With the slogan "Own the big moments" a reminder of how they didn't do so a year ago in their second-round loss to the Penguins, Washington's best players came to play when the moment was its biggest.
Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin scored 27 seconds apart in the third period as the host Washington Capitals avoided elimination by beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 in Game 5 on Saturday night. Trotz talked about spreading offense throughout the lineup, and his flipping Burakovsky and Ovechkin allowed for Washington's first goal from its bottom two lines in five games.
Zach Kassian and Anton Slepychev also scored and Cam Talbot stopped 34 shots for the Oilers, who led 5-0 after the first period. Reaching into Pittsburgh's collective throat and yanking out its larynx would be none other than the Washington Capitals.
Capitals players said there was no shortage of belief despite being down 2-1 after two on Penguins goals by Carl Hagelin and Phil Kessel, and Game 5 following a similar script of more shots but fewer goals. "When he's been healthy we've had a rhythm, he gets into it defensively and has set a tone on the perimeter for us along with Kawhi (Leonard)".
"I think everything just comes with confidence", Burakovsky said.
Two late goals from Jake Guentzel and Evegeni Malkin were mere consolation for the Penguins, who at one stage had led the best-of-seven series 3-1. "We had a good game tonight, but it's over now and we'll work on ways to adjust even better next game".
Braden Holtby looked good last game.
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Despite losing Tony Parker for the season in Game 2 , the Spurs duo of LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard scored 26 points each. The fans were all decked in white shirts printed with red maple leafs and they booed LeBron James each time he touched the ball.
"We've sort of been able to park things", Trotz said. "We made things a little more hard on ourselves, having to go into Washington for Game 7". If Fleury has sprung a leak, the Capitals have the talent from Ovechkin down to make him pay. They willed in a goal in the second on the individual, playoff-defining effort of Andre Burakovsky, suddenly reborn. They've been calm since about Game 3. So he can't do that this whole series.
"They just got some momentum", Crosby said. Brian Dumoulin, who has been playing over twenty minutes per game, is most likely playing hurt.
Crosby told reporters after the game the crash "kind of knocked the wind out of me" but claimed he was otherwise fine. "He's made save after save for us". They have had big goals and superb goaltending. "That's going to be a tough task but I think it's something we have the right guys and the right mentality right now to do that".
Through the first four games of the series, Washington had only managed to beat Fleury nine times on 142 shots. For them to force Game 7 on Wednesday, they'll need Holtby and the rest of the stars to continue to be the best players on the ice.
"We have to play all together like a team and we did (Saturday)". But modern medicine be damned, they suited up for Game 5 in Washington.
Forwards Sidney Crosby and Conor Sheary of the Penguins returned five days after suffering concussions and Crosby had an assist. He lamented some struggles for his line, but expressed no concerns about his health. "Nicky makes a great pass to me, and I just have to deliver it to Osh from there". We just missed. Some nights you just don't execute as well. It's awesome it's taken this long to bring up this fact, but it's so well-known, so much part of the fabric, that it's just assumed as common knowledge: Alex Ovechkin's Capitals have never advanced past the second round of the playoffs.
OTTAWA, Ontario - Kyle Turris capped Ottawa's comeback from two deficits and pulled the Senators one win from returning to the Eastern Conference final for the first time in 10 years.
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