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Bruins In Control …

April 20, 2018 by Digital Sports Desk

Boston 3, Toronto 1

When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, April 19, 2018
Where: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario
Attendance: 19,689
Recap for Digital Sports Desk by Field Level Media

Embed from Getty Images

TORONTO – Brad Marchand scored the go-ahead goal late in the second period, and the visiting Boston Bruins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 Thursday night to take a three-games-to-one lead in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

Marchand took a sharp-angled pass from David Pastrnak and flicked it past out-of-position Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen from the left circle. Jake DeBrusk scored early in the third to seal the Bruins’ win.

“We’ve played together for a while now, and (I) kind of know when he’s thinking shot or pass,” Marchand told NESN about his two-on-one play with Pastrnak. “So I just tried to find a good lane. He made an incredible pass.”

Boston can close out the best-of-seven series at home in Game 5 on Saturday night.

Marchand and DeBrusk both increased their postseason goal tally to two. Torey Krug added his first playoff goal for the Bruins, who haven’t advanced to round two of the Stanley Cup playoffs since the 2013-14 season.

Pastrnak had two assists to give him a playoff-leading 11 points.

Tomas Plekanec scored his first goal of the postseason for the Maple Leafs, who hope to avoid their second straight first-round exit. Toronto was eliminated by Washington in six games last season, its first playoff appearance since a first-round loss to Boston in 2012-13.

Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask finished with 31 saves. Andersen had 18.

Boston played without Selke Trophy finalist Patrice Bergeron, who was a late scratch due to an upper-body injury. The four-time winner of the award given to the league’s best defensive forward was the Bruins’ third-leading scorer this season with 30 goals and 33 assists.

“When Bergeron didn’t play tonight, you’re set up pretty good,” Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. “You’ve got to find a way to win. This is in our building, you’ve got to win.”

Toronto’s Leo Komarov (lower body) missed his second consecutive game.

Seconds after the Bruins’ goal song “Kernkraft 400” played on the Air Canada Centre speakers during a stoppage in play, Marchand put Boston up 2-1 with 3:05 left in the second.

DeBrusk scored 4:17 into the final period.

Krug struck quickly with Boston’s first goal on a wrister from the top of the left circle just 28 seconds into the game. Plekanec answered for Toronto on a one-timer from the slot with 12:17 left in the first.

–Field Level Media

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Oh Canada …

April 19, 2018 by Digital Sports Desk

Boston at Toronto

When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, April 19, 2018
Where: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario
Preview for Digital Sports Desk by Gracenote

Embed from Getty Images

TORONTO – Almost left for dead after the first two games of their Eastern Conference first-round series, the Toronto Maple Leafs have a chance to level the best-of-seven set when they host the Boston Bruins in Game 4 on Thursday night. The Maple Leafs absorbed a pair of beatings at Boston’s TD Garden by a combined 12-4 score, but reversed the momentum with a 4-2 home win on Monday night.

With only four teams in history having come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series, Toronto coach Mike Babcock was keenly aware of the importance of winning Game 3 and understands his team needs a similar performance Thursday. “If we didn’t have success, I thought we were probably going to be done,” Babcock said. “(Now), you win one, you’re in a best-of-three. We’re set up real good that way. … You still want to be in a better situation and be in the driver’s seat. So it’s important for us to even it up.” The Bruins did not exactly roll over Monday at Air Canada Centre, pouring 42 shots on goal, and acknowledged they didn’t expect to steamroll the Maple Leafs at will the entire series. “You want to limit their chances, their opportunities as much as you can,” Boston defenseman Charlie McAvoy said. “We’ve been able to do that. But they were going to break through at some point. Fine, we get that game out of the way and get refocused and get ready for Game 4.”

TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, NESN (Boston), CBC, TVAS (Toronto)

ABOUT THE BRUINS: Boston’s top line of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak was all the rage in the opening two games, combining for a collective 20 points, but the unit was blanked in Game 3. “Clearly, it’s going to give them some motivation and it should when you keep them off the scoresheet,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. “At the end of the day, I don’t think it will bother them one bit, and in fact, they might bear down a little bit more.” Pastrnak, who had six points in Game 2, has six goals and seven assists in seven meetings versus Toronto this season.

ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS: While Boston’s top line dominated the first two games, Toronto’s No. 1 unit was floundering by being held off the scoresheet, but star forward Auston Matthews provided the biggest moment for the Maple Leafs by netting the tiebreaking goal in Game 3. “Mats scoring that goal was a relief for him, but also a relief for our bench, the whole Toronto fan base,” forward Mitch Marner said. “That goal was massive for our team.” Frederik Andersen allowed eight goals in four periods in the first two contests, but his 40 saves Monday were his highest total since Feb. 20.

OVERTIME

1. Marner had two assists Monday to give him 13 points in seven games versus Boston this season.

2. Bruins rookie D Matt Grzelcyk is expected back in the lineup after sitting out Game 3.

3. Maple Leafs F Patrick Marleau scored twice in Game 3 to boost his playoff total to 70 goals, tying Steve Yzerman for 16th on the all-time list.

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We’ve Got a Series …

April 17, 2018 by Digital Sports Desk

Toronto 4, Boston 2

When: 7:00 PM ET, Monday, April 16, 2018
Where: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario
Attendance: 19,663
Special to Digital Sports Desk by Field Level Media

Embed from Getty Images

TORONTO – Patrick Marleau’s first two goals of the Stanley Cup playoffs helped the host Toronto Maple Leafs get back into their Eastern Conference quarterfinals series with a 4-2 win over the Boston Bruins in Game 3 on Monday night.

James van Riemsdyk (second playoff goal) and Auston Matthews (first) also scored goals for Toronto, which now trails the best-of-seven series 2-1. The Bruins won the first two games convincingly: 5-1 and 7-3.

Game 4 is Thursday night in Toronto.

Adam McQuaid and Zdeno Chara each had his first goal of the series for Boston.

Toronto goalie Frederik Andersen, who was pulled in the first period of Game 2 after giving up three goals on five shots, finished with 40 saves.

Boston netminder Tuukka Rask made 26 saves.

Marleau’s second tally came with 3:35 remaining in the game. Marleau finished off a two-on-one chance with Tomas Plekanec by lifting a puck past Rask glove-side. Matthews gave the Maple Leafs the lead for good late in the second period.

The Maple Leafs went 1-for-1 on the power play while holding the Bruins scoreless on one attempt. Toronto is 2-for-8 on the series with the extra man while Boston is 5-for-11.

Boston’s top line of Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron was held scoreless after totaling 20 points over the first two games of the series.

Toronto played without Leo Komarov, who missed Game 3 with a lower-body injury.

Riley Nash returned to the Bruins’ lineup after missing the first two games of the series recovering from an ear laceration. Tommy Wingels (undisclosed) skated Monday morning, but did not play. Matt Grzelcyk (lower body) also sat out for Boston.

After trailing for six straight periods, the Maple Leafs took their first lead when van Riemsdyk forced a rebound past Rask for a power-play goal with 2:55 left in the first period. The score came seven seconds after Nash took a delay-of-game penalty.

McQuaid pulled the Bruins even with a slap shot that beat Andersen from the point 3:06 into the second. The tie was short-lived, as Marleau directed a well-placed pass from Mitch Marner past Rask to restore Toronto’s one-goal lead with 16:11 remaining in the second.

Chara struck on a close-range, side-angle wrister that deflected in off of Andersen to tie the game again with 13:41 left in the second. Matthews put the Leafs ahead 3-2 with 5:13 to play before the third on his top-shelf wrister from the left circle.

Play was stopped with under nine minutes left in the third when McQuaid was hit in the neck area by a puck off van Riemsdyk’s stick. The Bruins defenseman was tended to on the ice before getting up and heading back to the locker room.

–Field Level Media

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Bruins Rake …

April 15, 2018 by Digital Sports Desk

Boston 7, Toronto 3

When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, April 14, 2018
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Mass
Attendance: 17,565
Recap for Digital Sports Desk by Field Level Media

Embed from Getty Images

Boston’s Tuukka Rask 

***

BOSTON – David Pastrnak had his first career playoff hat trick as the Boston Bruins took a 2-0 series lead with a 7-3 win over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals Saturday night.

