Pittsburgh Penguins: First Line is Absolutely Magical

Stanley Cup Champions 2016 Pittsburgh Penguins
A rookie, a sophomore and a superstar walk into an NHL game. Little did they know that when put on a line together, they would absolutely dominate on the ice. This is what the Pittsburgh Penguins have for their first line.

The Pittsburgh Penguins had a brilliant line in the HBK line last playoffs, but with the sudden injury of Carl Hagelin it seems as though we wont see a repeat of that. however, the penguins current first line consisting of Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel and Conor Sheary may do just the trick.

The three members of the line have went from simply being a make-shift line to fill injury problems into a permanent line that brings a lot of success. Each player brings something new to the table, and as a whole they are very good.

Sidney Crosby

Lets take a look at the centre-piece for this line. The captain and the superstar Sidney Crosby is arguably the greatest hockey player in the world right now. You can say hes so good that he makes everyone around him better. If this is the case, you may be wondering whydoes this line matter?

This line is special. Crosby has shuffled around with linemates many times in the past. This time however, things are clicking very right. Just taking a look at his stats this season, Crosby had one of his best goal scoring seasons ever, including taking the only Maurice Richard trophy that he solely won (he shared it with Steven Stamkos in 2009-10). Crosby finished the season off with 44 goals and 45 assists in 75 games.

Crosby played with Sheary and Guentzel for the majority of the second half of the season. A.K.A, the time when Crosby and the Penguins really started to heat up. You have to give credit where credit is due. Crosbys success is due to his linemates in a huge way.

Now just looking at the two playoff games we played so far you can tell this line is working. Especially in game two, Crosby had three points on the night. Two of these points came from a goal that was assisted by both Guentzel and Sheary, and then another assist on Guentzels goal.

You could think that hes so good that hes just making Guentzel and Sheary better, but lets consider how good both of these guys have also been.

Jake Guentzel

The new rookie in town has made a name for himself. After getting called up thisseason he put up 16 goals and 17 assists for 33 points in only 40 games. This is amazingly impressive for a call-up who was expected to do much less.

He may be the newest one on this line but he has been playing great. A lot of his play doesnt show up in his numbers, but thats OK. You can see that he knows where to go, which is crucial while playing with someone like Sidney Crosby. He brings a great, big game with a good amount of offensive flair that compliments both Crosby and Sheary nicely.

Conor Sheary

I feel like Ive talked about Conor Sheary so much already that its wearing out, but its OK because this has to be enforced. Conor Sheary is good. Hes really good. And his season has been a big reason as to why this line and the entire Pittsburgh Penguins team has been finding success.

In only his sophomore season, Shearyput up 23 goals and 30 assists for 53 points in 61 games. This is a huge escalation from his rookie campaign, and it ranked him fourth on the team in goals and points.

You got to see that this success is coming from his play with his line. 21 of his 23 goals and 27 of his 30 assists were at even strength. Its clear to see that Shearys escalation in his game is because this line works so well.

New Dominant Playoff Line?

The HBK line of the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs was something out of a movie. Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel absolutely exploded on the ice and solidified their line as the most dominant in hockey.

This year, with Hagelin out of the lineup due to injury, this line of Crosby, Guentzel and Sheary may step up to be the new dominant line. Although the HBK line seemed to click perfectly, The chemistry seems to be building with this new line, and they have spent the majority of the second half of the regular season together.

Like I mentioned before, the line already combined for five points while playing together in game two. If they keep playing like this, we may see something really special emerging here.

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Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=us&usg=AFQjCNE51DrSamc7jV-DKlkzwAUvZUDfmg&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&cid=52779461598023&ei=W-31WPjSAcOYqQLOm5XgAg&url=https://penslabyrinth.com/2017/04/16/pittsburgh-penguins-first-line-magic/

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Pittsburgh Penguins Injure Their Own Goalie During Warm Ups.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs New York Rangers NHL Game Recap

Feb 25, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Matt Murray (30) defends the net against the Philadelphia Flyers during the first period in a Stadium Series hockey game at Heinz Field. The Penguins won 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

You see it every time before a game, teams warming up shooting rather light shots or doing some small stick handling techniques to the net to get in the groove and have their goalie focused, well the Pittsburgh Penguins thought it would be smart before their first playoff game on Wednesday to try and dangle goaltender Matthew Murray out of his equipment forcing him to slide across the crease. Now, this is absolutely foolish, youre in the playoffs, you have a solid number one since Marc-Andre Fleury has been shaky all year and the first thing you do is pull some fancy dangle and force your cold goalie to make a save on it?

