Murray’s net, but was able to make the save on only the second shot he’d faced in the frame.

    That effort was important though, as the next Lightning attack leveled the game.  Sophomore Jonathan Drouin scored his fifth tally of the playoffs on a top-shelf wrister at the 9:36 mark, assisted by Valtteri Filppula and Victor Hedman (his 10th postseason assist).  Drouin collected a puck in the neutral zone from Filppula and advanced into the offensive zone in a three-on-three situation.  He crossed from far to near face-off zones before shooting over Murray’s glove.

    The tied game didn’t last long though – only half a minute, to be exact.  Rust took credit for his second goal of the night (this on the game winner) on a wrister of his own, assisted by Ben Lovejoy and Malkin (his 11th helper of these playoffs).  Malkin found the puck in the near corner and shoved it up the boards to Lovejoy to reset the play.  The defenseman fired a shot off the boards behind the net, which Rust collected and shoved between the near post and Vasilevskiy’s left skate.

    All of this was a result of increased offensive pressure.  Although Tampa Bay was successful in scoring on 20% of their shots this period, the Penguins preferred to do things the old-fashioned way with tons of shots – 21 to be exact, leading the Lightning‘s second period attempts by 16 shots.

    Ryan Callahan was the next Bolt to take a seat on the wrong side of the ice, charged with hi-sticking Lovejoy with 7:37 remaining in the period.  Pittsburgh quickly took to peppering Vasilevskiy’s net, but try as they might, including an incredible opportunity for Conor Sheary stopped by Hedman, the Pens couldn’t register an insurance goal.

    The Penguins once again headed to the power play with 5:06 remaining in the second period when Drouin held Tom Kuhnhackl’s stick, but just like Tampa‘s man-advantage, it ended early.  Like he has been so many other times this postseason, Kris Letang was the guilty party for tripping Palat only 19 seconds into the advantage.

    Just like the other four-on-four this period, the Penguins took advantage of the open ice to put quick pressure on Vasilevskiy, but Stamkos and the Lightning took notes and returned the favor.  Both keepers made the necessary saves to keep the score differential favoring Pittsburgh by only a tally.

    Right when Drouin exited the box, Hedman took a seat for slashing Malkin.  19 seconds later, the Penguins went to work on the power play for 101 ticks on the clock.  Phil Kessel almost scored on a rebound with half a minute remaining on the advantage, but once again Anton Stralman and the Tampa Bay defense stood tall to hold the score at 2-1.

    Although Pittsburgh led the frame’s shots and takeaways (four to none), Tampa was actually better at the face-off dot and in blocks (six to three) and giveaways (two to three).  The teams both threw 12 hits in the frame, meaning Tampa was still the more physical team after 40 minutes (28 hits to 22).

    As would be expected, Tampa Bay came out of the dressing room with a mission.  They applied almost constant pressure to Murray’s net for the first five minutes of the frame.  During the attack, Bonino performed a block that left him dazed, requiring him to be helped to the dressing room.  He returned to the bench approximately five game minutes later.

    Nikita Kucherov put a kink in that offensive though when he fired a puck over the glass, earning him a two minute break.  The Penguins did well to earn Murray a break, but they could not expand their lead.  Just as soon as Kucherov returned, they resumed their attack on Murray’s crease with a Coyle breakaway chance, stopped by the goaltender’s right pad.

    Thanks to some spectacular offensive pressure by the Pens, Vasilevskiy didn’t make his way to the Tampa bench until only a minute remained in regulation.

    That minute was the loudest CONSOL Energy Center had been all night.  Tampa Bay took their timeout with 44 seconds remaining in regulation.  The ensuing face-off was in Pittsburgh‘s defensive zone, who won the restart and got the puck out of the zone twice… well, kind of.  The second one was an icing penalty with 14.9 seconds to go.

    The Penguins then took their timeout, won the restart and tried to clear, but the puck hit Lovejoy’s stick.  The problem with that?  He was on the bench, meaning the next face-off was once again in Murray’s end.  Tampa Bay could not fire a shot in the remaining time, meaning that Pittsburgh won the Prince of Wales Trophy for the first time since 2009, taking it from the Eastern Conference runner-up.

    Murray earns the victory after saving 16 of 17 shots faced (94.1%), while Vasilevskiy takes the loss, saving 37 of 39 (94.9%).

    The Penguins will host the Western Champion San Jose Sharks this Monday, May 30.  Puck drop is scheduled for 8 p.m. eastern and may be viewed on CBC, NBC or TVAS.

  • HOT TAKES: Is It Time To Trade Marc-Andre Fleury?

    By: Nick Lanciani

    With Matt Murray’s impressive 2016 Stanley Cup Playoff run for the Pittsburgh Penguins, is it time for them to think about their future in goal and realize the future is now? Let’s decide whether or not it’s time for the Penguins to trade Marc-Andre Fleury.

