Kunitz pushes Penguins closer to history
PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania — Chris Kunitz spent a portion of the spring nursing a lower-body injury and wondering if his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins was over. The veteran forward’s contract is up this summer and he’s been around long enough to know how these things go, particularly when you’re 37.
“It’s not fun thinking about the future,” Kunitz said.
He found a pretty compelling way to put it off for at least four more games and push his team to the brink of history in the process.
Kunitz’s knuckling shot from outside the circle fluttered past Craig Anderson 5:09 into the second overtime period to give the defending Stanley Cup champions a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final on Thursday night.
Thrust alongside old linemate Sidney Crosby as the game wore on, the two reconnected for a goal that moved the Penguins closer to becoming the first team since the 1998 Detroit Red Wings to win back-to-back titles. Crosby sentasoftbackhandpassfrom the right faceoff circle to Kunitz and, for a moment, it seemed like old times.
“With the way he was holding the stick you could tell he wanted it bad,” Crosby said. “I justtriedtolayitthereforhim. I’ve seen him score from there pretty often. It was a huge goal for us, and a great reward for him for the way he played all night.”
Kunitz scored twice, his first two of the playoffs. Justin Schultz added the other in his return from an upper-body injury, and Matt Murray stopped 27 shots on his 23rd birthday. The Penguins will host Western Conference champion Nashville in Game 1 on Monday night.
Not bad for a team that watched so many of its core players — from defenseman Kris Letang to Evgeni Malkin to Crosby — deal with some serious bumps along the way. And yet here they are on the doorstep to a title once again.
“If you look at the amount of guys who have played on this roster throughout the course of the year, it’s a lot of guys,” Crosby said.“Thebiggeststepisahead.”
Mark Stone and Ryan Dzingel scored for Ottawa. The Senators rallied twice to tie it, with Dzingel making it 2-2 with 5:19 left in regulation. Craig Anderson made 39 saves, but couldn’t get a handle on Kunitz’s shot as the Senators fell to 0-6 in Game 7s in franchise history.
Just don’t call them cursed. A year ago, Ottawa didn’t even make the playoffs yet found a way to push the Penguins to the 85th minute of Game 7 of the conference finals.