Caps fall into 2-0 hole with 6-2 loss
Phil Kessel scored twice, Sidney Crosby set up more goals and the Pittsburgh Penguins chased Braden Holtby on the way to a 6-2 victory over the Washington Capitals in Game 2 Saturday night that gave them a commanding 2-0 lead in their second-round series.
Marc-Andre Fleury was brilliant again in stopping 34 of the 36 shots he faced for Pittsburgh, which also got goals by Matt Cullen, Jake Guentzel and Evgeni Malkin. The Penguins scored three goals on 14 shots on Holtby, who was pulled in favor of Philipp Grubauer after the second period.
Grubauer didn't fare much better, allowing two goals on nine shots. Matt Niskanen and Nicklas Backstrom scored for the Capitals, who outshot the Penguins 36-23 but still face an uphill task of trying to become just the 19th team to win a series after losing the first two games at home.
Guentzel added an empty-net goal to seal it for the Penguins, his playoff-best seventh.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau got his fourth goal of the game in the second overtime after scoring twice late in regulation, lifting the Senators over the Rangers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals in Ottawa.
The Senators lead the series 2-0 despite trailing by two goals after Brady Skjei’s score with 14 minutes, 50 seconds remaining in the third. Pageau cut the deficit to 5-4 with 3:19 remaining in the period, then tied it with 1:02 remaining.
Pageau scored again 2:54 into the second OT, snapping in a shot during a two-on-one rush with Tommy Wingels.
Pageau is the first player in team history to score four goals in a playoff game.
Marc Methot and Mark Stone also scored for the Senators, and Craig Anderson made 43 saves.
Skjei had two goals for the Rangers and Michael Grabner, Chris Kreider and Derek Stepan also scored. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 28 shots.
The series heads to New York for Game 3 on Tuesday night.
Winning the Stanley Cup requires 16 victories each postseason, and the Predators started better than any team in these playoffs by winning their first five.
Now they’ll have the chance to rebound at home after losing to the Blues in Game 2 in St. Louis.
The Predators went 24-9-8 at home during the regular season at Bridgestone Arena where they have sold out every game, including both home games this postseason when they finished off a sweep of the Blackhawks in the first round. They also have won six straight playoff games going back to the first round last spring.
“We just need to respond well here,” Predators captain Mike Fisher said. “We’re at home, which is a good thing, and we’re looking forward to that game.” WESTERN CONFERENCE Edmonton 2, Anaheim 0 April 26: Edmonton 5-3 Friday: Edmonton 2-1 Sunday: at Edmonton, 7 Wednesday: at Edmonton, 10 x-May 5: at Anaheim, TBD x-May 7: at Edmonton, TBD x-May 10: at Anaheim, TBD Nashville 1, St. Louis 1 April 26: Nashville 4-3 Friday: ST. LOUIS 3-2 Sunday: at Nashville, 3 Tuesday: at Nashville, 9:30 May 5: at St. Louis, TBD x-May 7: at Nashville, TBD x-May 9: at St. Louis, TBD (Best-of-7; x-if necessary)