Mar 21, 2017; buffalo, ny, usa; pittsburgh penguins goalie Matt Murray (30) against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

This resulted in Murray having to leave the warm up immediately with a lower-body injury, and if you watch it its a groin injury which means he could be out this entire first round. But for the sake of the Pens, they need to pray that hes out for a game or two. Cause, in all honesty, they need him in net rather than Fleury. And dont get me wrong Fleury is solid, but not as solid as he used to be.

Matthew Murray has had a tremendous season with a record of 32-10-4 in 47 games with a .923 save percentage and a 2.41 goals-against-average. Fleury, on the other hand, had a record of 18-10-7 in 34 games with a .909 save percentage and a 3.02 goals-against-average. Do you see now why you dont go all out in warmups? Because youre gonna lose someone important 10 times out of 10. And Im sure the Pens faithful feel the exact same way, play smart, not aggressive.

Heres the video incase you missed it.

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Pittsburgh Penguins Beat San Jose Sharks to Win Stanley Cup

San Jose Sharks vs Pittsburgh Penguins. 2016 NHL Playoffs. SCF. Game 2. 06.01.2016. (HD)

Associated Press

June 12, 2016 11:28 p.m. ET

A turnaround season for the Pittsburgh Penguins ended with Sidney Crosby once again holding the Stanley Cup.

Crosby set up Kris Letangs go-ahead goal midway through the second period and the Pittsburgh Penguins won the fourth Stanley Cup in franchise history by beating the San Jose Sharks 3-1 in Game 6 of the final Sunday night.

Brian Dumoulin opened the scoring with a power-play goal and Patric Hornqvist added a late empty-netter. Matt Murray made 18 saves to give the Penguins a championship seven years to the day after they beat Detroit for their third title.

The game ended when Crosby cleared the puck the length of the ice with San Jose on the power play, setting off a wild celebration.

Three nights after squandering a chance to become the first Pittsburgh team to win a title in front of the home fans in 56 years, the Penguins finished the job on the road just like they did in Minnesota (1991), Chicago (1992) and Detroit (2009) in past title runs.

The championship in Detroit was supposed to be the first of many for a team led by players like Crosby and . But a series of concussions that led Crosby to miss almost entire season and a half, and a run of early playoff exits that included twice blowing 3-1 series leads prevented a second celebration in the Crosby era until now.

This didnt seem like it would be a season to remember back in early December when the Penguins were the near the bottom of the standings in the Eastern Conference and coach Mike Johnston was fired.

But led by coach Mike Sullivan, the Penguins recovered to make the playoffs as the second-place team in the Metropolitan Division. Pittsburgh knocked off the New York Rangers in the first round, Presidents Trophy-winning Washington in round two and then rallied from a 3-2 series deficit to beat Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference final.

The Penguins then were in control for almost the entire Cup final. They didnt trail until Game 5 at home and responded to a strong push from San Jose in the clincher to avoid a decisive seventh game. Pittsburgh held San Jose to just one shot on goal in the first 19 minutes of the third period to preserve the one-goal lead and sealed the win with Hornqvists empty-netter.

Logan Couture scored the lone goal for the Sharks, whose first trip to the final in their 25-year history ended two wins short of a title. Martin Jones made 24 saves and was San Joses best player for the series.

While the season ended in disappointment, it also was a bit of a breakthrough for Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and the rest of a franchise that had been known for playoff collapses, most notably in 2014 when the Sharks blew a 3-0 series lead in the first round to Los Angeles.

There was an electric atmosphere before the final home game of the season in San Jose with fans starting their Lets Go Sharks! chants well before the opening puck drop and an elaborate pregame light and video show firing up the fans.

But the Penguins jumped ahead for the fifth time in six games this series after Dainius Zubrus was sent off for tripping when Crosbys line didnt allow San Jose to leave its own zone.

Dumoulin took advantage when his point shot beat Jones for a rare soft goal allowed by the Sharks netminder. Jones made up for it late in the period with one sequence that started with a save against Crosby on the rush and ended with a pad save that robbed Conor Sheary to keep it 1-0.