    Pittsburgh Penguins Logo

    Trade Him, Trade Him Now

    Everyone’s making a big fuss over goaltenders these days, yet it seems like the smart thing to do would be to stick with your number one goalie all along. The St. Louis Blues fallout in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final against the now-headed to their first Stanley Cup Final in franchise history, San Jose Sharks, had nothing to do with shaky goaltending, despite being outscored by a large margin.

    Brian Elliott was the Blues clear starting goalie in the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs as Jake Allen lost his way in the final month and a half of the regular season and was relegated to the backup role in the playoffs. Allen’s Game 5 loss to the Sharks comes as no surprise, given well, let’s just say Elliott is the clear number one goaltender as of right now for St. Louis’s 2016-2017 season opener (and I’m not just saying that because of a bet I made with Connor).

    The Penguins rode the momentum of their tremendous run on the backs of Marc-Andre Fleury, Matt Murray and Jeff Zatkoff this season, but one thing has emerged as a clear choice to make. Is it time to replace Fleury?

    Look, that might sound surprising— okay, I’m even surprising myself— but let’s face it, Fleury is coming off his greatest season ever and there’s no greater time to amass a significant return than right now. Especially when Matt Murray put up similar numbers in the regular season to the currently elite Washington Capitals goaltender, Braden Holtby’s rookie year.

    Fleury went 35-17-6 is 58 games played this season with a 2.29 GAA and a .921 SV%. He recorded five shutouts this year, which put him at 20 shutouts over the last three seasons. Last year, Fleury went 34-20-9 in 64 appearances, with a league leading and career high 10 shutouts and a 2.32 GAA and .920 SV%. For the lack of a better summarization, Fleury’s been on fire in recent years.

    His success seems to be unusual, considering how Fleury often flutters out of peak performance in the playoffs— oh wait.

    Having been out of the lineup since March 31st with a concussion, Fleury returned to his first game action in relief of Murray in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Lightning on May 20th. Fleury made his first start in nearly two months on May 22nd in Game 5.

    In two playoff appearances, Fleury is 0-1-1 with a 3.03 GAA and an .875 SV%. In other words, not good for his first couple of games back on the wings of a spectacular Vezina Trophy worthy season (it beats me why Jonathan Quick is a finalist this year and Fleury is not). A good playoff goalie is expected to make an impact on the series, bar none.

    I get it, he’s coming back from being mostly inactive for the last couple of months, but he is considered a regular at what he does for a living and should not have even started Game 5, based on Murray’s performance in the playoffs as a whole. You don’t change your goalie in a series unless it’s goalie change in a relief appearance or heading into an elimination game— otherwise you’re only tinkering with momentum and robbing a goalie’s confidence (and perhaps the rest of the team’s confidence).

    But Matt Murray is ten years younger and making an impact as good, if not better than Fleury, when it comes to crunch time in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    In Murray’s 13 regular season games this season, he went 9-2-1 with a 2.00 GAA and a .930 SV%. His rookie season save percentage almost mirror’s Holtby’s .934 SV% as a rookie 21-year-old back in the 2010-2011 season. Holtby also went 12-10-2 in 14 games with a 1.79 GAA, for the record, that year.

    While Holtby set himself apart from the rest in 12 playoff appearances this year with a 1.72 GAA and .942 SV% at 26-years old, Murray’s been Holtby-esque spectacular, all while defeating the Capitals and taking his team further than Holtby’s ever been in the playoffs.

    In 14 playoff appearances, Murray is 10-4-1 with a 2.30 GAA and a .924 SV% in his first run through the Stanley Cup Playoffs heading into Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final. Holtby went 7-7-4 in 14 games played with a .935 SV% and a 1.95 GAA in the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs (his first taste of playoff hockey). While the numbers might seem misleading, Holtby allowed 30 goals on 459 shots against that year and Murray’s allowed 32 goals on 420 shots against thus far in the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    For a 21— 22-year-old goaltender, this kind of a run is insanity, no matter how you look at it.

    For a general manager, living in the Braden Holtby-as-top-dog-in-net era, it’s certainly worth considering moving Murray up not only from the third-string position, but to your number one spot for good.

    I have nothing against Marc-Andre Fleury as he is now.

    I’ll repeat that. I have nothing against Marc-Andre Fleury.

    However, at $5.75 million with 4 years left on his contract and Murray only costing $620K with two years left and a plethora of other talented pending RFA’s in the next couple of seasons for the Penguins, it’s worth the time to see what other teams would give up for a surefire number one goalie for at least the next five years (if not longer- Fleury isn’t showing signs of turning into the next Ryan Miller anytime soon).

    And given the relationship between the Penguins and the Toronto Maple Leafs after the Phil Kessel deal in the offseason, it might be worth investigating just how badly Toronto needs a goaltender. Let alone other teams scampering around the Maple Leafs in the standings.

