Penguins’ victory seals playoff berth
through the first period.
Not only did the hit not sit well with the club — how could it? — it meant that the Penguins' dynamic top line was now missing its left winger.
Together with Conor Sheary, Sid and the Kids had amassed 10 goals and 26 points in six games before Tuesday, displaying, a perfect blend of smarts and skill.
“It hurts,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said of losing Guentzel. “He’s a good player. He’s been part of that line, which has been very good for us as of late. Hopefully, it won’t be too long. All of them [meaning concussions] are different. At least at this point, we’re hopeful it won’t be an extended period of time. We’ll have to wait and see.”
Many who watched Crosby's goal are likely still trying to figure out how the Penguins captain — who lost a couple teeth late in the game thanks to Evander Kane's stick and had to get treatment instead of talking to the media afterward — did what he did.
Including some of his teammates.
On a power play late in the first period, Crosby split two sets of Sabres defenders. Yes, two. Then, the real magic happened.
With one hand on his stick, Crosby roofed a backhander past Robin Lehner, a play only even remotely possible when you have a straight blade, some serious forearms and a lot of guts and creativity.
“I don’t remember,” Bonino said when asked about Crosby's goal, drawing laughs. “Was it nice?”
“It’s the play that everyone screws around doing in practice,” Bonino said. “He does it in games.”
“It’s almost like he knows what the goalie wants to be thinking and does something different,” Chris Kunitz mused.
“Not many guys in the league can do that,” Sheary said.
Sullivan’s take: “It was a goal-scorer’s goal by an elite player.”
For Crosby, his goal continued his punching-bag treatment of Buffalo. In his past 26 games against the Sabres, Crosby has points in 24 of them, with 12 goals and 30 assists.
Crosby now has 41 goals on the season. With 10 games to go, the juicy question becomes: Can he get to 50?
Crosby's current pace puts him at 47, but when he's going like this, it’s smart to factor in a monster night or two.
The Penguins just need Guentzel back and, of course, healthy.
As far as putting this one away, Bonino took care of that with the game-winner — left circle, through a few legs and sticks — at 14:31 of the third, his sixth goal in the past eight games.
Good chance it would have only been the tying goal, however, if not for a superb effort on the penalty kill for the Penguins.
After Chad Ruhwedel was called for hooking at 9:44, the Penguins afforded the Sabres — the top power play in the NHL at 24.0 percent — a golden opportunity.
But some aggressive pressure limited Buffalo’s chances and held them to zero shots on goal. Mission accomplished. Coupled with a four-for-four effort Sunday against Florida, more evidence this unit has found itself.
“Their power play is one of the best in the league,” Sullivan said. “It wins games for them. At that particular time in the game, it was an important kill for us. I thought the guys did a terrific job.”
Sullivan said the team has not discussed whether or not Evgeni Malkin will join the team Thursday in Ottawa. It’s unlikely Guentzel will be ready by then, meaning they could be down a pair of legitimate top-six talents.
Crosby’s goal-scoring will be needed now more than ever. You know he has no problem shouldering that load.
“He gets so many big goals for us,” Sullivan said of Crosby. “He’s the type of guy that, when the stakes are high, he’s at his best. Obviously we’ve needed him a lot right now with the situation our team is in with some of the injuries that we have. He’s making those types of plays game in and game out that are helping us stay competitive.”