Chris Kunitz came up with the defensive play of the period when his speed on a backcheck helped thwart a breakaway chance for Joel Ward. The Sharks tied it early in the period when Couture beat Murray with a big shot for his 30th point of the postseason.

Pittsburgh answered 1:19 later when Crosby sent a pass from behind the net to Letang, who beat Jones from a sharp angle to the short side to make it 2-1.

Copyright 2016 Associated Press

Source: http://www.wsj.com/articles/pittsburgh-penguins-beat-san-jose-sharks-to-win-stanley-cup-1465788496

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Justin Schultz finds right fit, "fresh start" with Pittsburgh Penguins

San Jose Sharks vs Pittsburgh Penguins. 2016 NHL Playoffs. SCF. Game 1. 05.30.2016. (HD)

PITTSBURGH It was a few weeks after being traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins when Justin Schultz lost one of his front teeth.

The 25-year-old defenceman had been carrying the puck up the ice and just as he chipped it into the offensive zone an opposing players stick accidentally chipped loose a Chiclet. The resulting effect is that the gap-toothed Schultz, who also has the unkempt greasy black beard from an extended playoff run, looks more like a castaway these days than a hockey player.

In some ways, its a fitting look for a player who was cast out of Edmonton at the trade deadline but has since found refuge in Pittsburgh.

Its just basically a second chance for me. A fresh start, you know, Schultz said prior to Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final against the San Jose Sharks. Im not looking to the past anymore.

It is a past that is full of missed opportunities, miscast roles and unrealistic projections. After leaving college as one of the most highly sought-after free agents in the last 10 years the Penguins, ironically, were one of only four teams that didnt pursue him Schultz chose to sign with the Oilers where he joined a young core that included Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

In his first season, the former second-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks scored an impressive 27 points in 47 games and was named to the All-Rookie Team, showing what one-time Oilers GM Craig MacTavish later said was Norris Trophy potential. But four years later, Schultz had accrued a minus-78 rating and was labelled as a defensive liability.

With three goals and 10 points in 45 games this season, he wasnt even putting up points anymore.

Things just werent going well at the end, Schultz said of the Oilers. Then you get traded here and you think Oh man, maybe (winning a Cup) could happen. We got hot at the right time and now were here. You never know what can happen. I definitely didnt think this was possible for a couple more years.

Its not just Schultz who has found an unlikely home in Pittsburgh. From Phil Kessel getting run out of Toronto to Carl Hagelin, who has scored more goals and points in 20 playoff games than he did all year in Anaheim, the Penguins have been a halfway home for castaways and rejects.

I was in a very similar situation in St. Louis, said Schultzs defence partner, Ian Cole. It was tough to get some confidence there. They had an established D-corps and it was tough to get that opportunity. Anytime you get traded, you get a fresh start to prove yourself.

During Schultzs first practice with the Penguins, some of his teammates grabbed his clothes and hung them from the arenas rafters It was a good feeling, said Schultz. Made me feel like I belonged but its how hes been treated on the ice that has made an even bigger difference.

In Edmonton, Schultz had four coaches in four years. He averaged more than 21 minutes as a rookie and 23-plus minutes in his second season in the league. It was too much, too soon for a player who had obvious holes in his game.

What we tried to do since we got him was try to look at his strengths and try to put him in positions where he can play to his strengths were trying to use him situationally so he can play to those strengths, said Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan.

In Pittsburgh, Schultz has learned that less is more. He is seventh among defencemen with less than 14 minutes per game though he played almost 19 minutes in Game 1. But most of that time is spent in the offensive zone or on the power play. He rarely sees an opposing teams top two lines or is on the ice for a defensive zone face-off or penalty kill.

I havent been playing as much as I did in Edmonton, which I think has helped me, said Schultz, who has been leaned on more since Trevor Daley broke his ankle in the conference final. Just focus on being solid in the defensive end and Ill get my chances.

In Game 1 against the Sharks, Schultz made the most of his opportunity when he jumped into the rush and fired a shot that ricocheted off a Sharks defenceman and landed on the waiting stick of Bryan Rust. It was the kind of play that he had made in Edmonton, except that he also finished the game with a plus-1 rating.

You see that hes a special player, said Cole. He makes a nice D-to-D pass to me and I go up to the wing and then hes gone. And thats the way he should play.

