The Pittsburgh Penguins received fantastic performances from both their captain and goaltender in Game 1 against the Washington Capitals.
Both of those efforts are among the three things we learned in the NHL on Thursday night.
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Last line of defence
Marc-Andre Fleury wasn’t supposed to be in this position.
The veteran goaltender was supposed to be the backup to Matt Murray as the Penguins attempted to repeat as Stanley Cup champions in 2017. Murray suffered a lower-body injury in warmups prior to Game 1 of Pittsburgh’s first-round series against the Columbus Blue Jackets and hasn’t returned. At this point it would be quite surprising to see the Pens roll with anyone other than Fleury.
That’s because he’s been fantastic for Pittsburgh so far in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, making incredible saves night in and night out. Maybe none were as nice or impressive as this sequence late in the third period of the Penguins’ Game 1 win over the Capitals.
Fleury’s stats don’t lie. He’s 5-1 with a 2.43 goals-against average and .934 save percentage. It makes you wonder why Pittsburgh would want to make him available for the expansion draft, but then you quickly remember just how good Murray was last year in the post-season.
Speaking of outstanding goaltending performances, how about Henrik Lundqvist against the Ottawa Senators in Game 1 of their second-round series?
King Henrik made save after save in the first period — 21 in total — to keep the New York Rangers in the game. Nevermind the rough go-ahead goal that Lundqvist gave up late which proved to be the winner.
Crosby vs. Ovechkin
We all knew Sidney Crosby was fast. But scoring two goals in a span of 52 seconds is quite the feat.
That’s exactly what the Penguins captain did to start the second period, scoring at the 12-second and 1:04 mark to give Pittsburgh a two-goal advantage. The Pens won Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal against the Washington Capitals 3-2.
Crosby was coming off an impressive Round 1 performance against the Columbus Blue Jackets were he had two goals and five assists in Pittsburgh’s five-game series victory. Last season’s Conn Smythe Trophy winner is trying to lead his team past the Capitals for the second straight season and back to the Stanley Cup Final.
Not to be outdone, Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin answered later in the second with a goal of his own. Ovechkin wristed home a shot top corner to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Where the fans??
The Ottawa Senators kicked off the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers.
But where were the fans?
There were plenty of visible empty seats for the matchup in both the upper and lower bowls. According to The Canadian Press, the cheapest available seat was $96 and parking rose to $30.
This is nothing new for the Sens, unfortunately, who have struggled to draw fans to Canadian Tire Centre this season. Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday afternoon and as of late Thursday night, there were still 827 tickets available for resale.
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