Senators at Penguins
The Ottawa Senators used a blistering-hot start to put the Pittsburgh Penguins on their heels in Game 3, only to sputter out of the blocks in the following contest and see the visitors even the Eastern Conference final at two victories apiece. Coach Guy Boucher's charges look for a better start out of the gate on Sunday afternoon as the series shifts to PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh for Game 5.
"They played with urgency, which was to be expected. Stanley Cup champions, they bounce back in every series," Boucher told reporters after the Penguins matched their sum goal total from their first three contests of the series to post a 3-2 triumph in Game 4 on Friday. Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby set up defenseman Olli Maatta's game-opening goal and added a power-play tally for his first multi-point performance since sustaining a concussion on Washington defenseman Matt Niskanen's cross-check in Game 3 of the second-round series. "As I've said all along here, this group has a knack for responding the right way to any of the adversities or the challenges that this team has been faced with. I think it always starts with our leadership. It starts with our captain," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said of Crosby, who is one helper shy of becoming the 22nd player in NHL history to collect 100 playoff assists.
TV: 3 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, TVAS
ABOUT THE SENATORS: Ottawa mustered just three shots in the first three of four power-play opportunities in Game 4 to drop to 0-for-25 with the man advantage in the last nine contests. "I think everybody's frustrated. We just weren't connecting," said Kyle Turris, who was captured on camera jawing with captain Erik Karlsson on the bench. For his part, Karlsson has recorded an assist in back-to-back contests and is averaging a robust 28:25 of ice time in the postseason despite playing with two hairline fractures in his heel that presumably will require attention in the offseason.
ABOUT THE PENGUINS: While Pittsburgh enjoyed its highest scoring output since Game 4 of the second-round series, the focus has shifted to the other end of the ice as a returning Matt Murray made 24 saves to mask the injury troubles of a beleaguered group of blue-liners. Chad Ruhwedel sustained a concussion in the first period following a hit from Bobby Ryan, forcing four of the five remaining defensemen to play more than 20 minutes on Friday (Maatta, 24:58; Brian Dumoulin, 23:29; Trevor Daley, 23:03; and Ron Hainsey, 20:42) while Ian Cole played 19:47. Justin Schultz, who sustained an upper-body injury in Game 2, may return for Game 5 in addition to forwards Bryan Rust (upper body), Patric Hornqvist (upper body) and Tom Kuhnhackl (lower body), Sullivan said on Saturday.
OVERTIME
1. Pittsburgh F Jake Guentzel notched two assists on Friday to increase his point total to 16 (nine goals, seven assists), which is five shy of the NHL rookie record for a single playoff year - set by Minnesota's Dino Ciccarelli in 1981 and matched by Philadelphia's Ville Leino in 2010.
2. Ottawa G Craig Anderson, who yielded three goals on Friday for the first time since Game 5 of the second-round series versus the New York Rangers, has better statistics in the playoffs on the road (2.02 goals-against average, .927 save percentage) than at home.
3. Senators D Mark Borowiecki, who has been sidelined by a lower-body injury since Game 2 of the first round, and F Alexandre Burrows (lower body) "both could be in" the lineup for Game 5, Boucher told reporters on Saturday.