Hes just playing good hockey, said defenceman Brian Dumoulin. Our style of play has fit him, where we just really want to move the puck. It allows him to jump into the rush and be offensive.

For Schultz, its finally coming together. He might not ever win a Norris Trophy or earn a salary of US$3.9-million again. But hes finally enjoying the kind of team success that he was supposed to have in Edmonton.

I love playing here, he said. Its a great group of guys. Its been fun.

Source: http://news.nationalpost.com/sports/nhl/justin-schultz-finds-right-fit-fresh-start-with-pittsburgh-penguins

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Pittsburgh Penguins F Nick Bonino celebrates playoff progress with baby photos

Pittsburgh Penguins: In The Room / Forging an Identity

In the social media age, many people mark their baby"s growth over the first year of life with monthly photos in decorative onesie. Some even pose babies next to the same stuffed animal each month to show how much the baby grew. But Pittsburgh Penguins forward Nick Bonino has a unique twist on that trend.

He is marking the Penguins" progress through the playoffs with photos of his newborn daughter, Maisie. The little girl was born on January 5, and by April, she was ready to assist her dad with playoff coverage. This was Maisie on April 2 when the Penguins clinched a playoff spot.

Three weeks later, the Penguins topped their first-round opponent, the New York Rangers, and Maisie celebrated by rocking a Penguins outfit.

By the time the Penguins beat the Washington Capitals in the second round of the postseason, Maisie celebrated her four-month birthday and was ready to attempt to befriend a Penguin, although she seemed skeptical of the animal at the time.

It took just two weeks for Maisie to realize penguins are alright after all. Meanwhile, her dad and his Pittsburgh teammates beat out the Tampa Bay Lightning to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Should the Penguins win the Cup, it seems like Maisie is destined to become one of the many babies through the years who has been propped up inside of the Cup for a parent-pleasing photo. But win or lose, these photos should make for a unique baby book.

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Source: http://www.foxsports.com/nhl/story/pittsburgh-penguins-stanley-cup-finals-nick-bonino-twitter-photos-052716

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Game 7: Tampa Bay Lightning @ Pittsburgh Penguins 5/26/2016

Pittsburgh Penguins ECF Game 7 Pump-Up Video - "The Final Second"
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Source: http://www.pensburgh.com/2016/5/26/11790512/game-7-tampa-bay-lightning-pittsburgh-penguins-5-26-2016

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Franchise history: The Sharks are off to the Stanley Cup Final

Pittsburgh Penguins: In The Room / Forging an Identity

The San Jose Sharks won a back-and-forth Game 5 to take back the lead in a back-and-forth Western Conference Final, moving one victory away from appearing in the Stanley Cup Final.

After scoring the tying goal late in the second period, Joe Pavelski notched his 12th of the playoffs to give San Jose the lead for good just 16 seconds into the third period.

The Sharks earned a 6-3 victory on the road, in a bounce-back effort from Saturday.

Twice, the Blues grabbed the lead. Troy Brouwer gave them the advantage in the first period, showing off his baseball skills by batting the puck into the net on a rebound. Robby Fabbri gave them another lead in the second period, making Roman Polak pay for snapping on Dmitrij Jaskin along the boards.

But the Blues couldnt hold on. The Sharks scored twice on three power play opportunities and can now clinch the Western Conference on home ice in Wednesdays Game 6.

As for the Blues, will Ken Hitchcock change up his starting goaltender again? Its certainly an aspect of this series that will once again be up for debate leading up to Wednesdays game.

After Brian Elliott had backstopped the Blues through the first two rounds and started the first three games of this series, Hitchcock decided to start Jake Allen in Game 4.

Allen recorded the win Saturday, and was called upon again in Game 5 as expected, but gave up four goals on 25 shots Monday.

Source: http://nhl.nbcsports.com/2016/05/23/feeding-frenzy-sharks-send-blues-to-the-brink-of-elimination-in-western-conference-final/

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Pittsburgh Penguins repeating tactic of pulling away from playoff opposition

Pittsburgh Penguins: In The Room / Forging an Identity

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Lightning are learning the painful lesson that playing the Pittsburgh Penguins is like being in a race in which the Penguins are running downhill on the smoothest of surfaces and the Lightning are running up a rocky hill in muddy boots.

This reality was brought home in stunning fashion Wednesday at Amalie Arena in Tampa, where the Lightning had been a tidy 5-1 this spring but were dominated by the Penguins by a 4-2 count that flattered the home side.

