Throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Pittsburgh Penguins have been trying to gain the momentum and physicality they had last year when they won the Stanley Cup.
Their performance Sunday night may just give them the confidence boost they searching for.
In Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Penguins defeated the Ottawa Senators 7-0 at PPG Paints Arena.
Pittsburgh scored four goals in the first period of the game to give them an edge early on. They are now one win away from returning to the Stanley Cup Final for the second season in a row, and currently lead the best-of-7 series 3-2.
“Obviously, the team played extremely well tonight,” said Penguins coach Mike Sullivan. “Every line, we liked. It was a solid effort. This was one of the more complete efforts, for sure. We’ve had a few of them. This is one of them. I thought our guys had a readiness about them tonight that we’re going to need moving forward.”
The Penguins took the lead eight minutes into the first period with a goal from Olli Maatta, and extended the lead to 2-0 with a power play goal by Sidney Crosby.
Bryan Rust made his return for the Penguins on Sunday after being out for two games due to an upper body injury. Rust scored late in the first to give Pittsburgh a 3-0 lead.
The Senators pulled goalkeeper Craig Anderson after letting the puck slip past three times in the first period, and was swapped for Mike Condon. Condon wasn’t in for long, as Anderson was put back in with 2:29 left to the first.
Pittsburgh’s Scott Wilson scored with 1:43 left on a backhanded shot making the score 4-0. Penguins Matt Cullen made it 5-0 in the second, Phil Kessel scored on a power play seconds into the third, and Trevor Daley scored at 8:49 of the second to give the Penguins a huge 7-0 lead.
“I just think we capitalized on our chances,” said Crosby. “I don’t think we did anything different. I feel like we had a good start. We gave ourselves a chance to score some of those goals.”
Game 6 will be played in Ottawa on Tuesday.
Featured Image Via Reuters/Charles LeClaire