    One more tidbit of information; Fleury’s rookie campaign of the 2003-2004 season only saw a 4-win, 14 losses and 2 ties performances in 21 games played with a 3.64 GAA and a .896 SV% at the age of 18 going on 19.

    The fact of the matter is that the Penguins could lengthen the life of their success with a young goalie like Murray putting on a performance similar to their rival in Washington’s goalie (Holtby) and still be built on the currently successful Chicago model of running a team.

    A team built on interchangeable scoring, a shutdown defense and a goalie that is clutch when you need him to be, but can be bailed out as he grows with the team in front of him.

    Trade Fleury while you can. Make a pure hockey move, reminiscent of the days when the Boston Bruins acquired prolific goal scorer Phil Esposito in a deal that worked out for everyone involved— Blackhawks included— or like when the Colorado Avalanche landed Patrick Roy from the Montréal Canadiens— except the Canadiens didn’t really get much out of that deal and it was kind of forced on them (or by themselves, depending of who you ask).

    Bottom line, hockey is a business and in a business you’re always looking for the here and now and where you’re headed in the future. Otherwise you’re only doomed to mismanagement at its finest. Pittsburgh has a chance to avoid poor management by trading Fleury while the price is still high and avoid falling in the standings by the grace of the rest of their organization and Matt Murray in goal.

  • Penguins force Game 7 with 5-2 victory over Lightning

    By: Nick Lanciani

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

    Sidney Crosby’s 6th 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 8th 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 1st and Victor Hedman was called for delay of game for sending the puck over the glass at 17:50 of the 1st 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 9th 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 2nd 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 2nd 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 6th goal of the playoffs on a wicked impressive wrist shot that beat Vasilevskiy. The lone assist went to Patric Hornqvist and was his 4th 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.

    Unknown-1Five 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 4th 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 5th 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 3rd period. Plenty of time left for Tampa to make things interesting.

    But nearly five minutes after Brian Boyle earned his 1st 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 3rd 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 3rd 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.

  • The Duo of Johnson and Kucherov lead The Bolts to a Comeback Win, Now Lead Series 3-2.

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    The Pittsburgh Penguins blew two leads; a 2-0 lead, and a 3-2 lead late in the game and lost a heartbreaker to the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 in Overtime. This win puts the Lightning up 3-2 in the series and are now one win away from advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals for the second year in a row.

    The Pittsburgh Penguins looked to get back into the win column tonight at home. After dominating Games 2 and 3, the Pens were outworked in a Game 4 loss. Pittsburgh was welcomed to see that WWE Hall-of-Fame legend The Heartbreak Kid aka Shawn Micheals would be in attendance for tonight game. The Penguins 3rd line, better known as the HBK line, made up of Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino, and Phil Kessel has been on fire as of late. Shawn Michaels has inspired all Pittsburgh fans to now call this line the HBK line and the Pens invited him to come out to the game and he did! So Michaels hoped he could see the Pens pull out a win.

    The Penguins turned to their 12-year vet, goaltender Marc-André Fleury for his first start since March 31st. Fleury has not played since the end of March because he was battling a concussion. The Penguins were going with newcomer Matt Murray in hopes that he could spark the team and go on a long run. They were right and Murray was the backbone of the team and led them all the way to Round 3, the Conference Finals. Sadly, after Murray’s last performance in the Game 4 loss, he was pulled at the start of the third period due to the fact that he let in 4 goals on 30 total shots for a measly .867 SV%. Murray has appeared in a total of 13 games in this year’s playoffs going 9-4-1 with a .923 SV% and a 2.33 GAA. Pittsburgh is making the right call going with Fleury for Game 5. This game is also Fleury’s 100th career playoff game.

    Now on to the long list of injuries. As expected, Tampa goalie Ben Bishop, who has been out since his lower-body-injury in Game 1, is sidelined again for the 4th consecutive game. Lightning superstar Steven Stamkos, who also has not played since the end of March due to a blood clot, is still not able to suit up. The Penguins have scratched winger Conor Sheary who has not scored a goal since April 23rd. Beau Bennett has been given the nod to play tonight. This will be Bennett’s first game of the playoffs this year, and his first game since April 5th at Ottawa. On the other hand, Pens lockdown D-man Trevor Daley will miss the rest of the postseason, no matter how far Pittsburgh gets, due to a broken left ankle suffered in Game 4. Pittsburgh will welcome D-man Olli Maatta back into the lineup. Maatta has been dealing with a lingering injury suffered against the Capitals in Round 2 and some poor play that has held him in and out of the lineup. The Penguins will have to rely on the play of D-man Kris Letang more if they will want to shut down the strong forwards of the Lightning.

    The game started out with both teams flying out of the gate and being very physical with each other. The two clubs combined for a total of 13 hits within the first nine minutes of the opening frame. So you could tell that both teams aren’t messing around and want an early edge over the other squad.