The win gives the Penguins a 2-1 series lead, and more sobering for the Lightning, it marks the second straight game in which they have been the second-best team on the ice by a wide margin.

The Lightning and Penguins got off to a rocket-fast start that barely let up.Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

In the past two games, the Lightning have allowed 89 shots against goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who was, for the second straight game, the best Lightning player on the ice in relief of the injured Ben Bishop.

That, head coach Jon Cooper said, is unacceptable.

"It"s extremely disappointing to give up 48 shots in your home building in a playoff game," Cooper said. "The way things have gone these two games, it doesn"t matter who"s in net. You know we could have had Bish and Vasi both playing at the same time, and they might have squeaked a couple in."

It"s not as if we haven"t seen this kind of thing before.

The New York Rangers and then the Washington Capitals found themselves running the same patently unfair race against the Penguins. In all three series, the Penguins split the first two games. In the first two rounds, they slowly but surely separated themselves from the Rangers and Capitals, en route to series victories of 4-1 and 4-2, respectively.

The Penguins have now separated themselves from the Lightning, and the question is whether last year"s Eastern Conference representative in the Stanley Cup finals can somehow reel Pittsburgh back in before it"s too late.

"You have to give them credit," said Lightning forward Tyler Johnson, who scored the first goal for Tampa just 14 seconds after Phil Kessel had given the Penguins a 2-0 lead early in the third period. "They played outstanding. They"re a really good team, and when they were going, have that confidence, it"s tough to stop in the offensive zone there."

Sidney Crosby scored the winner for the second game in a row.Mike Carlson/Getty Images

Johnson described the Lightning"s defensive effort as trying to put a round peg in a square hole. Defenseman Anton Stralman added that he thought his team made life too easy for the Penguins in the second part of the game, after a solid start in which the first period ended scoreless.

"Overall, it"s just a lack of quality right now," Stralman said. "They played better. It"s just as simple as that. A lot of it, I think, is self-inflicted, too. They"re a really good team, but we"re just kind of feeding them a lot right now. We need to clean up, and it"s not going to cut it."

Game 3 followed a pattern the Penguins have followed often this spring. Regardless of the score, they generally get stronger as the game goes along. They outshot the Lightning 21-6 in the second period and basically owned the puck.

The Penguins have now outshot opponents 163-121 in the second period this spring. Had the Lightning finished the period without giving up a goal, who knows how this plays out?

But they didn"t. Jonathan Drouin committed a rookie mistake by coughing up the puck in the Pittsburgh zone in the waning seconds. Victor Hedman could not contain Kessel as he blazed down the right side and fired off a shot. Carl Hagelin scored on the rebound to give the Pens a 1-0 lead with 10 seconds left in the second.

The Lightning chased the rest of the game, and that was that.

The series is only 2-1. But a longtime NHL player and current team executive said he had expected both teams to elevate their games in Game 3, and in the end, only one did.

"I"m not sure if the Lightning have an answer," the executive said.

They have a day to come up with one before Game 4 at 8 p.m. ET Friday in Tampa.

One of the keys, of course, is the Lightning need to find more guys who can put pucks past Penguins goalie Matt Murray. Johnson scored, and so did Ondrej Palat, but that was it.

• The Penguins kept attacking and eventually broke through and opened the floodgates, filling the net while taking Game 3 and the 2-1 series lead.

• The Lightning captain has endured more than his share of injuries, but Steven Stamkos remains upbeat -- and is still finding ways to help lead his team -- as he works to return to action.

• Lightning coach Jon Cooper says he is optimistic that goalie Ben Bishop will play again in the Eastern Conference finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

2 Related

Fifteen different Penguins have scored this spring. In Game 3, it was a dominant Kessel line that did the bulk of the damage. Last game, it was Sidney Crosby and Matt Cullen, and so on, and so on.

In the seconds before Kessel made it 2-0 early in the third, Brian Boyle and J.T. Brown had successive golden scoring chances for the Lightning but couldn"t get the puck to go at a crucial point. In a heartbeat, it was 2-0, and the series is slipping away.

"I think everyone"s frustrated because you definitely don"t want to be losing the series," Johnson said. "But we have so much confidence in the guys that are sitting next to us that we know we can bounce back."

