• Senators go on scoring spree in first period
• Crosby’s slump ends
• Burrows injured
The crowd at Canadian Tire Centre went wild on Wednesday night, and with good reason: The Ottawa Senators took a 5–1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final.
The Senators are now just two wins away from their first Stanley Cup Final in a decade, and they’re poised to push the Penguins to the brink of elimination if they can pick up another victory on Friday.
Here are four things we learned.
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Who’s boring now?
After taking some criticism for their so-called “boring” style of play, the Senators opened Game 3 with a bang, with Mike Hoffman scoring 43 seconds into the first period.
The Senators, who struggled to get anything going in Game 2, would put up three more goals in the first period—courtesy of Marc Methot, Derick Brassard and Zack Smith—which caused Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to be pulled with 7:08 remaining in the frame. Fleury was replaced by Matt Murray, who hadn’t played since April 6.
Ottawa’s offensive outburst gave its social media team the opportunity to have a little bit of fun:
The Senators added one more for good measure in the second as Kyle Turris scored with 1:42 remaining in the period.
Crosby ended his slump
The Penguins may have suffered an embarrassing loss, but they managed to avoid a shutout. Sidney Crosby put his team on the board in the third period, ending a seven-game goal drought. There was no celebration, though, with Pittsburgh still down by four—ground they were unable to make up.
As much as Wednesday night was a joyous affair for Senators fans, Crosby and Co. will be looking to bounce back in Game 4, which should once again make for some entirely non-boring hockey.
As Methot said post-game, “The job’s not over.”
Senators lose Burrows
Despite the win, Ottawa suffered a blow on Wednesday night, losing Alex Burrows to a lower-body injury. The veteran winger, who has picked up four assists during the Stanley Cup Playoffs so far, suffered the injury in a collision with Pittsburgh’s Ian Cole and was seen limping off the ice en route to the dressing room during the third period.
“We’ll see tomorrow,” said Senators head coach Guy Boucher said post-game, adding that he is hopeful Burrows could be available for Game 4 on Friday.
Goaltending ups and downs
Ottawa’s Craig Anderson made 25 saves on Wednesday night and has a .923 save percentage through 15 playoff games this year.
Over on the Penguins’ end, with Fleury pulled in the first period—he’d stopped five of nine shots—it remains to be seen whether head coach Mike Sullivan will opt to give the veteran a chance to bounce back on Friday night, or whether he’ll stick with Murray, who allowed one goal on 20 shots. Sullivan said after the loss that he’d yet to give the matter any thought.
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