    We would get the game’s first penalty with them being coincidental. Tampa defender Matt Carle and Pens center Evgeni Malkin both getting the gate for unsportsmanlike conduct at 9:11 of the first period. We would play 4 on 4 hockey for 1:25 until the Lightning would get the games first true penalty. Tampa center Tyler Johnson would get a two-minute call for hooking Pens captain Sidney Crosby. With this call the Pens would play 35 seconds of 4 on 3 man advantage, they were not able to score or apply pressure. The coincidental would expire and both teams would get their players back and they would play a regular 5 on 4 power play for 1:25. Pittsburgh only managed one shot and Tampa killed it off.

    Pittsburgh would get on the board first, but would barely beat the buzzer. It all started with a great play by Pens winger Chris Kunitz who would get the puck on the left-hand boards by the blue line in his own zone. Kunitz would make a beautiful play to chip the puck past pinching Tampa defender Anton Stralman and up to a streaking teammate, Bryan Rust in the neutral zone. Rust would grab the pass and beat opposing defender Victor Hedman wide and go in on a mini breakaway. Rust was able to hold of the back checking of Hedman and get off a wimpy shot in close that was saved by a stretched out Andrei Vasilevskiy and his right pad. The rebound was sat right on top of the goalie crease for anyone to grab. Meanwhile behind the play, Pens defender Brian Dumoulin jumped up in the play when he realized that the time was running out in the period. Dumoulin beat Tampa grinder Brian Boyle to the net and shoveled home the rebound with .7 seconds left in the period to put the Pens on the board at 1-0. This goal was Dumoulin’s first goal in 103 games (he did not score in the regular season playing 79 games), his first ever playoff goal, and his second ever career goal in the NHL.

    The second period would start with it being all Penguins, and as a result, the Pens would double their lead. Pittsburgh would bring the puck into the zone with Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby skating down to the right boards to the hash marks. Crosby would post up and spot Pens D-man Olli Maatta wide open in the middle of the ice at the point. Maatta would receive the pass and quickly fire a shot pass to winger Carl Hagelin who peeled open at the top of the goalie crease on the left side. Hagelin would direct the pass to fellow winger Patric Hornqvist on top of the crease to the right side. Hornqvist would then tap the puck into the wide open net to increase the Pens lead to 2-0. This was Hornqvist’s 7th goal of the playoffs.

    Tampa would get their first power play of the game, and their first real chance to cut into Pittsburgh’s deficit. Pens D-man Kris Letang would get a two-minute trip to the box for slashing Tampa youngster Jonathan Drouin. Tampa’s power play has been struggling lately as they are just 2/8 in the series coming into Game 5. The Lightning would get their best chance of the game with the PP coming to an end. Defender Victor Hedman would get the puck at the point and come right down the middle of the ice. Hedman would fake a shot and dish it off to center Tyler Johnson at the side of the net. Johnson had the whole top of the net to shoot at. He one-timed the puck and was completely ROBBED by the stretched out toe of goalie Marc-André Fleury as he pushed from his left to his right to keep the score at 2-0 and kill the penalty.

    Just about four minutes later the Pens would go back to their second manpower advantage of the game. Tampa winger Nikita Kucherov would get the gate for holding winger Bryan Rust. The Penguins would only get two shots on the net and could not capitalize.

    Pittsburgh Penguins Logo

    The Tampa Bay Lightning would then score just 13 seconds after they killed off the penalty at 13:15 of the middle period. Tampa defender Andrej Sustr would hold the puck in at the right side hash marks and play the puck around the back of the net. Winger Alex Killorn would grab the puck at the left side hash marks skate in a foot and absolutely let a laser of a wrist shot go that beat Fleury high short side over the blocker to get the Bolts on the board and trim the Pens lead to 2-1. Tampa would then tie the game up 1:10 seconds later at the 14:25 mark. Again Lightning D-man Andrej Sustr would carry the puck into the same spot on the right side but he ended up losing the puck. Luckily, grinder Vladislav Namesnikov would pick up the loose puck, carry on towards the net and find an open Nikita Kucherov on the left hash marks in the slot. Namesnikov hit Kucherov right in his wheelhouse and Kucherov let a gnarly one-t snap-shot go into the wide open net before Fleury could get there to tie the game up at 2-2. This was Kucherov’s 10th goal of the playoffs which now puts him in a tie for first in the league with Sharks captain Joe Pavelski.

    Once again, the Pens would strike as the period would expire. Penguins defender Olli Maatta would carry the puck into the zone through the middle and dangle his way past the net and below the goal line on the right side. Maata would stop on a dime, turn around, and feed winger Evgeni Malkin in the slot. Malkin would grab the puck, fight off a falling Tampa defender, turn around, and fire a wrist shot on net. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy would make the save on top of the crease but let the rebound fall right in front of him. Before Vasy could dive and fall on the puck, Pens winger Chris Kunitz would bat the puck out of mid-air just before Vasy could get it with his glove. The puck would go right under Vasy’s body, through his legs, and into the net. The goal came with 50 seconds remaining in the second period to gain the lead back and make it 3-2.

