Murray stops 47 shots for Penguins
PITTSBURGH — Patric Hornqvist and Tom Kuhnhackl scored a minute apart in the first period, Matt Murray stopped 47 shots and the Pittsburgh Penguins took control of their Eastern Conference semifinal series with a 3- 2 win in Game 3 on Monday.
Carl Hagelin added his third goal of the playoffs for Pittsburgh, which took a 2- 1 lead in the best- of- seven series on another contentious night guaranteed to keep the NHL player safety office busy.
Two days after Washington’s Brooks Orpik earned a three- game suspension for an illegal hit on Pittsburgh’s Olli Maatta, Penguins defenseman Kris Letang took a shot at Capitals forward Marcus Johansson sure to be reviewed before Wednesday’s Game 4.
Alexander Ovechkin and Justin Williams scored in the third, but the Capitals f ind themselves in a deficit against a franchise they have beaten just once in eight previous playoff meetings.
The Penguins were hardly crisp but turned Washington mistakes into goals while Murray did the rest. The 21- year- old rookie outplayed Vezina Trophy finalist Braden Holtby to move Pittsburgh within two wins of a spot in the conference finals.
Playing with the urgency they lacked early in a 2- 1 loss in Game 2, the Capitals outshot Pittsburgh, 49- 23, and outhit the Penguins, 58- 25. It hardly mattered.
The NHL’s best team during the regular season has just one goal in the last six periods against Murray.
Wearing the same Pittsburgh gold uniforms that team owner Mario Lemieux wore during the club’s consecutive Stanley Cup runs in 1991 and 1992 — runs that included victories over Washington — it seemed like old times for the Penguins. The defense in front of Murray was steady even with Derrick Pouliot making his playoff debut while replacing Maatta, who is out indefinitely after taking a shot to the head from Orpik.