The Pittsburgh Penguins ended a long run of playoff overtime struggles on Wednesday ... and are now one win away from ending the Washington Capitals’ season.
Many expected the Penguins to crater on defense without Kris Letang (they were 2-8-1 in the regular season without him). While there were shaky moments, Pittsburgh emphasized its speed and other strengths in taking a 3-2 overtime thriller against Washington.
With that, the Penguins’ series lead grows to 3-1.
Trevor Daley, traded to Blackhawks for Sharp & Johns and to #Pens for Scuderi (who was flipped to LA for Ehrhoff) played 28:41 in G4 W.
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) May 5, 2016
Trotz on Letang's suspension (paraphrased): We didn't take advantage.
— Seth Rorabaugh (@SethRorabaugh) May 5, 2016
Sullivan on the #Pens D: "I thought they were terrific. The whole group of them."
— Wes Crosby (@OtherNHLCrosby) May 5, 2016
It was a thrilling, sometimes nasty contest, from Sidney Crosby shaking off an Alex Ovechkin slash, to Evgeni Malkin delivering a hit some thought was over the line and plenty of typical playoff skirmishes.
Ultimately, Matt Murray played another strong game and Patric Hornqvist scored the overtime-winner to put the Capitals in a tough spot.
Game winning feels. #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/PtfXgkMUDY
— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) May 5, 2016
Matt Murray (@penguins) improved to 6-1 in the 2016 #StanleyCup Playoffs (1.81 GAA, .944 SV%, 1 SO). #WSHvsPIT pic.twitter.com/Y6ucfvP4gp
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) May 5, 2016
The Penguins lost their previous eight playoff overtime games, so maybe it was just a matter of time before such a game went their way?
Then again, the history between the two teams is a little different:
The @penguins improved to 8-3 in 11 all-time OT playoff games vs. WSH, including a 6-2 record at home. #WSHvsPIT pic.twitter.com/m4aSmLupRO
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) May 5, 2016
If the Capitals want to advance beyond the second round for the first time in the Ovechkin era, they’ll need to accomplish quite the feat against arguably the hottest team in the NHL.
The #pens haven't lost consecutive games since January. The #caps will need to beat them three times in a week.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) May 5, 2016