Penguins Game Three Review: At Long Last…A Reason to Smile
They say confession is good for the soul. Well, truth be told, I thought Washington was going to crush our Penguins yesterday afternoon at PPG Paints Arena. I was thinking 8-2. So when our guys rallied twice from one-goal deficits to send the game into overtime and then outlasted the potent Capitals in a long, grinding shootout? It was cause for celebration to say the least.
Frankly, I was stunned when the Pens grabbed a quick lead 19 seconds in…and that Evan Rodrigues of all players did the honors. But when the Caps rallied on goals by Nick Dowd and Alex Ovechkin to snatch a 2-1 lead? I thought, here we go again.
Then newcomer Colton Sceviour struck on a busted play early in the second period, courtesy of a hustling effort by Teddy Blueger, to knot the score at 2-2 and set the tone for a call-and-respond performance by our guys. The Caps would strike and we’d strike back.
Such was the case following a power-play tally by Nicklas Backstrom midway through the second period. The Pens replied just minutes later on a goal by Marcus Pettersson, who gathered in a pretty feed from Jason Zucker and rifled the puck home from the high slot.