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Discuss: Penguins overwhelm Senators to take Game 4

James Neal

OTTAWA, CANADA - MAY 22: James Neal #18 of the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrates a first period goal with teammates Pascal Dupuis #9, Sidney Crosby #87 and Craig Adams #27 against the Ottawa Senators in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Semifinals during the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, at Scotiabank Place, on May 22, 2013 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images)

The Ottawa Senators got off to a strong start tonight due in no small part to Milan Michalek’s impressive shorthanded goal and goaltender Craig Anderson’s early efforts. However the Penguins claimed the lead in the second and then the floodgates opened in the third period. What started as a hard fought contest ended as a 7-3 blowout.

Pittsburgh is now one win away from taking this series going into Game 5 on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN).

Here are some notes to chew on:


  • Penguins forward James Neal had been struggling in the 2013 playoffs, but he came up big tonight with two goals and an assist.
  • Ottawa and Pittsburgh are the only teams to have netted at least two shorthanded goals in the postseason.
  • This actually marks the first game of this series that the Senators held a lead before the end of the contest.
  • Going into this game, Ottawa outscored its opponents 16-1 after 40 minutes while Pittsburgh had allowed 10 goals and scored just six beyond the second period of playoff contests. So the Penguins’ 3-2 lead going into the third period was clearly not safe, but they managed to overcome that trend tonight.
  • Daniel Alfredsson got his 100th career playoff point, but it came on an ultimately moot third-period goal.
  • Although Anderson was pulled from this game, he was great in the first period. How much of this loss was his fault?
  • Just as a fun side note: While the Penguins were overwhelming the Senators, their AHL-affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, earned a 5-0 victory over the Providence Bruins in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton fought back after falling behind in that series 3-0.