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Pittsburgh Penguins: Crosby’s OT Winner Ties Series at 1

By Kayleigh Jackson

Jan 2, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrate a power play goal by Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) against the New York Islanders during the second period at the CONSOL Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 2, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrate a power play goal by Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) against the New York Islanders during the second period at the CONSOL Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Pittsburgh Penguins stole game two in an overtime win, thanks to a quick goal from Sidney Crosby. The series is now tied at one game apiece as it moves to Tampa.

Sidney Crosby has been struggling to score in this postseason, but he got a goal when it really mattered tonight. His overtime winner tied the Eastern Conference Final at one win apiece, wrapping up what had really been quite a strong game for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

First things first, though: tonight’s lineups were a little different on each side, giving this game a different look from the first. Like, I don’t want to say that it’s karma that Ryan Callahan was out of the lineup with the flu tonight… except it’s definitely karma.

Just as the Tampa Bay Lightning came out strong in game one, the Pens took advantage of the first thirty seconds this time. Chris Kunitz had a great chance on Andrei Vasilevskiy just ten seconds into the game, showing that the Penguins meant business.

Kunitz has had some good looks throughout the playoffs so far but has rarely managed to convert on any of them. Given how little Sidney Crosby has scored up to this point, it might be worth pairing those two back up down the road to see if it can spark either one’s game.

One tried and true combination of players cashed in early, though! Matt Cullen picked up an Eric Fehr rebound right on Vasilevskiy’s doorstep and roofed it. That’s the 39-year-old Cullen’s fourth goal of the playoffs, a continuation from his surprisingly strong regular season.

Ben Lovejoy blocked what would have been a sure goal from Jonathan Drouin‘s stick, and just moments later the Penguins widened the gap as Phil Kessel put another behind Vasilevskiy. Then, Crosby drew a penalty and Alex Killorn went off to the box for holding. Everything was coming up Pens.

That is, until they couldn’t convert on the advantage and Anton Stralman scored one in his first game back from a lengthy injury. Stralman put the puck top shelf over Matt Murray and put the visiting team back within one.

Not-so-fun fact: Stralman scored ten goals this season, five of which came against the Penguins. The Penguins have never been able to solve him, so his return is a little worrisome.

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The Penguins got another powerplay as Drouin went to the box, but looked a little slow again. Right after Drouin escaped the sin bin, he took the puck up the ice with his linemates and put it past Murray, evening things up as the first period wound down. The 2-0 lead was no more, and – though I never thought I’d say this – it was mostly because of Murray.

The good news: the Penguins out-shot, out-hit, and out-face off’d the Bolts throughout the first twenty minutes.

I’m going to take a quick break just to talk about how much I love Matt Cullen. On top of his goal tonight, he threw his body around and made a huge hit on Drouin, which I would also like to do given the opportunity. He also got kicked out of a faceoff and just came back around and took it anyway. What a guy.

Murray, of all people, took the first penalty of the second period, tripping a Tampa player during a chaotic sequence around the Pittsburgh net. Kessel, whose line was out on the ice and helped bail out the goalie, served the penalty for him.

The penalty was killed, and coach Mike Sullivan gave the forward lines a bit of a different look. Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the two-headed monster, were paired up in hopes of sparking the offense. Sid nearly had a goal thanks to a great pass from Geno, but Vasilevskiy made an unreal save on the shot.

The second period was comparatively lackluster. No one scored and no one got hurt – both anomalies for this series so far.

The bench shortened even more as the third period went on. Kessel and Carl Hagelin were double-shifting along with Crosby and Malkin, while Conor Sheary and Patric Hornqvist saw barely any ice time at all. All sorts of line combinations appeared as the Penguins desperately tried to avoid overtime.

Though they didn’t succeed, it sure wasn’t for lack of trying. The Penguins outplayed the Bolts in nearly all of the third period but couldn’t solve Vasilevskiy.

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It would only take a few moments of overtime to determine a winner, though. Who else but Captain Clutch could win it for the Pens? Crosby scored his first ever playoff overtime goal, tying the series and ending things early. Bryan Rust passed to Sid in the slot, who put it home.

The Pens have been phenomenal in overtime since breaking their unfortunate streak earlier against the Capitals. Thanks to Crosby’s OT winner, the Penguins head to Tampa with the series tied.

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