    The Penguins are 46-0-0 (regular season and playoffs) when leading after two periods this season. They are the ONLY team to win every game when leading at this point. So if the Lightning want to be the first to beat them, they will have to jump out early in the final period and gain some momentum.

    With just 2:36 gone in the final period Tampa would go back on the power play. Pens defender Olli Maatta would get a double minor for catching Lightning’s Slater Koekkoek up high with his stick. So Tampa would have a four minutes power play in hopes of tying the game. With around two minutes gone in the four-minute man advantage center, Tyler Johnson would get called for interference on Pens defender Kris Letang. This penalty on Johnson would nullify the rest of Tampa’s power play and they would play 1:53 of 4 on 4 hockey. The 4 on 4 hockey did not result in anything so once Maatta’s double minor expired, the Pens would get a brief 6 seconds of PP time but could not do anything.

    With 3:52 left in the game, Tampa winger Ryan Callahan came down the left-hand side with the puck. Callahan skated to the dot and put a beauty of a wrist shot towards the net. The puck hit Fleury’s jersey near his arm, deflected off the post, and across the goal line but stayed out! Tampa was inches away from tying this contest up. Then just 36 seconds later, Tampa was able to get their tying goal. Winger Nikita Kucherov skating down the left side with the puck and dropped a nice backhand pass to fellow linemate Tyler Johnson at the left boards. Johnson put a shot on the net that was padded aside by Fleury. Regrettably, the puck fell to the boards behind the net where Kucherov was there to pick it up. Kucherov grabbed the puck and instantly wrapped around to the other side of the net and beat Fleury’s pad to the post and knotted this game up at 3-3 with 3:16 to go in the final frame. This was Kucherov’s second goal of the game (11th) which now puts him in sole position of first place for goals.

    The third period ended with the score still the same at 3-3 and went into over time. The only reason why the Penguins never scored again so far in the game is because the stellar play of goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. Vasy was amazing making a numerous amount of clutch saves. This is the second time in the series these two teams would play OT. Pittsburgh won Game 2 in OT. Tampa is 2-1 in OT games in the playoffs and Pittsburgh is 3-1.

    As the overtime started, both teams were hoping to end this game early. That hope was fulfilled by one team, that team? The Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa’s first line was in on the attack in the offensive zone. Lightning winger Ondrej Palat, who was on the right side hash marks, passed the puck up to Nikita Kucherov in the middle at the blue line. Kucherov accepted the pass and immediately passed the puck over to D-man Jason Garrison who slide down to the dot of the left-hand circle. Garrison put a wrist shot on net that ended up deflecting off center Tyler Johnson’s backside and ricocheting into the net for the game-winner only 53 seconds into extra time.

    Tampa Bay was led by their goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy who turned away 31 out of 34 shots for a nice .912 SV% while Pittsburgh’s Marc-André Fleury stopped 21 out of 25 shots for a terrible .840 SV% in his first game back. The Pens coach Mike Sullivan will have another big question on who to start for Game 6. Pittsburgh led in shots (34-25), faceoffs (37-31), hits (43-37), blocked shots (22-8), and giveaways (9-1) whereas Tampa Bay did not lead in any category. The teams were tied in penalty minutes (8-8) and both teams were 0/3 on the PP.

    These two powerhouse squads will suit back up for Game 6 where Tampa will look to close out the series and advance to the Stanley Cup Final Tuesday night at 8 pm.

  • Lightning hold on for 4-3 win in Game 4, Series Tied 2-2

    By: Nick Lanciani

    Unknown-1The 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 2nd 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.

    Pittsburgh Penguins LogoThe 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 2nd 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 4th of the postseason and 3rd 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 2nd 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 6th 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 8th goal of the playoffs 1:18 into the 3rd period. Nick Bonino (11) and Brian Dumoulin (6) tallied the assists.

    Evgeni Malkin scored his 4th goal of the postseason (his 1st 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 2nd 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 3rd 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.

  • The Celestial HBK line leads Pittsburgh to a Game 3 Win and a 2-1 Series Lead.

    The Pittsburgh Penguins took care of the Tampa Bay Lightning Wednesday night by a score of 4-2. The Penguins were led by their red-hot “HBK” line, made up of Phil Kessel, Carl Hagelin, and Nick Bonino, who combined for 5 points (2G, 3A)

    The Tampa Bay Lightning looked to avenge their 3-2 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night. The Lightning looked to use their home ice advantage in their favor to go up in the series. Tampa was once again without Vezina nominated goaltender Ben Bishop for the second straight game. They turned to their 21-year-old goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy in hope for another solid performance from the youngster.

