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Pittsburgh Penguins: Time to Bounce Back From Defeat

By Matthew Rodrigopulle

May 6, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (29) makes a save against Washington Capitals left wing Andre Burakovsky (65) during the third period in game five of the second round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
May 6, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (29) makes a save against Washington Capitals left wing Andre Burakovsky (65) during the third period in game five of the second round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Pittsburgh Penguins suffered a 4-2 loss in Saturday night’s game five against the Washington Capitals.

The Pittsburgh Penguins went into the game looking to close out the series. Both Sidney Crosby and Conor Sheary were back in the lineup from concussions, and everything seemed to be in Pittsburgh’s favour.

Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins /

Pittsburgh Penguins

Alas, Washington was able to get their offence going and get the victory to stay alive. Nevertheless, the Penguins should not be in despair after this loss. We still have another chance to close out on Monday, and we should be more adapted to winning with a full lineup readily available.

Healthy Again

The Penguins have been an injured team for most of the second half of the season. We somehow managed to finish second in the entire league without many key players like Carl Hagelin, Patric Hornqvist, and Kris Letang.

Heading into the playoffs, things were looking better for the Penguins as Hornqvist was back in the lineup and Hagelin was on the brink of return. It looked as if we would have a healthy roster for the playoffs…until it all started again.

Before game one of round one, Matt Murray suffered a sudden injury and as a result, Marc-Andre Fleury had to come in cold and start every playoff game. To make matters worse, in game three of this second round series against Washington, both Sidney Crosby and Conor Sheary suffered hits to their heads which resulted in concussions. It seemed like the injury bug just kept biting us.

But now, with the exceptions of Matt Murray and Kris Letang, the Penguins finally have their main roster back in tact. Carl Hagelin returned a few games ago and both Crosby and Sheary returned on Saturday. Crosby and Sheary may have been fresh out of injury, so expect them to try and make a bigger impact in game six tomorrow.

Two More Chances

OK. We may have two more chances to close out the series, but I’m sure none of us want this to go to a game 7.

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The Penguins have it all right now. Solid goaltending, good defence, and spectacular offence. As of right now, we have been able to match up against Washington greatly. They may have been favourites in the regular season, but we are the clear favourites in the postseason.

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Having two more chances to close out give us a bit more security, but we shouldn’t take it for granted. Perhaps we can apply the idea to ease off the pressure, but the Penguins should still be looking to finish thing up in game six. I don’t know how a lot of us would react if we let the Capitals force a game seven.

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