Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Senators dominate Penguins in Game 3, take 2-1 series lead

tGUsHLyVmd0r
The Senators took a commanding four-goal lead in the first period and added one more goal in the second to beat the Penguins 5-1 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final.

If nothing else, the Pittsburgh Penguins had plenty of time to respond to the Ottawa Senators’ blistering start to Game 3. That never really happened.

The Senators controlled virtually all of the relevant parts of Wednesday’s contest, winning 5-1 to take a 2-1 series lead.

The Penguins never really instilled some doubt in this game after the Senators took a four-goal lead into the first intermission. Instead of wondering who would win Game 3, the more pressing questions revolved around whether Pittsburgh should start Marc-Andre Fleury or Matt Murray in Game 4.

Penguins fans searching for optimism will need to dig beyond a couple considerations.


  • Sidney Crosby scored a goal, and he did it on the power play. Such goals have been all-too-rare for Pittsburgh.
  • As bad as this Game 3 was, it’s still just one loss. The Penguins bounced back in Game 7 after a shellacking against the Washington Capitals in Game 6 of the second round, so the defending champs have shown that they can let big letdowns go.
  • And ... that’s about it.

To be fair, it’s arguable that the Penguins might have made things more interesting if Craig Anderson hasn’t been so sharp.

Either way, the Senators won this one convincingly, taking that 2-1 series lead. They can put the Penguins on the brink of elimination with a win in Game 4 on Friday.

That contest will air at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN. You can also watch it online and via the NBC Sports App. Click here for the livestream link.

Don’t forget that you check out the debut episode of NHL Game Changers | All-Time Greats following post-game coverage on NBCSN. More on that here.