Crosby sits, but Penguins roll to victory
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins found a way to win without injured star Sidney Crosby.
Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 36 shots, and rookie Jake Guentzel took advantage of a fortunate bounce to earn his league-leading eighth goal of the playoffs, helping the defending Stanley Cup champions hold off the Washington Capitals 3-2 on Wednesday night in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Justin Schultz scored in a second-straight game, and Patric Hornqvist picked up his third of the postseason.
Pittsburgh took a 3-1 lead in the series despite playing without Crosby, who is out indefinitely because of a concussion suffered in Game 3. The Penguins can eliminate the Capitals in Game 5 on Saturday in Washington.
Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nate Schmidt scored for the Capitals. Braden Holtby finished with 15 saves, but Washington failed to even the series despite controlling play for long stretches.
Matt Niskanen’s shot to Crosby’s jaw early in Game 3 left Crosby concussed and his immediate future uncertain. It also caused his team to figure out a way to win without one of the game’s most brilliant catalysts while simultaneously trying to rein in their anger over what they considered a dirty hit.
Fleury stressed that the Penguins didn’t need to focus on retribution, although Washington prepared for it.
Capitals center Jay Beagle believed things could get “nasty” as the series moved forward.
Pittsburgh’s Phil Kessel countered that Beagle’s assertion that Niskanen’s shot was “clean” made Beagle “an idiot.” Beagle suggested the two work out their differences over video games.
It didn’t happen. At least not Wednesday.
Save for a scrap in the second period that amounted to little more than an extended wrestling match between Chris Kunitz and Tom Wilson — who made a run at Kunitz but missed — things stayed relatively tame. It played out similar to Pittsburgh’s victories in Washington to open the series. The Capitals would get extended pressure on Fleury, only to be stopped, and the Penguins expertly counterattacked.
An emotional and energetic start and a dash of luck allowed Pittsburgh to build a 2-0 lead. Hornqvist took a feed from Olli Maatta and beat a pair of Washington defenders to break in on Holtby. A flick of Hornqvist’s wrists and the puck sailed over Holtby’s glove and under the crossbar 4:39 into the first period to put the home team ahead for the first time in the series.
The Penguins’ advantage doubled 3:51 into the second when a centering pass by Guentzel smacked off the skate of Washington defenseman Dmitry Orlov and by a surprised Holtby.
Washington tied the score in a 72-second span later in the second. Justin Williams escaped a pair of Penguins on the boards and fed Kuznetsov at the top of the circle for a wrist shot that zipped by Fleury. Just over a minute later, a shot by T.J. Oshie caromed off the end boards and straight to Schmidt, who beat Fleury for the first playoff goal of his career.