Pastrnak also had three assists, giving him a new personal high for points in a game, regular season or Stanley Cup playoffs. He now has four goals this postseason after he scored once in Boston’s Game 1 victory.

David Krejci (2nd playoff goal), Jake DeBrusk (1), Kevan Miller (1) and Rick Nash (1) also scored goals and Tuukka Rask made 30 saves for Boston, which has outscored Toronto 12-4 in the series.

Mitchell Marner (1), Tyler Bozak (1) and James van Riemsdyk (1) scored for Toronto. Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen allowed three goals on five shots before being replaced by backup Curtis McElhinney (19 saves) with 7:47 left in the opening period.

Game 3 of the series is Monday in Toronto.

After scoring four times in the final two periods of Game 1, the Bruins picked up where they left off with first-period goals from Pastrnak (at 5:26), DeBrusk (9:46), Miller (12:13) and Nash (15:00).

Toronto replied with second-period goals from Marner (1:22) and Bozak (9:02) sandwiched around a tally from Krejci (3:46).

Pastrnak’s second goal came at 12:34 of the third and made it 6-2.

Van Riemsdyk scored a power-play goal with 5:07 left in the game, the first man-advantage tally in eight attempts for Toronto in the series.

Pastrnak completed his hat trick with 1:36 remaining in the final period.

Toronto’s Nazem Kadri served the first game of his three-game suspension for a hit on Boston’s Tommy Wingels in Game 1. Wingels (undisclosed injury) skated Saturday morning but did not play. Riley Nash (facial laceration) also missed the game for the Bruins.

Ryan Donato made his NHL postseason debut in place of Wingels. Donato’s father, Ted, also played for the Bruins, making them the second father-son duo to make postseason appearances for Boston.

–Field Level Media

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Stanley Cup Playoffs: Game Scout

April 14, 2018 by Digital Sports Desk

Toronto at Boston

When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, April 14, 2018
Where: TD Garden, Boston
Special to Digital Sports Desk by Gracenote

Embed from Getty Images

 

BOSTON – The Boston Bruins struggled down the stretch but they showed no carry-over effects from the late-season slump in their playoff opener. The Bruins turned in a dominating performance in a 5-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday and look to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven set when the Eastern Conference first-round series resumes Saturday night at TD Garden.

Toronto chances of earning a split in Boston and climbing back into the series received a jarring setback when 32-goal scorer Nazem Kadri was handed a three-game suspension Friday for a dangerous hit on Bruins forward Tommy Wingels in the third period. While Kadri maintained after that game that he “certainly wasn’t trying to hit him while he was down like that,” the NHL Department of Player Safety deemed that he drove “recklessly into the defenseless Wingels, causing his head to dangerously impact the boards.” After losing four of their last five games to squander the No. 1 seed in the East, the Bruins turned up the throttle by launching 40 shots on goal and scoring three times on the power play in the opener. “I think as a collective unit we all just looked at each other and said it’s time to go out there and do our thing and not be distracted by anything,” Boston forward David Backes said.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, TVAS

ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS: Anticipating the suspension of Kadri, Toronto coach Mike Babcock shuffled three of his four lines at Friday’s practice, elevating Leo Komarov to the top line while dropping Zach Hyman to play alongside Mitch Marner and Patrick Marleau, who will slide over to Kadri’s center slot. Andreas Johnsson, a scratch for the series opener, took Komarov’s spot on the fourth line and replaced Kadri on the top power-play unit, which failed on all three chances in Game 1. Babcock rationalized the obstacles awaiting his team by telling reporters Friday: “If you play like we did last night, you probably deserve a little adversity.”

ABOUT THE BRUINS: Boston’s No. 1 line has set the tone all season and little changed in Game 1 as David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron combined for six points, with Pastrnak scoring once and setting up a pair of goals. The Bruins also got a goal and assist from second-line center David Krejci, who has a history of coming up big in the postseason by leading the team in scoring in its last two trips to the Stanley Cup Finals. Center Riley Nash, who has missed six straight games due to a lacerated ear, is not expected back after practicing Friday in a non-contact jersey while Wingels was being evaluated and is listed as questionable.

