Pens earn another shot at Stanley Cup
Kunitz scores overtime winner against Senators to set up showdown with Predators
>> PITTSBURGH: Chris Kunitz scored 5:09 minutes into the second overtime to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 3-2 win over Ottawa to book their spot in the Stanley Cup finals against the Nashville Predators.
Kunitz took a short pass from superstar Sidney Crosby and onetimed a shot over the right shoulder of goalkeeper Craig Anderson as the defending NHL champions avoided being upset by the upstart Senators who are now 0-6 in franchise history in Game Sevens.
“I came off the bench and tried to find a soft area, got the puck and my shot went in,” Kunitz said.
It was the second goal of Thursday’s contest for three time Stanley Cup winner Kunitz. They also got a goal from defenceman Justin Schultz and 27 saves from back-up goaltender Matt Murray as the Penguins won the series four games to three.
In their return to the Stanley Cup finals, the Penguins on Monday will face a Predators team who eliminated the Anaheim Ducks in six games. Pittsburgh are trying to become the first team to repeat as Stanley Cup champions since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997-1998.
“It is a great opportunity,” said Crosby of heading back to the finals. “We don’t look at it as back to back. There are different guys on this team but this is what you work for all year. It doesn’t happen very often.”
Ryan Dzingel and Mark Stone scored for the Cinderella Senators, who made an incredible unexpected run through the NHL postseason by employing a smothering defensive game plan combined with the solid netminding of Anderson.
Anderson, of the US, was the first star in a 2-1 Game Six Senators victory that set the stage for Thursday’s winner-take all showdown in Pittsburgh. Anderson, who stopped 45 of 46 shots in Game Six, made 39 saves on Thursday.
The Penguins relied just as much on goaltender Murray since he took over from starter Marc-Andre Fleury halfway through the series.
The switch to Murray, who celebrated his 23rd birthday on Thursday, paid huge dividends, especially in Game Five when Murray backstopped the Penguins to a 7-0 blowout victory and then Thursday’s do-or-die series clincher.
“I just tried to hold the team in there as long as possible,” Murray said. “We deserve this one all the way through.”
Canadian forward Kunitz is going for his fourth Stanley Cup title as he already has two with Pittsburgh and one with Anaheim. He also won a gold medal, along with Crosby, at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
“He is a big game player,” said Crosby of longtime linemate Kunitz. “He does a lot of good things that people don’t always notice. But everyone will notice those two goals.”