Pittsburgh 4, Ottawa 3
When: 7:30 PM ET, Friday, May 17, 2013
Where: Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Referees:
Chris Lee, Dan O'Halloran
Linesmen:
Steve Barton, Pierre Racicot
Attendance:
18645
By SportsDirect Inc.
Penguins 4, Senators 3: Captain Sidney Crosby recorded his second career postseason hat trick as top-seeded Pittsburgh staved off visiting Ottawa to seize a 2-0 advantage in their Eastern Conference second-round series.
Brenden Morrow scored, defensemen Kris Letang and Paul Martin each notched a pair of assists and Evgeni Malkin set up a goal to extend his point streak in the playoffs to eight games. Tomas Vokoun turned aside 19 shots to win his fourth straight contest since replacing Marc-Andre Fleury for the Penguins, who will visit the seventh-seeded Senators for Game 3 on Sunday.
Colin Greening scored for the second straight contest and Kyle Turris netted a power-play goal. Rookie Jean-Gabriel Pageau tucked home a loose puck 2:01 into the third period to trim Pittsburgh's lead to 4-3, but Ottawa was unable to net the equalizer.
Crosby secured his 100th postseason point by opening the scoring 3:16 into the first period. The superstar breezed past reigning Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson at the blue line before snapping a low shot between the pads of Craig Anderson (18 saves).
Crosby answered Turris' goal from a sharp angle with one of his own to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead with 3:53 remaining in the first. The captain completed the hat trick 1:15 into the second, when his blast from the left faceoff circle sailed over the left shoulder of Anderson, who promptly was replaced by Robin Lehner (20 saves).
GAME NOTEBOOK: Playing in his 75th playoff game, Crosby (102 points) passed Hall of Famer Ron Francis (100) for fourth place on Pittsburgh's all-time postseason list. Mario Lemieux (172), Jaromir Jagr (147) and Kevin Stevens (106) are the top three playoff scorers in franchise history. ... Crosby netted his first postseason hat trick against Washington on May 4, 2009. ... Ottawa's Paul MacLean joined Anaheim's Bruce Boudreau and Chicago's Joel Quenneville as finalists for the Jack Adams Award, presented to the coach "adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success." MacLean also was a finalist last season, finishing as a runner-up to St. Louis' Ken Hitchcock. ... Pittsburgh RWs Jarome Iginla and Pascal Dupuis saw their seven-game point streaks come to an end.
Top Game Performances
Ottawa |
|
Pittsburgh |
Colin Greening 1 |
Points |
Sidney Crosby 3 |
Colin Greening 1 |
Goals |
Sidney Crosby 3 |
Daniel Alfredsson 1 |
Assists |
Kris Letang 2 |
Kyle Turris 1 |
Power Play Goals |
Sidney Crosby 1 |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Robin Lehner .952 |
Save Percentage |
Tomas Vokoun .864 |
Robin Lehner 20 |
Saves |
Tomas Vokoun 19 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Ottawa
|
22 |
3 |
1-2 |
5-6 |
14 |
35 |
Pittsburgh
|
42 |
4 |
1-6 |
1-2 |
6 |
31 |
Upcoming Games
-
Pittsburgh will play their next game on the road against Ottawa. The Penguins have a W/L % of .800 after a win and .583 after a loss.
-
Ottawa will play their next game at home against Pittsburgh. The Senators have a W/L % of .583 after a win and .435 after a loss.