    Pittsburgh Penguins Logo

    Tonight’s contest started with both teams trading chances back and forth but no team could gain the full momentum. We would then finally get the game’s first prime scoring chance 9:02 into the opening frame. Pens superstar center Sidney Crosby found the puck in his feet behind Tampa’s net. Crosby was being pressured behind the net by the Lightning defender and dished a beautiful no-look between the legs backhand pass to fellow linemate Patric Hornqvist who received the puck to Vasilevskiy’s right and threw a quick snap shot on net. Tampa’s Andrei Vasilevskiy was up to the task and denied Hornqvist chance with his blocker and kept the score tied at zero.

    We would then get our games first man power advantage. Pittsburgh winger Patric Hornqvist would get a two-minute call for slashing Tampa vet Ryan Callahan at 17:42 of the first period. This would send Tampa to their first power play of the game. The Pens penalty killers were huge and did not allow a single shot and killed off the penalty. With 2 seconds remaining in the period the Penguins had a faceoff in the offensive zone. Tampa center Brian Boyle would try and beat Pens center Sidney Crosby and close out the period with no damage done. Well, Boyle won the faceoff with ease and pulled the puck back hoping that his fellow defender would grab the puck and waste the remaining time on the clock. Unfortunately, his D-man missed the puck and it went right to the Pittsburgh D-man Trevor Daley who was in deep looking for a shot. Daley flipped right to his backhand and tried lifting the puck over Vasilevskiy’s glove. Vasy was right there to shut down the opportunity with a strong glove save.

    The first period would end with the score 0-0 with the Penguins basically dominating Tampa the first 10-15 minutes of the period. While the Lightning would get a little momentum towards the end of the period.

    Pittsburgh would get their first power play chance just 3:57 into the second period. Tampa winger Ryan Callahan would get the trip to the sin bin for holding Pens winger Chris Kunitz. Pittsburgh would turn to their dormant PP in the hope of striking first. The Pens would get three excellent scoring chances that were all turned away thanks to stellar goaltending from Andrei Vasilevski. Tampa would also get a great scoring chance thanks to winger Ondrej Palat shorthanded. Palat would get the puck right in front of Pens goalie Matt Murray. Palat would grab Valtteri Filppula’s rebound from Murray and throw a little backhand on net after Murray was way out of position. The shot would have gone in but Pens defender Kris Letang was there to sweep the puck away and back into Murray for the whistle. After both teams had a flurry of chances to open the scoring but the score still sat at 0-0.

    Tampa would get the best scoring chance of the game so far 9:49 into the middle period. Lightning grinder Brian Boyle would receive a pass on the left-hand dot from a teammate. Boyle quickly unleashed a nasty one-timer that beat Pens goalie Matt Murray low short side blocker but not the post, it hit iron and came right back out.

    Pittsburgh would counter with their best chance of the game almost three minutes later. Pens center Nick Bonino in his own zone, spotted fellow winger Phil Kessel streaking down the right-hand side. Bonino fired a rocket of a pass to Kessel and sent him in all alone on a breakaway. Kessel got to the top of the right-hand circle and let a wrister go towards the net. Vasilevskiy made the save look easy and swallowed the shot right into his chest to keep the Pens from scoring again.

    FINALLY after all these shots and chances from both squads we would get the games first goal with just 10 seconds remaining in period two thanks to the HBK line. The play started with Pens winger Phil Kessel making a great play and intercepting Tampa’s Jonathan Drouin’s pass high in the defensive zone. Kessel would then turn on the jets and beat Lightning defender Victor Hedman down the right-hand boards. Kessel would drive down the right side and throw a shot far side that was turned aside from Vasilevskiy right pad. Regrettably, Vasy kicked the puck into the slot and left a juicy rebound just sitting in the slot. Pittsburgh winger Carl Hagelin would beat coverage from lazy D-man Braydon Coburn, pounce on the loose puck, and put home the rebound to open the Pens scoring tab at 1-0.

    The second period would end with the score being 1-0. Pittsburgh would again COMPLETLY control the second period. They threw 21 shots on net and only gave up 6, and yes this was ONLY in period two. Tampa’s only strong suit in the period was from their goalie, Andrei Vasilevskiy, who kept them in the game with a number of solid saves. If Tampa looks to come back from their 1-0 deficit they will need to get more shots, and keep the pressure off of Vasy.

    Unknown-1

    Pittsburgh would then double their lead to 2-0. The dominate HBK line would apply more and more pressure and it eventually paid off again. Pens winger Nick Bonino would get the puck behind the net after a lengthy time of cycling down below the goal line. Bonino would dish the puck to fellow winger Phil Kessel on the low left-hand dot. Kessel would get the puck and quickly fire a laser top cheese and beat Vasy high glove side.

    Just 14 seconds later Tampa would get one back and cut into the Pens lead. This time, it was Tampa’s red hot triplet line that got the goal. Lightning winger Ondrej Palat, who sat in his own defensive zone, saw fellow winger Nikita Kucherov at the far blue line. Palat wired a tape to tape pass to Kucherov who caught the pass and skated into the offensive zone. Kucherov left a backhand pass in the high slot to streaking center Tyler Johnson who grabbed the puck and skated in on a mini breakaway. Johnson fired the puck blocker side that beat goalie Matt Murray under the arm and made the score 2-1.

