NHL playoff scores 2017: Penguins rebound with Game 4 win to tie series

The Pittsburgh Penguins tied up the Eastern Conference Final with a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators in Game 4 on Friday night. The series will now be decided over the next three games with both teams tied at two victories apiece.

Pittsburgh responded to its rough 5-1 loss to Ottawa in Game 3 by turning back to Matt Murray as starting goaltender. He delivered with 24 saves on 26 shots as the Senators were held to two goals just a couple of days after racking up four in the first period.

Murray also got a lot of help from his teammates, who held a 35-26 advantage in shots on goal in the win. Craig Anderson had a much busier night in goal for the Senators and played reasonably well with 32 saves on 35 shots. It wasn’t enough to move just one win from the Stanley Cup Final, though.

Olli Maatta opened scoring late in the first period with his first career postseason goal to put the Penguins ahead. Maatta has 17 career NHL goals in 220 regular season appearances, but this was the first time he had ever scored in 47 playoff games. The defenseman is now shooting 1-of-60 (1.7 percent) in his playoff career.

Following the intermission, Sidney Crosby and Brian Dumoulin scored goals midway through the second period to extend the lead to three. Crosby also assisted on Maatta’s goal, giving him his first multipoint game since Game 2 against the Capitals and his fifth of the playoffs.

Clarke MacArthur made things interesting with a goal late in the second period to cut the Senators’ deficit to 3-1, which gave them a fighting chance of coming back in the third period. They needed two goals, though, and spent most of the final 20 minutes fighting just to get one.

It finally came with 5:01 remaining in regulation when Tom Pyatt scored to make it a 3-2 game. The puck took a crazy series of bounces before beating Murray on a play that he’s probably wishing he had back.

That set up a scrambling final five minutes as the Senators fought for one more goal, but it wouldn’t come and the Penguins hung on. Now the series is tied with Game 5 set for Sunday afternoon at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.

Penguins 3, Senators 2 (Series tied, 2-2)

Matt Murray asserts control over starting gig

Murray won a Stanley Cup as a rookie goaltender last year, so it’s no surprise that he was ready to take over starting duties from Marc-Andre Fleury. The Penguins decided to go back to Murray following Fleury’s disastrous Game 4 effort, and the 22-year-old delivered with 24 saves to earn the win.

Fleury only got the starting job to open the playoffs after Murray was injured, but the Penguins stuck with the veteran because he was playing so well. They pulled the plug quickly after he allowed four goals on nine shots in Game 4, however, and now there’s a sense that the change will be permanent with Murray back in his starting role.

The only way Fleury will get back onto the ice is if Murray struggles badly or gets hurt again. At this point, the job is Murray’s to lose.

The Penguins bounce back with confidence

A big question entering Game 4 was how the Penguins would respond after getting beaten so badly in the previous content. They made that statement by taking a 3-0 lead and holding on for the win while recording nine more shots on goal than their opponents.

That’s a solid group effort to earn a victory, and it’s just what the Penguins needed after being dismantled from the start of Game 3. The Senators seemed to be putting momentum on their side, but the Penguins made sure to come out firing Friday to change that, even on the road.

Pittsburgh would be in real trouble if it fell behind 3-1, even with the series heading home for Game 5. Instead, the Pens now effectively have home-ice advantage for a best-of-three to determine who advances to the Stanley Cup Final.

Senators’ struggling power play is costing them

Ottawa could only go so long without paying for its lack of production with the man advantage. The Senators went 0-of-4 on power plays in Game 4, which puts them at 0-of-25 over the past nine games. Since the start of the playoffs, they’re 6-of-52.

That’s a success rate near 11 percent, which puts a lot of pressure on the team to rack up 5-on-5 goals to keep up. The Senators have done well at 5-on-5 against the Penguins, holding a 9-4 advantage in goals through four games, but they’re going to have trouble putting away the series if they can’t score on special teams.

The Penguins recorded seven shots on their two power plays, while the Senators recorded five on four power plays. That’s a problem.

A game of inches!

Crosby will always be in the Conn Smythe discussion as long as the Penguins are in it, and that’s because of great games like this one. The star center scored a crucial power-play goal to extend the Penguins’ lead, and posted his first multipoint game of the series when the team needed it. That’s what MVPs do, and we’ll remember nights like these if Crosby gets hot to win another Conn Smythe.