OVERTIME

1. Pastrnak has three goals and four assists in five meetings with Toronto this season..

2. The suspension was the fourth of Kadri’s career, tied for third among active players.

3. Bruins D Torey Krug collected two assists in the opener, boosting his season total to six points versus the Maple Leafs.

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Statement Game …

April 12, 2018 by Digital Sports Desk

Boston 5, Toronto 1

When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, April 12, 2018
Where: TD Garden, Boston
Attendance: 17,565
Special to Digital Sports Desk by Field Level Media

Embed from Getty Images

Boston’s Tuukka Rask

***

BOSTON – David Backes and David Pastrnak scored second-period goals to break a 1-all tie and spark the Boston Bruins in a 5-1 rout over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals Thursday night.

Brad Marchand, Sean Kuraly and David Krejci also scored and Tuukka Rask made 26 saves as Boston took a 1-0 series lead against Toronto. Game 2 of the series takes place Saturday night in Boston.

Zach Hyman had the Maple Leafs’ only goal and Frederik Andersen had 35 saves. Toronto won three of its four regular-season games against Boston, and the teams are meeting in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since the 2012-13 season.

A poor penalty kill did the Maple Leafs in as the Bruins went 3-for-6 on the power play while holding Toronto scoreless on three man-advantage chances.

Marchand, the Bruins’ leading scorer with 85 points in the regular season, sent the hometown fans into a frenzy with his goal 5:28 into the game. Marchand received a feed from Torey Krug and beat Andersen with a backhander to put Boston up 1-0.

Hyman pulled the Maple Leafs even on his goal with 3:08 left in the first period. After beating two Bruins defenders while charging down the right wall, Hyman collected the puck and honed in on Rask before beating the goalie with a nifty deke.

Backes put Boston ahead for good when he kicked a loose puck back to his stick and lifted the puck past Andersen with 4:17 to go in the second to make it 2-1. Pastrnak ripped a wrister from the slot after a nice pass from Patrice Bergeron to make it 3-1 with 38 seconds left in the period.

Kuraly batted a puck out of mid-air for his goal 7:41 into the third.

Toronto’s Nazem Kadri was sent off with a game misconduct and match penalty with 11:42 remaining in the third after slamming the head of Boston’s Tommy Wingels into the boards while he was already down on the ice. Wingels left the game and did not return.

The Bruins went on a five-minute major, and Krejci capitalized as he scored on a shot he tucked off Andersen’s pad for a power-play goal. Krejci finished with a goal and an assist.

–Field Level Media

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DIGITAL SPORTS DESK The LEDE Penguins Up 2-0 in Cup Finals

June 1, 2017 by Digital Sports Desk

Pittsburgh 4, Nashville 1
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, May 31, 2017
Where: PPG PAINTS Arena, Pittsburgh
Attendance: 18,643
Special to Digital Sports Desk by The Sports Xchange

PITTSBURGH — With the game tied in the second intermission Wednesday night, the Pittsburgh Penguins came to a mutual agreement that it was time to step things up. Good talk.

2017 NHL Stanley Cup Final - Game Two

Jake Guentzel #59 of the Pittsburgh Penguins scores a goal past Pekka Rinne #35 of the Nashville Predators during the first period in Game Two of the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Final at PPG Paints Arena on May 31, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)

###

Rookie Jake Guentzel promptly scored his second goal of the game just 10 seconds into the third, the first of three Pittsburgh goals in a span of 3:18, leading the Penguins to a 4-1 win over the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final at PPG Paints Arena.

The defending champion Penguins hold a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, which shifts to Nashville for Game 3 on Saturday.

Scott Wilson and Evgeni Malkin followed with the other two third-period goals. Nashville’s Pontus Aberg and Guentzel scored in the first for a 1-1 tie that carried into the third.