Certainly one of the hallmarks of the Lightning is that they have been through a lot in the past three playoff years. None of this is new. This is not a team that gets flustered.

"I mean, the message would have been a lot different if this is a best-of-three," Cooper said, half-joking.

But the truth of the matter is that this spring, the Lightning have not played a team like the Penguins, and they are realizing what the Rangers and Capitals had to learn the hard way: Running uphill makes winning very, very difficult.

Source: http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/15600083/nhl-2016-stanley-cup-playoffs-pittsburgh-penguins-pulling-away-tampa-bay-lightning

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Sidney Crosby ends slump in OT as Pittsburgh Penguins even East finals

Pittsburgh Penguins HBK Line (WWE "Sexy Boy" Remix)

PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan shortened his bench late in the game to get star Sidney Crosby going, and he might have lengthened the Eastern Conference finals because of it.

Crosby ended an eight-game streak without a goal only 40 seconds into overtime, and the Penguins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 Monday night to even the conference finals at one win apiece.

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The Penguins rallied after giving up a two-goal lead.

Crosby has never gone nine consecutive playoff games without a goal -- and he still hasn"t, and the Penguins now go to Tampa for Game 3 on Wednesday with the best-of-seven series level. The goal was his first in overtime in 113 career playoff games -- and the fastest overtime goal in Penguins playoff history.

"We were pretty confident all game that (we) deserved to win the game and that if we kept doing what we were doing we would win the game -- and that"s what happened," Penguins rookie goalie Matt Murray said. "We played with desperation but never with panic, and that"s what I like about our team."

On the game-winning goal, defenseman Brian Dumoulin kept the puck in play along the boards and passed it low in the zone to Bryan Ryan, who heard Crosby calling for it. Rust fed him the puck, and Crosby"s shot sailed under the crossbar for his fourth of the playoffs.

"I didn"t think Rusty saw me, so I tried to let him know I was there," Crosby said. "He had a good chance to maybe shoot it too, but he made a perfect pass -- and to an area where I could get a quick shot away."

The Penguins, showing the desperation of a team in danger of going down 2-0 going into the other team"s building, outshot the Lightning 19-6 over the third period and overtime.

"I thought as the game wore on, we were better and better," Sullivan said.

Sullivan pressed to get the game-winner by playing Crosby and the slumping Evgeni Malkin (0 goals in 7 games) together or with different linemates than usual in an effort to get one or the other going.

"I moved a few people into Sid"s line or Geno"s line, to try to create a little bit of spark with those guys," he said.

Murray won the battle of 21-year-old backup goaltenders against Tampa Bay"s Andrei Vasilevskiy, making 19 saves and not allowing a goal after giving up two in a span of 2:33 in the first period while filling in again for the injured Ben Bishop.

"I was fighting it a bit ... but you"re going to have those nights and I was able to battle through it mentally," said Murray, who has yet to lose successive games in his career. "I thought I made a couple of big saves in the third."

Murray also made a big one by stopping Alex Killorn after he got in behind the Pittsburgh defense in the closing 10 seconds of the second period.

"It was a huge save," Sullivan said.

Vasilevskiy was exceptional in defeat, making 38 saves, but it wasn"t good enough on a night when his teammates couldn"t produce a goal in the final two periods or overtime.

"He was great," said Jonathan Drouin, who scored late in the first to tie it at 2. "But we had some costly turnovers in the neutral zone. And if you make turnovers at the blue line against that team, they"ll make you pay."

Teammate Brian Boyle said Vasilevskiy was "fantastic ... he gave us a chance."

The Penguins got off to exactly the start they wanted in what could be viewed as a must-win game, getting goals from Matt Cullen and Phil Kessel less than 10 minutes into the game.

However, with Vasilevskiy turning aside several more excellent scoring chances -- including Chris Kunitz on a rush off the opening faceoff -- the Lightning came back after killing off Alex Killorn"s holding penalty at 13:23.

"He (Vasilevskiy) was the reason the game went into overtime in the first place," coach Jon Cooper said.

Defenseman Anton Stralman, back in the lineup for the first time since breaking his left leg on March 25, got the comeback started by gathering a bouncing puck and lifting it under the crossbar at 16:37.

Stralman needed only a moment to get open when Crosby and Conor Sheary bumped into each other just as Crosby was skating toward Stralman, who scored his fifth goal in four games against Pittsburgh this season.

