Penguins within one win of back-to-back Cups
Only 91 seconds had elapsed in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final and already Sidney Crosby had accomplished so much.
The Penguins captain slashed through the Nashville defence on his first shift, drew a penalty and then set up Justin Schultz for the first goal in a 6-0 on Thursday night thumping. Crosby finished the evening with three assists, pushing Pittsburgh to within one win of back-to-back Stanley Cups.
“There’s a lot of competitive guys, but I don’t think there are a lot of guys who can raise their level to where he gets to,” 40-year-old Matt Cullen said of Crosby after the Penguins win, which gave them a 3-2 series lead. “When he senses the opportunity, it’s unlike anything I’ve seen, the way he steps up and raises his level.”
Crosby, who won his second Rocket Richard Trophy with 44 goals during the regular season, looks more and more like the favourite to capture the Conn Smythe Trophy for a second straight spring along with, potentially, a third Stanley Cup and second in as many years.
His level in the final has just kept on rising.
He popped for two assists in a series-opening win, set up the lone goal in Game 3 and scored the only goal himself in Game 4. Then came his finest work so far in Game 5, brilliance which was apparent on that opening shift.
Crosby grabbed a pass with speed and then slashed through the gap between Ryan Ellis and Roman Josi before firing a shot off the left post. The 29-year-old said afterward that he was trying to quickly assess what Ellis and Josi might do – close the gap or hang back – and then simply take it all the way to the net.
Ellis was called for holding on the play and with the ensuing power play, Crosby set up Schultz for a blast that snuck through the pads of Pekka Rinne, who got the hook after only 20 minutes.
“He certainly had it going,” Ron Hainsey, one of six Penguin goal-scorers, said of Crosby. “There’s not too many guys who can do that coming right out of the shoot and I think everybody fed off that a bit as far as alright, we’re going to be aggressive and try to go get it.”
The Penguins scored twice more after that in the first frame – Evgeni Malkin notably breaking through after two point-less games – and then Crosby kept it going moments into the second with another crafty set-up.
Snatching a loose puck in the Preds zone, Crosby kicked the puck from right skate to stick and as he crossed the goal-line, somehow delivered a backhand pass to Conor Sheary, in front.
He added his third assist on the first goal of the series from Phil Kessel, who had three points in the win.
An eventful night, which saw Matt Murray earn his third career playoff shutout, also included a water bottle mistakenly pitched on the ice by Crosby and some wrestling behind the goal with P.K. Subban.