Goodnight, sweet Sens. Ottawa was eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs after a 6-2 rout in Game 5 by the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Red-hot hands, mind you.
Penguins vs. Senators Game 5 recap: Pens advance after 6-2 rout
Pittsburgh dominated in every way and will play in the Eastern Conference Final against either the Rangers or Bruins
Pittsburgh got out to a big lead in the first two frames, scoring three unanswered goals before the Senators could even manage to grasp some semblance of control in the game. Milan Michalek finally got Ottawa on the board late in the second period before his teammates let Evgeni Malkin score on a breakaway with half a minute left in the frame.
The final period played out like a funeral procession as the Senators slowly played like they knew their fate was sealed. James Neal scored twice to complete the hat trick, and the game ended mercifully with a 6-2 final score.
Who takes charge and ends it for Pittsburgh?
It really seemed like everyone pitched in somehow for the Penguins. Kris Letang played his best offensive game of the series, even though he had another dreadful game in his own end. Sidney Crosby was as impressive as always. But the pivotal player was definitely Neal, who scored a hat trick. It was a pretty one, at that.
Is this Daniel Alfredsson's last game?
If it was, then it was a sad way to see him go. He was pretty much invisible as he watched his team get eliminated. And a lot of fans will remember his comments after Game 4 saying his team couldn’t come back against Pittsburgh. In the long run, however, he will be remembered as one of the all-time greats. Time will tell in the coming months whether we’ve really seen the last of him, though.
Can the Senators bottle the start of Game 4?
The Senators played that well in spurts. And they were very short, fleeting spurts. For the most part they were completely dominated in every facet of the game by the Penguins.
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