    A little over three and a half minutes later Pens D-man Kris Letang and Tampa winger Ondrej Palat each got a two-minute roughing minor after the whistle. So we still played even strength hockey as those penalties offset. Just 48 seconds later Lightning defender Braydon Coburn took a terrible penalty by elbowing Pens winger Carl Hagelin who was entering the zone. This sent the Pens to their second power play of the game as they looked to restore their two-goal lead playing 4 on 3 hockey. Pittsburgh’s wish would pay off thanks to a stellar power play at the 10:50 mark of the final period. Pens star Sidney Crosby would dish the puck to center Evgeni Malkin high in the center of the slot and top of their umbrella on the PP. Malkin quickly threw the puck back Crosby’s way on top of the right-hand dot. Crosby fired a wicked one-timer that beat Vasilevsky high glove short side to increase their lead to 3-1.

    Pittsburgh would tally again at 13:12 of the third period. This goal was a confusing one as the puck was bouncing all over the place. Vasy made a great save in close on a tough Penguins shot. The rebound sat in the slot and Tampa back checker Cedric Paquette would blindly backhand the puck out of the slot to, what he thought was, the right-hand corner out of harms way. Sadly, he passed the puck right to Penguins’ winger Chris Kunitz who grabbed the puck and beat a surprising Andrei Vasilevsky short side to stretch the score to 4-1.

    The Lightning would take another penalty a minute later with another pointless call from Tampa defenseman Braydon Coburn who caught Pens winger Bryan Rust up high with his stick. Tampa was able to halt the bleeding and stop the scoring onslaught and kill off the penalty. Then with 1:44 left in the game Tampa was able to grab a consolation goal. Lightning defender Matt Carle passed the puck to winger Nikita Kucherov on the left side boards. Kucherov slid down the side and dished the puck to Ondrej Palat in the high slot who ripped another one-timer high glove side on Matt Murray to cut the score to 4-2.

    With 19 seconds left in the game, a minor scrum ensued between the two teams. After everything got settled down three penalties were handed out, one to Pittsburgh and two to Tampa Bay. Pens D-man Trevor Daley got a two-minute roughing call and Tampa winger Alex Killorn getting a roughing call as well as a 10-minute misconduct.

    The game ended with Pittsburgh winning comfortably 4-2. Pens goalie Matt Murray stopped 26 out of 28 shots for a .929 SV% while opposing goalie Andrei Vasilevsky stopped 44 out of an insane 48 shots for a .917 SV%. Pittsburgh led in shots (48-28), and faceoffs (34-30). While Tampa led in hits (30-16), blocked shots (13-12), giveaways (11-8), and penalty minutes (20-6). Pittsburgh went 1/3 on the PP while Tampa Bay went 0/3.

    These two clubs will take a day off and play again on Friday night here in Tampa, Florida with puck drop at 8 pm. Tampa will hopefully get goalie Ben Bishop back in net from injury.

  • Crosby’s overtime goal lifts Penguins over Lightning in Game 2

    By: Nick Lanciani 

    Pittsburgh Penguins LogoSidney 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 25th 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 4th 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 6th 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.

    Unknown-1At 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 4th 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.

  • Lightning Win Game 1, Lead Eastern Conference Final 1-0

    By: Nick Lanciani

    Unknown-1The 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 4th 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.

    Pittsburgh Penguins LogoEvgeni 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 3rd 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 2nd 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 6th of the postseason, assisted by Sidney Crosby (8) and Phil Kessel (8) at 19:05 of the 2nd.

    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 20th.

    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 83rd 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.

  • Washington at Pittsburgh – Game 6 – Bonino’s goal sends the Pens to the Eastern Finals

    Washington Capitals LogoPittsburgh Penguins LogoIt’s been since December 30 that Matt Murray last lost in CONSOL Energy Center, as he bested the Washington Capitals 4-3 in overtime to set up a date with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Finals.

    Second Star of the Game Phil Kessel opened the scoring for the Pens at the 5:41 mark, assisted by Brian Dumoulin and Carl Hagelin.  Kris Letang caused a turnover in the defensive zone while the Caps were entering that was collected by Hagelin.  Once he reached the blue line, he passed to Dumoulin, who immediately shoved the puck along to Phil the Thrill.  Kessel advanced into the offensive zone along the near boards and fired once he reached the top side of the face-off circle, beating Braden Holtby’s right pad.

    Pittsburgh not only led Washington on the scoreboard, but they also had more shots on goal (11 to 10), face-offs (57%), takeaways (two to none) and hits (24 to 12).

