Double-OT win sends Penguins back to Stanley Cup Final
Kunitz scores in second overtime to lift defending champs
Chris Kunitz spent a portion of the spring nursing a lower-body injury and wondering if his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins was over. The veteran forward’s contract is up this summer, and he’s been around long enough to know how these things go, particularly when you’re 37.
“It’s not fun thinking about the future,” Kunitz said.
He found a pretty compelling way to put it off for at least four more games and push his team to the brink of history in the process.
Kunitz’s knuckling shot from outside the circle fluttered past Craig Anderson 5:09 into the second over- time to give the defending Stanley Cup champions a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final Thursday night in Pittsburgh.
Thrust alongside old linemate Sidney Crosby as the game wore on, the two reconnected for a goal that moved the Penguins closer to becoming the first team since the 1998 Detroit Red Wings to win back-to-back titles. Crosby sent a soft backhand pass from the right faceoff circle to Kunitz and for a moment.
“With the way he was holding the stick you could tell he wanted it bad,” Crosby said. “I just tried to lay it there for him. It was a great reward for him for the way he played all night.”
Kunitz scored twice, his first two of the playoffs. Justin Schultz added the other in his return from an upperbody injury, and Matt Murray stopped 27 shots on his 23rd birthday. The Penguins will host Western Conference champion Nashville in Game 1 on Monday night. Not bad for a team that watched so many of its core players — from defenseman Kris Letang to Evgeni Malkin to Crosby — deal with serious bumps along the way.
Mark Stone and Ryan Dzingel scored for Ottawa. The Senators rallied twice to tie it, with Dzingel making it 2-2 with 5:19 left in regulation. Anderson made 39 saves but couldn’t get a handle on Kunitz’s shot as the Senators fell to 0-6 in Game 7s in franchise history.
Sharks: Hall of Fame defenseman Larry Robinson will leave the organization when his contract with the team expires on July 1. According to the Montreal Gazette, Robinson has received permission from general manager Doug Wilson to speak with other teams as he’s hoping to find work with an organization that’s closer to his home in Florida. Robinson, 65, joined the Sharks as an associate coach under former-head coach Todd McLellan prior to the 2012-13 season, a role he performed for two years before serving as director of player development over the last three seasons.