Crosby, Pens have Rangers on brink
Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins were stymied by Igor Shesterkin during the regular season. They have now chased the the New York Rangers’ Vezina Trophy finalist the last two games and are one win from advancing to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in four years.
They can do that Wednesday night in Game 5 at Madison Square Garden, where they earned a split of the first two games.
After scoring just four goals against Shesterkin in four regular-season games, the Penguins have torched him for 10 goals in three periods over the last two games. He left after giving up four goals in the first period of Game 3 and then again after allowing six in two periods of Game 4.
“He’s probably real frustrated. There’s probably four goals that were deflected (Monday night),” New York coach Gerard Gallant said before declaring he intends to stick with Shesterkin. “He’ll be back in there and he’ll be ready to win the next game Wednesday night. I’ve got all the confidence in the world in him . ... He’s the best goalie in the league.”
As surprising as Shesterkin’s struggles have been, so has the solid play of Penguins goalie Louis Domingue. Pittsburgh’s No. 3 goalie was thrust into the spotlight due to injuries to starter Tristan Jarry and backup Casey DeSmith, and has gone 3-1 with a 3.40 goals-against average and a .906 save-percentage.
The Penguins, making their 16th straight postseason appearnace, also have a
lot of confidence after their latest win moved them to the verge of advancing for the first time since reaching the second round in 2018 following back-to-back Stanley Cup championships.
“We got to stay hungry and just stay in the moment,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “We have a veteran leadership, we have a great group in there that has been through a lot of playoff experiences and they understand how hard it is. The elimination game is always the most difficult.”
CAPITALS AT PANTHERS » The Presidents’ Trophywinning Panthers rallied in the third period of Game 4 to even the series and regain home-ice advantage. They were a league-best 34-7-0 at home during the season.
A key stat to keep an eye on: of 277 previous times a best-of-seven series was tied after four games, the winner of Game 5 has advanced 219 times (79.1%).
The Capitals, the second wild card, know they squandered a chance to take a commanding series lead.