    In his first game back since being suspended, Brooks Orpik committed a double minor hi sticking penalty against Patric Hornqvist at the 6:25 mark of the second period.  Pittsburgh quickly made him pay when Kessel connected on a wrister 40 seconds later, assisted by Letang (his seventh helper of the playoffs) and Chris Kunitz.  Kunitz fought off Matt Niskanen until he got to the blue line, where he barely managed to keep the puck in the zone before passing to Letang.  The defenseman quickly dished to Kessel near the far face-off dot, who traveled across the crease before beating sprawling Holtby’s left skate.

    The second half of the penalty was equally as successful for Pittsburgh, as Hagelin tipped-in Olli Maatta’s initial shot, with another assist from Trevor Daley (his fifth helper of the postseason), 33 seconds later.  First Star Nick Bonino had the puck along the far boards, but dumped back to the blue line for Daley, who shoved the puck across the zone for Hagelin.  He fired a slap shot from almost the same spot he received his pass, and Hagelin, who had already been acting as a screen in front of the crease, redirected the puck under Holtby’s stick.

    Ex-Capital Eric Fehr committed a penalty with 6:02 remaining in the frame for interference against T.J. Oshie, but the Penguins‘ penalty kill stood tall to keep the Capitals scoreless.

    The next penalty also belonged to the Penguins, as Kunitz was caught tripping Marcus Johansson with 2:23 remaining in the frame.  This power play was much more successful for the Capitals, as Oshie connected on a snap shot after an assist from Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin only 53 seconds after Kunitz took his seat.  Ovi had the puck near the near boards at the blue line, and dumped it further into the zone along the wall where Backstrom corralled it along the far boards at the goal line.  He centered a pass for Oshie, who scored over Murray’s stick shoulder.

    After 40 minutes, the Penguins still led the scoreboard 3-1, but also shots (23 to 18), hits (36 to 25) and face-offs (57%).

    The first penalty of the third period belonged to Ovechkin for slashing Tom Kuhnhackl 3:54 into the period, but Washington would not yield their third power play goal so easily, leaving the goal differential at two tallies.

    Washington cut the lead to only a goal at the 7:23 mark when Justin Williams connected on a wrister over Murray’s glove hand, assisted by Backstrom (his ninth helper of the postseason).  Backstrom collected the puck along the near boards and dumped behind Murray’s net to Williams, who approached around the goaltender’s stick side before scoring over his glove shoulder.

    Kunitz earned his second seat in the sin bin with 9:28 remaining in regulation when he sent the puck over the glass.  Bonino did the exact same thing in attempts to clear the puck out of the crease 1:06 later, resulting in 54 seconds of five-on-three and 3:06 total of the man-advantage.  Pittsburgh withstood the five-on-three, but only two seconds later Ian Cole sent a puck over the glass, sending the Penguins back to the five-on-three for 1:04.

    The Capitals leveled on this opportunity when Third Star John Carlson connected on slap shot with 6:59 remaining in regulation, assisted by Ovechkin (his seventh helper of the playoffs) and Williams.  Carlson had the puck at the point, but passed to Ovechkin towards the near boards along the blue line.  Ovi returned the favor to the defensemen near the far face-off circle, who fired a slap shot to beat Murray stick side.

    1:32 remained on Cole’s penalty, but Pittsburgh finally returned to even-strength without another Capitals score.

    Washington returned to the power play with 2:46 remaining in regulation when Letang was charged with interference against Oshie.  During the man advantage, Oshie took a questionable uncalled slash from a Penguins defender strong enough to send him to the dressing room.  It might be argued that it had a negative effect on the Capitals‘ power play, as the score remained the same to the end of regulation, forcing overtime.  Oshie did return to the ice for the overtime period.

    Just as the scoreboard was tied, so were the combined totals of some important statistics.  Washington led the first 60 minutes in shots (36 to 35), blocks (19 to 13) and giveaways (five to eight), while Pittsburgh owned the face-off dot (59%), takeaways (seven to three) and hits (42 to 34).

    The Penguins had thought they’d won the game 2:44 into the overtime period, but neither Daley nor Hornqvist’s attempts could find the back of Holtby’s net, thanks in part to Jay Beagle’s diving block into the goal.

    Overtime, and the Eastern Semifinals, lasted only 6:32 minutes more after regulation ended before Bonino scored a series-clinching wrister, assisted by Hagelin and Kessel.  Bonino collected the puck at the offensive blue line and advanced into the zone.  He attempted a wrister from the top of the near face-off circle that was blocked by Taylor Chorney towards the boards, but collected by Hagelin and shoved behind Holtby’s net.  Kessel collected in the corner and centered a pass for Hagelin that was saved by Holtby’s right pad, but the rebound was collected by Bonino and backhanded into net to avoid the Game 7.

    Murray saved 36 of 39 shots faced to earn the victory (92.3%), while Holtby takes the overtime loss, saving 38 of 42 (90.5%).

    The Penguins advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2013 (a four-game sweep against the Boston Bruins) and will face the Tampa Bay Lightning.  Dates and times for that series have yet to be determined.