The Penguins are supposed to have the best forward depth in the NHL. They have two inner-circle Hall of Famers anchoring their top two lines. They have star winger Phil Kessel on another, usually alongside Derick Brassard.
2 guys are trying to lug the Penguins past the Capitals, and they just might pull it off
Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel are carrying the weight for the defending Stanley Cup champions. All of it.
That depth has dissipated almost completely in this second-round series with the Capitals. On Thursday, the Penguins evened that series at two wins apiece anyway, eking out a 3-1 win (with an empty-netter) that they desperately needed. There have been few surer bets in hockey the last three springs than the Penguins winning when they need to, and they did again.
Pittsburgh’s best players showed up Thursday. Sidney Crosby was the same possession-driving, game-dominating force he’s been all playoffs. Evgeni Malkin scored the winning goal on a power play in the second period, one that had to make it through two video reviews — one initiated by the NHL, one by the Capitals — to stand up.
Matt Murray played well in goal. He stopped 20 of 21 shots, a couple of them at a heavy degree of difficulty. Unheralded defenseman Chad Ruhwedel made some plays to snuff out Washington’s opportunities before they got dangerous.
Now, understand that this next thing is an exaggeration, but just a slight one:
Crosby and Guentzel are keeping the Penguins afloat by themselves.
In four games, the Penguins have scored 10 goals. Crosby has been on the ice for all of them, and Jake Guentzel has been out there with him for eight. Line mate Patric Hornqvist has been out there for seven and scored two. Hornqvist is an important space-creator for Crosby and Guentzel, and he’s played well. Of course, Crosby and Guentzel wouldn’t win games playing two-on-five. But they’re the guys who have been driving this bus.
Guentzel has eight points on the series. Crosby has six. Those totals include Guentzel’s shot into an empty cage to seal Thursday’s win, but you get the point. When the Penguins generate offense in this series, those guys are doing it almost all the time. Guentzel leads the playoffs in points (21) and goals (10). Crosby is just a shade behind in both. The only other player breathing the same air is the Bruins’ David Pastrnak.
The rest of the Penguins may or may not start producing soon.
Malkin is coming off an injury and has been fine, though not quite Malkin-like in his two games this series. The Penguins haven’t announced that Kessel is injured, but he looks extremely injured, to the point that one of the game’s great snipers is setting up on the power play at his customary perch on the left faceoff dot and just whiffing:
Kessel is not well. He has one goal in the playoffs, and the Penguins have gotten buried from a possession standpoint when he’s been out at even strength against Washington. Brassard doesn’t seem himself, either, and has the same one playoff goal. Conor Sheary and Bryan Rust, the young wingers who have been key in the last two runs, haven’t shown much this series. Crosby and Guentzel have everything on their backs.
Whether this continues or not, get ready for a dramatic finish.
The Capitals have home-ice advantage for the best-of-three that remains. Who knows if that’ll be important, given that each has won a lot on the other’s rink.
We’re moving toward one of the most fraught moments ever in the rivalry between Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. Both have been marvelous in the playoffs. Crosby might have to put the Penguins through with almost no help, and Ovechkin’s going to be motivated after an uncharacteristically dry Game 4 that saw him fail to put a shot on goal for the first time in a playoff game since 2012. He’ll be angry and good in Game 5, for sure.
An added wrinkle: There’s a lot of bad blood flowing through this series. If it does go seven games, suspended Capital Tom Wilson will be free from a three-game ban just in time to play the finale. Thursday was mostly free of the chippy style that seems to follow Wilson wherever he goes, until Kris Letang and T.J. Oshie almost fought at the final buzzer.
When Nicklas Backstrom walked toward the locker room after the loss, he threw his stick and yelled, “F*** this league,” ESPN reported (and the Capitals disputed).
Backstrom said the outburst was a reference to the Capitals losing, not to his teammate’s suspension. But, clearly, the Capitals are furious. Whether they can channel their anger into containing Crosby and Guentzel is a question yet unanswered.
See More:
