Rangers: Niskanen hit that injured Crosby a 'fluke,' not malicious

Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen reiterated his stance that he never tried to hurt Penguins captain Sidney Crosby in Game 3, explaining that the play that ended up concussing Crosby and that will keep him out of Game 4 tonight in Pittsburgh, was so fast he couldn't avoid it. Now that the captain is out for at least Wednesday's Game 4 and possibly much longer than that, Pittsburgh's championship odds have dropped to +350, behind the Edmonton Oilers and the Nashville Predators.

Crosby's two way play will be missed for sure.

The following season, he played only 22 games.

Jake Guentzel fired the puck into the middle of the ice, where it banked in off the skate of Orlov, increasing the Pittsburgh lead and giving Guentzel his eighth goal of these playoffs. They've been so accustomed to dealing with injuries that there is not a team in the National Hockey League that is better equipped to deal with the loss of key personnel than they are.

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan hid his anger badly after the game. "We love the (resilience) that this team shows in the face of adversity".

It's such a shame that this happened because Crosby was playing his best hockey at the most opportune time to do so. With Washington leading 2-0 and less than 2 minutes left in regulation time, Evgeni Malkin and Justin Schultz scored in a 48-second span to force overtime. Most of all, the defense needs to play defense. That's an average of 1.32 points per game, a tick up from his average of 1.15 per game with Crosby in the lineup. The two-time NHL MVP proved so valuable in the series, with two goals and two assists in the first two games against the Capitals. He shoots more and is more accurate with the shots he takes. "He's very positive. We're very optimistic, and we're hopeful that we'll get him back in a timely fashion".

The going has been a bit slower for McDavid in his playoff debut.

Marc-Andre Fleury, who has emerged as an early front-runner for the Conn Smythe Trophy, will have to continue to be a backbone. But he was quick to point out that the Penguins remain risky. It isn't like he was traded to the Penguins the next season and became Crosby's teammate for four years or anything.

Even without Crosby, the Penguins won't lack for star power. It's one thing to dress Tom Sestito for a regular season game against Winnipeg, it's clearly another to lose their focus in the playoffs and focus on revenge.

Crosby wasn't the only Penguins player injured Monday. But they can continue to sting them with their speed game. They're still capable of winning, but it'll be tough.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that according to franchise historian Bob Grove, the Penguins are 101-56-19 all-time without Crosby in the lineup. When Crosby missed most of Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup final, Max Talbot came through with two goals to deliver the victory.

- Forget about revenge for the brutal cross-check that knocked Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby out of the playoffs indefinitely. Something like that can happen again. Because he's trying to make a play, he's getting lower and lower.

They can do this without Crosby.