Drouin tied it 2:33 later, taking J.T. Brown"s pass at mid-ice, skating to the top of the left circle for a wrist shot and beating Murray inside the far post. Drouin, in the lineup because of Steven Stamkos" injury, has 11 points in 12 playoff games after getting 10 in 21 regular-season games.

Cullen, who is having an excellent postseason for Pittsburgh at age 39, scored his fourth of the playoffs at 4:32 of the first, off a rebound of an Eric Fehr shot.

Kessel scored his 19th goal in 35 playoff games -- and sixth of these playoffs -- about five minutes later after Carl Hagelin"s shot rebounded to Nick Bonino, whose pass deflected off Lightning defenseman Andrej Sustr"s skate directly to Kessel.

NOTES: Penguins RW Patric Hornqvist took a puck to the head during warmups, but remained in the lineup. ... Lightning RW Ryan Callahan was not suspended for his punishing hit on Penguins D Kris Letang in Game 1, but was held out with the flu. ... Lightning D Anton Stralman played for the first time since breaking his left leg March 25. ... G Andrei Vasilevskiy made his first start since April 9, even though Vezina Trophy finalist Ben Bishop (lower body injury) apparently was not seriously injured while playing a puck in the first period of Game 1 on Friday. ... Lightning captain Steven Stamkos (blood clot surgery on April 4) is skating again but was not cleared to play. ... Pittsburgh held out D Olli Maatta, who was a minus-1 in Game 1, and replaced him with Justin Schultz. ... The Lightning scratched RW Mike Blunden, D Nikita Nesterov, D Matt Taormina and D Luke Witkowski. The Penguins held out Maatta, G Jeff Zatkoff, D Derrick Pouliot, RW Beau Bennett and RW Oskar Sundqvist.

Source: http://www.upi.com/Sports_News/2016/05/17/Sidney-Crosby-ends-slump-in-OT-as-Pittsburgh-Penguins-even-East-finals/1711463461637/

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Pittsburgh Penguins: "The Past is the Past"

New York Rangers @ Pittsburgh Penguins. Round 1 Game 1

The Pittsburgh Penguins will return to Consol Energy Center today with a 3-1 series lead over the Rangers and a chance to earn some rest as they await the result of Washington and Philadelphia.

Sound familiar?

In 2014, the Penguins found themselves in this exact position. That series played out a bit differently, as the Rangers won game one beforePittsburgh beat them three consecutive times to form what seemed like an insurmountable lead. The Penguinslooked unstoppable, having outscored New York 9-2 and shutting them out twice in those three wins.

Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, the Rangers werent going away easily.

Mats Zuccarello and Derick Brassard put together three-point nights and the Rangers dominated the Penguins on their way to a 5-1 victory. Henrik Lundqvist weathered a second period storm and honestly, it seems as if that was the start of an era in which Pittsburgh had no answer for him. New York eventually forced a game seven and eliminated Pittsburgh. They havent been able to score on the Rangers since.

Of course, things have changed since Mike Sullivan entered the picture.

The Past is the Past Mike Sullivan

(Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)

Sullivan is very familiar with what happened in 2014. Hes also well-aware of what occurred last spring, when the Penguins were eliminated in just five games at the hands of the Rangers. When asked about that very situation he stated the following

The past is the past.Thats how we look at it. This is a new team, a new coaching staff, a new experience.

The Penguins are indeed a new team. In fact, only six players that take the ice today were on the roster for that dreaded game five in 2014. Aside from the lineup, the Penguins have completely replaced their coaching and management regime, as well as mostof their front office.

Now, they simply have to prove the changes made over the past two seasons, or more specifically, the past six months, were enough to take this team to the next level.

General Manager Jim Rutherford helped the Penguins build an identity based on speed. He added Trevor Daley, Carl Hagelin and Justin Schultz. Almost Simultaneously, Sullivan wrote-off the likes of Sergei Plotnikov and called up a number of players from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, where he coached prior to replacing Mike Johnston. Those players added even more speed and tenacity. Names like Conor Sheary, Bryan Rust and Tom Kuhnhackl have also provided an insurgence of youthful energy and a hunger for the game unlike anything Pittsburgh has seen in recent years.

What does it all add up to?

