On Wednesday night, the Pittsburgh Penguins took back home-ice advantage with a dominating 4-2 win on the road against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 3. The game featured two more goals from the red-hot “HBK Line” in Phil Kessel and Carl Hagelin, and another goal from Sidney Crosby. As the dust settled, the Penguins now command their first series lead up two games to one and now look to do some more damage to the Lightning that could potentially devastating. Pittsburgh Penguins The ... Read More
Penguins take 2-1 series lead vs. Lightning behind Crosby, third line
It looks like Sidney Crosby is back. After struggling early in the playoffs, Crosby netted his second goal in as many games and helped lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 4-2 win Wednesday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning. With the win, the Penguins took a 2-1 series lead in the Eastern Conference Finals. The first period was pretty even (the Penguins had 10 shots on goal to the Lightning's 12), but nothing went in, keeping the game locked in a defensive battle. The second period was ... Read More
Game 3 Preview: Penguins’ offense needs to keep momentum
In Monday night's game, the Pittsburgh Penguins got a crucial overtime goal from captain Sidney Crosby to tie the things up against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Now, the series has moved to Tampa Bay for Wednesday night's Game 3, and the Penguins are hoping Crosby & Co. can keep the offense moving to take the series lead. Pittsburgh Penguins The Penguins' offense was firing on all cylinders Monday. If the offense continues to play as well as ... Read More
Crosby’s overtime goal hands Pens Game 2 win
Monday night, the Pittsburgh Penguins faced off against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Penguins were able to tie the series 1-1 after a 3-2 overtime win. The first period started out hopeful for the Penguins after Matt Cullen and Phil Kessel scored the first two goals of the game, allowing the Penguins to lead 2-0. Later in the first period, however, the Lightning came back to tie the game, after Anton Stralman and Jonathon Drouin scored two goals, ... Read More
Penguins hope Lightning doesn’t strike twice
Pittsburgh Penguins In tonight's crucial game, goaltender Matt Murray will once again start over Marc-Andre Fleury, a choice that helped the Penguins win the last round against the Washington Capitals. In the most recent game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, however, Murray didn’t play his best, which showed in Pittsburgh’s 3-1 loss. Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby haven’t been on their scoring game this postseason, and the Penguins had many unnecessary turnovers and didn’t create many ... Read More
Penguins fall to Lightning in Game 1 of Eastern Conference Finals
In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Tampa Bay Lightning wrecked havoc on the Pittsburgh Penguins on both sides of the ice, scoring three and preventing Pittsburgh from getting good opportunities. Patric Hornqvist removed the goose-egg from the scoresheet, but it wasn't enough, and the Penguins lost the series opener, 3-1. Perhaps the biggest headline was the early exit of Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop, who was injured after 12:25 in the first period. Backup Andrei Vasilevskiy ... Read More
Game 1 Preview: Lightning face tough challenges against Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins (8-3) The Penguins were supported in their last series by a number of player who were not named Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin. While some saw this as a cause for concern, it is easy to forget how well the Capitals defense played. Tampa Bay may have the speed to match Pittsburgh, but its defense going against Crosby, Malkin, Carl Hagelin, Kris Letang, Nick Bonino and so on will struggle in Game 1. The back-end of Tampa Bay's team is agile, but are not as skillful as ... Read More
Can Penguins continue winning ways in Eastern Conference finals vs. Lightning?
The Pittsburgh Penguins have come a very long way in the past five months. In December, the season looked bleak, and the team looked like it would miss out on the playoffs. Now, after beating the President's Trophy winner, the Washington Capitals (the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference), in six games, the Penguins are looking dangerous. And they're looking to carry their stellar second-half play into the Eastern Conference finals where they'll face the Tampa Bay Lightning. In the series ... Read More
Bonino’s overtime goal sends Penguins to Eastern Conference Finals
In only their second-ever meeting in the postseason, the Pittsburgh Penguins eliminated their bitter rivals, the Washington Capitals, 4-3 in an overtime thriller. Nick Bonino scored the winning goal for the Penguins, ending the Capitals’ season. Washington battled back from a three-goal deficit with goals from T.J. Oshie, Justin Williams and John Carlson to send the game into overtime. But the Capitals were no match for the Penguins. Netminder Matt Murray continued to be the backbone of ... Read More
Matt Murray the right choice in net for Penguins in Game Six
Has the torch been passed? On Monday, Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan announced goaltender Matt Murray would start in Game 6, keeping Marc-Andre Fleury on the bench. This is the the right move by the Penguins’ management; Murray is the reason Pittsburgh has stayed so competitive against the NHL's best team. The mere fact that Murray was able to stop two breakaway chances by Alex Ovechkin is enough to give Murray the nod for the rest of the series. This isn’t to say Fleury ... Read More