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.
Craig Anderson earned his 20th career playoff win with @Senators, one shy of Patrick Lalime (21) for most in franchise history. #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/kdiO1GHTlD
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) May 18, 2017
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.