Penguins win without Crosby
Pittsburgh takes 3-1 lead as concussed captain sits out.
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins found a way to survive without injured star Sidney Crosby.
M a r c - A n d r e F l e u r y stopped 36 shots and rookie Jake Guentzel took advantage of a fortunate bounce to earn his league-leading eighth goal of the playoffs and the defending Stanley Cup champions held 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 as Pittsburgh took a 3-1 lead in the series.
The Penguins played without Crosby, who is out indefinitely with a concussion suffered early in Game 3.
Pittsburgh has a chance to eliminate the Capitals in Game 5 on Saturday night 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 j aw l e f t Crosby concussed and his immediate future uncertain. It also forced his team to figure out a way to survive without one of the game’s most brilliant catalysts while trying to reign in their anger at what they considered a dirty hit.
Fleury stressed the Penguins didn’t need to focus on retribution, though Washington prepared for it.
Capitals center Jay Beagle believed things could get “nasty” as the series moved forward.
Pittsburgh’s Phil Kessel c o u n t e r e d t h a t B e a g l e ’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 on Wednesday.
Save for a scrap in the second period that amounted to little more than an extended wrestling match bet ween Chris Kunitz and Tom Wilson — who made a run at Kunitz but missed — things st ayed relatively t ame. 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 while 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 two 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 it within a 72-second span later in the second period.