We’ve seen some epic comebacks during the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but the Pittsburgh Penguins couldn’t fight back from a four-goal deficit against the Ottawa Senators in Game 3.
Instead, they actually fell behind by five before ultimately getting a goal in a humbling 5-1 loss.
Perhaps the Penguins could have made more of a game, but it felt pretty much over after the first 20 minutes. This deep into the postseason, it’s not always easy to bounce back from ... well, this:
As defending champions, you’d expect the Penguins to be upset with such a performance, and that was largely the case. Chris Kunitz might have said it best when he noted that things weren’t going to come easy for Pittsburgh.
Kunitz: “We should be embarrassed at the way we came out & started this game. We need more jump/urgency. Nothing is easy at this level.” -SK
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) May 18, 2017
Ottawa’s big lead likely made a big impact on the pace of play, but it is worth noting that Craig Anderson was quite strong in Game 3, as he has been for much of the Senators’ run. With that in mind, Mike Sullivan at least took away some positives from this contest (despite the 5-1 verdict).
“Well, listen, we had a fair amount of scoring chances,” Sullivan said. “I think the score of the game is not an indication of how the whole game is played out. So it’s not like we didn’t do anything right out there. We had a fair amount of scoring chances we didn’t convert on.”
“We just have to stay with it.”
Game 4 will air at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN on Friday. You can also watch it online and via the NBC Sports App. Click here for the livestream link.