These Arent the 2014 Pittsburgh Penguins

(Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports)

The Penguins are no longer the top-heavy, shallow team weve seen in recent seasons. In 2014, their bottom-six consisted of names like Marcel Goc, Brian Gibbons, Craig Adams, and Joe Vitale. Ray Sheros Penguins coveted grit and character but ignored the importance of skill and an ability to contribute offensively.

Rutherfords Penguins looked similar at one point as well.

After watching the Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Finals last season, Rutherford learned and changed his approach. Those lessons have paid dividends.

Pittsburgh leads all postseason teams with 15 goals-for in four games, averaging 3.75 goals-per-game. They boast the top power play unit, which is clicking at 36.8-percent despite late season struggles that raised plenty of concern as the playoffs approached. And, theyre doing all of this against that pesky Lundqvist guy they cant ever seem to beat.

Impressive, right?

While the data proves just how dominant the Penguins have been, be it traditional stats or advanced stats, theres something special about this team that isnt really tangible. This group has faced situations that would normally cause them to meltdown, draw them into bad penalties and result in frustrating losses. That isnt the case anymore and from the looks of things, when Pittsburgh faces familiar foes that are used to getting under their skin, you can see that roles are reversed.

RELATED: Stubborn Penguins Wont Let Playoffs Dictate Play

Pittsburgh started this series on a bad note. Despite winning game one, they were outplayed by the Rangers and after losing game two in the fashion they did, one had to wonder if it would be more of the same. It wasnt.

Pittsburgh rallied and found their way in game three. So far, it looks as if they arent willing to regress and the Rangers, while still alive, cant find an answer. Todays game five matchup will be a true test for a Pittsburgh team looking to prove theyre ready to be a contender once again. And, all thats left is finally eliminating a team that has booted them from postseason play for two consecutive years.

Shouldnt be that difficult, eh?

Source: http://thehockeywriters.com/pittsburgh-penguins-the-past-is-the-past/

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Ex-nanny for Penguins' Chris Kunitz charged with stealing jewelry

PITTSBURGH -- The former nanny of Pittsburgh Penguins player Chris Kunitz has been charged with stealing diamond earrings worth about $12,000 from his home, then selling them to jewelry stores, police said.

The theft charges filed by police in Collier Township, where Kunitz lives with his wife and their children, grew out of an unrelated arson and insurance fraud investigation by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Chris Kunitz's former nanny has been charged with stealing diamond earrings from his home.Gregory Shamus/NHLI/Getty Images

In that case, Andrea Forsythe, 26, of Oakdale, is charged with setting fire to a home she rented in Sturgeon, and then filing fraudulent insurance claims for the contents -- including some jewels she had allegedly stolen from another couple while also working as a nanny, according to federal court documents.

The other couple told investigators that an 18-karat gold diamond necklace worth about $4,400 and a gold diamond stud earring worth more than $10,000 had been stolen from them before Forsythe had them appraised last year. The appraisals were then used by Forsythe to make property claims to Nationwide insurance after the fire, federal authorities contend.

On Tuesday, Collier Township police filed theft and receiving stolen property charges based on information recently received by ATF agents, according to a criminal complaint. WPXI-TV first reported the new theft charges on which Forsythe was arraigned Wednesday.

According to the police complaint, the ATF agent told police that Forsythe confessed to stealing earrings from Kunitz's wife, Maureen Kunitz. They were appraised at $11,900 when Kunitz bought them for his wife's birthday sometime before she noticed them missing in September 2003.

Forsythe confessed to the ATF agent and an Allegheny County police detective in December, the complaint said.

Forsythe acknowledged stealing the diamond earrings "while she was acting as nanny and the victim and her husband were not home," the complaint said. After taking the earrings from Maureen Kunitz's bedroom, Forsythe sold a loose diamond from one of the earrings to a jewelry store for $2,542 and the other earring to a precious metals and jewelry store for $1,408.50.

Forsythe faces a preliminary hearing May 11 on the new theft charges. She's still awaiting trial on the federal arson and wire fraud charges.

Forsythe doesn't have a listed home phone, and online court records don't list a defense attorney on the theft charges. Forsythe's public defender on the federal charges didn't respond to a request for comment Friday. Forsythe also didn't respond to messages left on a cellphone and email address listed as hers in a federal search warrant.

Source: http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/12754235/ex-nanny-chris-kunitz-pittsburgh-penguins-charged-stealing-jewelry

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