There are two things you can always count on when late March rolls around in the NHL.
- The actual playoffs are just a few weeks away.
- Teams in the playoff picture will play for overtime as often as possible.
Teams that sell out and play wide open hockey, shelling teams above them in the standings should be rewarded for their efforts (looking at you, Tampa).
But when teams are so desperate for points that they play for overtime and hope that the coin flip goes their way for the extra point, well, it’s shit. It’s spineless. It screams “we’re not good enough.” And teams that employ this strategy should be made to eat cat shit for the duration of their entire first round loss (looking at you, Ottawa).
Prior to the game, the Pens gave Archibald another call up to replace the decapitated and also dead Guentzel. Three games for Ristolainen on the hit.
Let's Go Pens! pic.twitter.com/M42xqOOYIB
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 23, 2017
The first period was probably the most entertaining part of regulation, mostly because emotions started running high when Alex Burrows started acting like the jackal that he is. It took just 7.5 minutes before he started being him, getting a stick into Murray, knocking him over and forcing Murr to make some insane glove save.
https://gfycat.com/ImaginativeIdleIrishwaterspaniel
Burrows crosschecked him after the save too for good measure. Then he baited Hornqvist into a slashing penalty two minutes later by holding his stick from the bench after Bobby Ryan jumped into a hit. Pretty sure only Shane Doan outranks Burrows on my list of People I’d Like to See Fall into a Pit of Cobras.
Somewhere in there, Outrage Society got all jammed up over this shit:
Here's the slash by Crosby on Methot. pic.twitter.com/mHoki3cWjR
— Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_) March 24, 2017
Look, maybe Crosby deserved the backlash he faced after the O’Reilly incident. Who knows. I’m no expert in cup checking people. But not here. Watch the .gif. Then watch it again. Watch it a 3rd and 4th time if you want. That play happens no less than 75 times every goddamn game. Players try to whack other guys’ sticks when they’re playing the puck to disrupt shit. Sometimes they catch them on the hands. Other times, they don’t. Crosby damn near times it perfectly, too, but just caught his finger. There’s nothing malicious there, but unfortunately, Methot’s finger exploded so here we are. If you think it’s anything more than bad luck, take a lap.
But if you want to get circumstantial here, let’s not forget that it was Mark Methot that effectively ended Dupuis’ career.
With the increased physicality came some penalties and on either side of the first intermission, both teams traded off powerplay chances. Early on in the Pens shorthanded spell in the 2nd, Kunitz sent March Madness in alone to nearly open up the scoring.
https://gfycat.com/DirectTemptingKite
Pens would kill it off and get another PP of their own with 12:21 left after Wilson caught a stick up high from Phaneuf. Double-minor and on the first one, Mr. March popped up again. What a shot. 1-0
https://gfycat.com/AdorableUnevenKilldeer
Seven goals in his last 9 for Bones.
Neither team apparently wanted to do dick at 5v5 because of Guy Boucher’s shitbird late season trapping style, so the Sens would have to wait for another powerplay to tie things up. With Cullen to the box 9:29 into the third period for holding Karlsson, they’d do just that almost immediately to make sure overtime was on the docket. An elite shot was the only way anyone was beating Murray. 1-1
https://gfycat.com/SnoopyUnacceptableDowitcher
https://gfycat.com/UltimateImperturbableKangaroo
Same, Dad. Same.
With the Sens getting themselves their point, you knew they were going to somehow find a way to grab the W. It was like Condon stretched himself over the goal and prevented anything from impregnating the twine, making some big save on Kunitz in OT and stopping Bonino and Crosby in the shootout.
https://gfycat.com/AlienatedTeemingBellsnake
To be fair, it’s not as if Condon had a lot to do there. Kunitz had the entire net to shoot at and chose to shoot it right back at where Condon was standing. Cool.
In the shootout, Turris and Ryan would score two nice goals to seal the deal for the Sens.
https://gfycat.com/MintyImmaculateEuropeanfiresalamander
https://gfycat.com/DeliriousImaginaryApatosaur
Game.
NOTES
- Murray with a solid game. Can’t remember the Sens having too many second chances/rebound opportunity. Absorbed a lot.
- Maybe the first game in recent memory these two teams didn’t combine for 150 goals.
- Pens sitting just one point ahead of the Jackets in the division now, but with 2 less Regulation and Overtime Wins if it comes to that. Caps and Jackets playing to a shootout last night was the worst possible scenario for the Pens. The Caps came away with the 2 points, putting them 2 points clear of the Pens and 3 clear of the Jackets.
Islanders come to town tonight looking make up some ground in the chase for 8th. Put ’em down. Go Pens.
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