Until the three-goal eruption, the Penguins were struggling some on offense — outshot 32-19 at that point — though not as much as in Game 1 when they overcame a 37-minute shot drought.

So that was what they chatted about in the locker room.

“Just a little bit of a wakeup call,” Wilson said.

“We talked a lot about elevating our play,” added center Matt Cullen of Pittsburgh’s second intermission. “We didn’t think we had reached our best play yet and we were in a good spot at 1-1, and it’s an opportunity to go out and throw up your best period and put yourself in a good spot, and I thought we had a really good period.”

Guentzel’s second goal of the game — his playoffs-leading 12th and his second game-winner in a row — came when he got a long rebound of a shot by Bryan Rust and took advantage of an open quarter of the net to make it 2-1.

It was a Pittsburgh record for fastest playoff goal at the start of a period.

“It’s crazy,” Guentzel said of his two big games this series after an eight-game goal drought. “You can’t even put into words what it feels like.

“But we know the ultimate goal is two more wins, and they’re going to be tough to get.”

The tiebreaker wasn’t the end of the Penguins’ quick start in the period.

A Phil Kessel shot grazed Wilson’s stick before it was knocked into the net by the skates of Nashville’s Vernon Fiddler. The puck trickled under goaltender Pekka Rinne’s pads at 3:13 to make it 3-1.

Just 15 seconds later, Malkin scored off a two-on-one, firing a perfect shot over Rinne’s glove for a 4-1 lead.

The quick goal surge was enough for Nashville coach Peter Laviolette to send in backup goalie Juuse Saros in to replace Rinne, but the Penguins wouldn’t have minded scoring more.

“When we score one, we don’t stop,” Malkin said. “We want to score more. The first shift in the third period, we score. We want more. It’s our game. Never stop.”

Rinne stopped 21 of 25 shots. He allowed four goals on 11 shots in Game 1 and has allowed 20 goals over his past six games after allowing just 16 over his first 11 playoff games.

“Pekka’s been terrific through this entire playoffs,” Laviolette said. “I think there’s things we can do better. All three goals in the third period we can do something better.”

Rinne doesn’t want to have any carryover from the two losses.

“You have to put it behind you,” he said. “For me, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I’ve played a long time, and this is my first time having a chance to play for the Cup, so I think you just have to bury these two games and move ahead and just find a way to find some success.”

Pittsburgh goaltender Matt Murray stopped 37 of 38 Nashville shots while waiting for the top offense in this year’s playoffs to kick in.

“I just tried to make the next save, tried to hold them off as long as possible,” Murray said. “After that, we have confidence that we’re going to score goals.”

Chris Kunitz had two assists for the Penguins for a second game in a row.

Nashville, a first-time Final participant, heads home with a sizeable task.

“We’re concerned about where the series is at,” Predators captain Mike Fisher said. “We’re not where we want to be.”

NOTES: Penguins C Matt Cullen left briefly in the first period after being hit from behind into the boards by Predators D Matt Irwin. There was no penalty. … Pittsburgh C Nick Bonino needed assistance to the locker room after blocking a shot off his left ankle area in the first period, but he returned. … Pittsburgh RW Patric Hornqvist redirected the puck past G Juuse Saros at 6:48 of the third on a power play, but the goal was waved off after a review determined the Penguins were offside. … Penguins C Evgeni Malkin and Nashville D P.K. Subban — two of the biggest names in the game — fought at 12:14 of the third, with Malkin picking up an extra roughing penalty. … Pittsburgh made no lineup changes, meaning LW Carl Hagelin was a healthy scratch. … Nashville also went with the same lineup as in Game 1.

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NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs: Ottawa Forces Seven

May 24, 2017 by Digital Sports Desk

Ottawa 2, Pittsburgh 1
When: 8:00 PM ET, Tuesday, May 23, 2017
Where: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa
Attendance: 18,111
Special to Digital Sports Desk by The Sports Xchange
OTTAWA — Mike Hoffman of the Ottawa Senators says there was never a doubt.Anybody and everybody who watched Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final — or two periods of Game 6 — might have disagreed. Yet just as they have done all year, the Ottawa Senators showed how resilient they are with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night at Canadian Tire Centre that tied the best-of-seven series 3-3.

