NHL playoff scores 2017: Ottawa finally goes on the offensive in Game 3 win

Good news, folks. The Ottawa Senators don’t play boring hockey after all!

Wednesday night’s 5-1 takedown of the Penguins really started and ended when the Senators put up four goals in the first period, including three in 2 minutes, 18 seconds. Some may call that boring, that the game was effectively over after period one, but Ottawa’s style of play was a far cry from their 1-0 loss on Monday.

The Senators looked like a completely different team in Game 3, forechecking and getting to the net where their Game 2 selves had failed. And even when they were up by a mile after the first period, the Senators weren’t sitting back like they had in Game 1. We said after Game 2 that the trap is all well and good, but it means nothing if the Senators can’t play offense. Ottawa seemed to take that to heart in their Game 3 win.

As for the Penguins, their lack of defensive depth really showed on Ottawa’s five-goal outburst. Even though they dressed seven defensemen, the result of some real unfortunate injuries on the back end, they were playing with three over the age of 33 and it showed.

And don’t worry, you’re not the only one flashing back to Game 6 in the Penguins’ last series. We know how Pittsburgh responded to that game, and they’ll need to do something similar for Game 4 on Friday.

Senators 5, Penguins 1 (Ottawa leads 2-1)

The Penguins offense has disappeared

Through three games in this series, the Penguins have scored just three goals. The good news, however, is that Sidney Crosby did finally get a point on the Penguins first power play goal of the series.

We’ll touch on Pittsburgh’s goaltending situation in a second, but Craig Anderson and the Ottawa defense has really shut down this lethal Penguins team.

Is Marc-Andre Fleury done as the starter?

The Penguins will have an interesting conundrum on their hands for Game 4. Fleury allowed four goals on nine shots, prompting Matt Murray’s first playoff appearance this postseason. Murray played pretty well in relief, allowing just one goal on Kyle Turris’ great solo effort at the end of the second.

Fleury has been fantastic in the playoffs so far, and has bounced back well after bad games. But with Murray waiting in the wings, the decision gets that much harder.

The Senators had five different scorers in the win

As the Penguins offense is sinking, the Senators seem to be thriving. Ottawa had five different goal scorers in Game 3, with three goals coming from their middle-six forwards.

Mike Hoffman’s opening goal 48 seconds into the game set the tone early for the Senators as they went on to score five straight goals in this one.

Anderson had another stellar game in net, stopping 25 of 26 Penguins shots. If Ottawa wins this series, Anderson will be a big reason why as he’s allowed just three Pittsburgh goals through the first three games.