ROAD TO THE STANLEY CUP
Penguins zero in on second round after OT victory in Columbus while Canadiens seize series lead over Rangers in Big Apple.
COLUMBUS, OHIO— Through the first two games of their opening-round series with the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Penguins had to weather a few first-period storms caused by sluggish starts.
Whatever transpired here Sunday evening turned out to be more of a monsoon, but the Penguins sandbagged their way to a 5-4 overtime victory at Nationwide Arena, taking a commanding 3-0 lead in the series.
The Penguins have their first chance to finish the series in Game 4 on Tuesday in Columbus.
Jake Guentzel scored the winning goal at 13:10 of overtime off a feed from Sidney Crosby to complete his hat trick. So far in the post-season, Guentzel, 22, has been absolutely unfazed.
Starting slower than the Penguins would like has not necessarily been an issue confined to the post-season.
While they led the NHL in both second- and third-period goals this season, the 67 first-period goals the Penguins produced during the regular season ranked just 11th.
Several Penguins players spoke before Sunday’s game and agreed that a good start would be imperative. That didn’t happen. It turned out to be pretty much the opposite.
Before the game was barely six minutes old, Columbus had a 3-1lead on the margin of two goals by Cam Atkinson and a power-play tally from Zach Wrerenski. Werenski’s marker was Columbus’ first power-play goal of the series.
Columbus held a 14-11 edge in shots on goal in the first, bringing their total through three games in that category to 42-21.
The Penguins turned things around in the second period, managing the puck better and forcing the Blue Jackets to chase.
Bryan Rust enjoyed the reward for the Penguins’ efforts, scoring on a deflection from in tight at 5:21 to make it 3-2. That goal gave Rust six in his past 11 post-season games.
The tying goal brought with it plenty of controversy. Phil Kessel’s shot rode up Werenski’s stick and hit him in the face. He fell to the ice, as blood spilled onto the ice around him — there was eventually a trail to the Columbus bench.
Officials didn’t stop play, however, because the Penguins maintained possession of the puck — the right call, at least according to the rule book, although officials have used their discretion to blow a play dead in similar situations.
Such inaction, of course, did not sit well with Blue Jackets players or their fans.
Rust picked up his second of the game at 6:35 on a puck that trickled through Bobrovsky’s legs.
The Penguins continued to apply more pressure when Columbus was assessed a penalty for too many men on the ice. Kessel set up Malkin on Bobrovsky’s doorstep. Patric Hornqvist had another whack.
In a dominant second period, the Penguins wound up outshooting Columbus, 19-8.
Guentzel put the Penguins ahead, 4-3, at11:48 of the third period, on the power play, when he banked a puck in off Bobrovsky.
The lead was short-lived, however, as Brandon Dubinsky finished a long rebound of Jack Johnson’s shot to tie the score at 4 at 15:11 of the final period.