PITTSBURGH VS OTTAWA
CANADIAN TIRE CENTRE – OTTAWA, CA
8:00 PM EST. NBCSN
SERIES TIED 1-1
My brother works during pretty much every Pens game, so I usually call and leave a voicemail for him with a quick basic recap of stuff he missed that doesn’t show up in the box score.
On Monday, “Hey, Phil is mad Fleury is nails Rust and Schultz are dead call me back.”
The Pens found a way for the first time these playoffs to dominate shot-attempts like they did in 2016. The Pens had a 57-35 advantage at all-situations (47-29 at even-strength) and created 8 high danger chances while only giving up 4. It’s the Pens though so there’s never take without some give as Jultz and Bryan Rust both left early in the first period on borderline hits at best.
Those hits, however, made this feel like a series finally. Phaneuf swooping in and giving us the first headshot debate of the playoffs and assuming his spot as villain in the series. Clark Macarthur boarding Jultz and then falling down, on his own, in the corner to draw a penalty moments later. And of course officiating ripped straight from the dead puck era.
Nothing to see here. pic.twitter.com/7EYnuAQPYO
— BucciOT.Com (@Buccigross) May 16, 2017
Get real.
Game 3 shifts for the first time to Ottawa where the Sens are going to be desperate to regain traction. The thing about home ice in the Stanley Cup Playoffs can be a funny thing. The Pens know this as well as anyone – what it’s like to fall behind at home and have a frenzied crowd almost work against you. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to see the Pens come out guns blazing again, sneak one past Anderson, and, in a rush to play catch-up, see the Sens lose their structure and the floodgates open.
The Pens are road and battle tested; they headed to Tampa in the exact same situation last season, and the clock is ticking on Ottawa’s gimmicky bullshit. Plus the Pens have a few demons to exercise in the Canadian Tire Centre.
Ottawa sucks.
Lines: Everyone is on Schultz, Rust, Hornqvist watch. They’re all making the trip to Ottawa and Schultz was carrying his luggage with his right hand, so yeah we’re at that portion of the playoffs where we gotta care about shit like that. Sullivan called all three day to day. Daley might join practice soon. Just guessing on the Pens lines because whatever.
The last two gameday posts I had Stalberg in the lineup for Ottawa but he didn’t play because who cares.
Pittsburgh:
Guentzel-Crosby-Sheary
Kunitz-Malkin-Kessel
Hagelin-Bonino-Hornqvist
Wilson-Cullen-Rowney
Dumoulin-Hainsey
Maatta-Ruhwedel
Cole-Streit
Fleury-Murray
Ottawa:
MacArthur-Turris-Hoffman
Dzingel-Brassard-Burrows
Ryan-Pageau-Stone
Pyatt-Smith-Wingels
Methot-Karlsson
Phaneuf-Ceci
Harpur-Wideman
Anderson-Condom
I wanna say upfront I really like Canada. Hockey is cool, Vancouver is great and I’ve always wanted to visit Toronto. But lately ya’ll laying on the smug a little too thick.
Pilot to Ottawa: "On behalf of Toronto we would like to apologize for trading Kessel to Pittsburgh. However, we were glad to get rid of him"
— Bruce Arthur (@bruce_arthur) May 16, 2017
We were also happy to take him off your hands ya jabronis.
Right when the Leaves started winning a few games you knew this was gonna happen. Every Canadian with a twitter account along with the guys who constantly fire out the, “but actually the President’s Trophy is what matters” taeks. It’s the fucking worst right now. No one actually cares about the Senators but it’s like, national pride or something? So they’ve gotta point out well, actually Cody Ceci’s CFrel/69 is very nice. This all needs to stop and I look forward to the Pens being the ones to put an end to it.
Get your shit together Canada no one over here pretends that Anaheim matters. Anaheim sucks and so does Ottawa except Anaheim somehow sucks less because at least it’s in California.
In conclusion. Fuck these guys.
Go Pens
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