Embed from Getty Images

Mike Hoffman

The deciding game is Thursday in Pittsburgh, with the winner moving on to face the Nashville Predators in the Stanley Cup Final.

While Senators goalie Craig Anderson was the hero of night with 44 saves, sharing the lead role was Hoffman. His booming shot at 1:34 of the third period went off both posts before settling into the net as the winner.

“Any time you lose by a converted touchdown, it’s not good,” Hoffman said of Sunday’s 7-0 loss in Pittsburgh. “Especially in hockey.”

But the Senators “flushed” the tapes and moved on confidently.

“Yesterday, we had a meeting and that was the talk down here,” Hoffman said. “We’re winning this hockey game no matter how or what. We were coming out here and we were going to win and we did that.

“This is a great group of guys in here. You have to have something special to make it this far in the playoffs. Everyone stepped up tonight.”

Hoffman stepped up and into a slap shot after taking a drop pass from Fredrik Claesson to score his sixth goal of the playoffs.

“I had a decent amount of time to corral it and pick my spot,” Hoffman said. “I guess I was just waiting for the guys to create some room so I was able to shoot through a screen and beat him on the far side.”

Penguins goalie Matt Murray, who made 28 saves, admitted he was partly screened on the play by Claesson.

“He’s one of the best shooters in the league,” Murray said of Hoffman. “I just tried to be aggressive. I knew there wasn’t a pass option.

“He did a really good job of holding it and waiting for that screen to get to the net. The guy in front skated by right at the release point. I was late picking it up and he puts it right off the post. That was a pretty good shot.”

The Senators were outplayed for much of the night but stayed afloat with the play of Anderson.

Two nights after giving up four goals on 14 shots and being pulled in Game 5, Anderson bounced back by stopping 22 of the 23 shots he faced in the second period.

Senators center Zack Smith called it a “monstrous” performance.

Ottawa defenseman Marc Methot agreed.

“To see him have a bounce-back game, I’m not even remotely surprised,” Methot said. “It’s what I expected of him and he didn’t disappoint. He was a monster out there for us and that’s what we need.”

Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin and Ottawa’s Bobby Ryan exchanged second-period goals after the Penguins appeared to break the ice earlier, only to have a Trevor Daley goal waived off because of goalie interference.

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan didn’t get an explanation for the decision, nor did he ask for one.

“It doesn’t matter, they’re not going to change their minds,” Sullivan said. “They’re going to make the call that they think is right. It doesn’t matter what the rest of us think.”

To a man, the Penguins were happy with the way they played.

“We played a good game,” captain Sidney Crosby said. “It happens sometimes in the playoffs. We’ve got to regroup, but we did a lot of good things. We probably deserved better tonight.”

Malkin’s goal was a great solo effort. After beating Zack Smith in a battle near the end boards, he stepped out front to take a shot that Anderson stopped, but Malkin grabbed the rebound, deked to his backhand and slid the puck in for his seventh goal of the playoffs.

“One goal, it’s not enough for us,” Malkin said. “We need to score more. If we want to win, we need to score more.”

Ryan’s second-period goal was scored with the Senators enjoying a five-on-three man-advantage that stopped their power play drought at 0 of 29.

“Really a lucky goal,” Ryan said of his short-side shot. “To see it go in, I think we in the sense, community, took a collective breath there because it was overdue.”

Going forward, the Penguins will stick to the same script in an effort to get back to the finals for a second straight year.

“I think we played the way we need to,” Murray said. “Credit to them they played a solid defensive game, but we were controlling the play.

“Anderson had a big night. If not for him, I think it’s a different result. We just keep our same focus and just worry about what we’re doing.”

NOTES: Senators C Colin White played his first NHL playoff game. … Senators LW Tommy Wingels was scratched and replaced by LW Ryan Dzingel. … Injured Penguins RW Patric Hornqvist, RW Tom Kuhnhackl and D Chad Ruhwedel did not accompany the team to Ottawa, but coach Mike Sullivan said all were progressing in their recovery.

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