Pens rally stuns Capitals
Patric Hornqvist, Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel scored in a 4:49 span of the third period to key the Pittsburgh Penguins rally to beat the Capitals, 3-2, last night in Washington in Game 1 of the secondround series.
Down 2-0 early in the third period and playing without Evgeni Malkin and Carl Hagelin, Pittsburgh turned it around with all three of its topline forwards chipping in a goal. Crosby scored the tying goal when the puck bounced to him off Alex Ovechkin’s stick, and assisted on Guentzel’s goahead goal.
Matt Murray stopped 32 of the 34 shots he faced to put the back-to-back defending Stanley Cup champions ahead in yet another series with Game 2 on Sunday in Washington. The Penguins have won nine in a row under coach Mike Sullivan dating to 2016, including the past two meetings against Washington.
Evgeny Kuznetsov scored 17 seconds in and Ovechkin beat Murray 28 seconds into the third period for the Capitals, who lost a game started by Braden Holtby for the first time in these playoffs. Holtby was one of the best players on the ice in the first two periods before he and his teammates blew another two-goal lead.
Holtby allowed three goals on 25 shots, including at least one he’d like to have back during the Penguins’ comeback. It was his worst game since replacing Philipp Grubauer in net during the first round against Columbus.
It also was another stellar showing by Murray, who made his best save with 2:30 left when he got his stick on a shot by Brett Connolly. Murray earlier kept the puck out against a net-crashing Devante Smith-Pelly and made a save on a point-blank chance by Michal Kempny.
Murray took a shot off the mask from Ovechkin in the third but made save after save down the stretch with the Capitals pressing.
As for Malkin, he skated with his teammates for the first time since suffering an apparent leg injury last week. Malkin was in a white no-contact jersey for an optional morning skate, an indication he could be ready to play as soon as Game 2 on Sunday.
The 31-year-old Russian center was injured in Game 5 of the first round against Philadelphia on April 20. He missed Game 6 and hadn’t practiced since.
Elsewhere in the NHL — The NHL is adding an element of drama to its annual draft lottery tomorrow.
Rather than revealing the entire order of the first 15 selections as the league has previously done, everyone will have to wait a few hours to find out which teams landed the top three picks. Selections 15 through 4 will be revealed before the start of the Vegas-San Jose playoff game. The remaining three selections will be announced during the second intermission.
At 18.5 percent, the Buffalo Sabres have the best odds to win the No. 1 pick after finishing last in the standings for the third time in five years . ...
Los Angeles Kings forwards Dustin Brown and Trevor Lewis have undergone offseason surgery. Brown had surgery on his left shoulder, and Lewis had surgery on his right hand. Both two-time Stanley Cup winners are expected to recover well before the start of training camp.
Brown scored a careerhigh 61 points in his 14th season with the Kings. Lewis also hit his career high last season with 26 points in his eighth full campaign for Los Angeles.
The Kings were swept by Vegas in the first round.