While Louis Domingo and the Penguins kept the penalty at the start of the third period of Game 3 against the Rangers last night, the match was still a draw and Pittsburgh had to score again to secure victory.
The overtaking goal would have been scored by Danton Heinen, which was not the best or most dangerous shot, but he still passed Alexander Georgiev with 8:58 to the end. This was an appropriate response for Heinen, who went to the penalty area twice in the match, and also to increase the impressive depth result that Pens received from their second group for a strong game and Evan Rodriguez.
Danton Heinen: “Obviously we were super happy from the start. But the lead is difficult, they have a lot of matches left, they will get their chances. I think later in the third, we just simplified. I went back to our game and we stuck to it. “
– Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) May 8, 2022
No one plays simpler and more effective keeping away from Sydney Crosby, and the Pens captain really comes to life at the end of the game.
Crosby’s work in the third period highlighted another solid game. According to developing hockey, with Crosby on the ice, the chemicals accounted for 74.6% of expected goals, drastically displacing the ice in Pittsburgh’s favor as he made all the series.
As our friend Jesse Marshall pointed out, it was Crosby who often kept Rangers on the ropes at a time in the game when they desperately wanted to own the puck and push to level the game.
After New York erased a big deficit in the second period, it looked like Game 3 and probably the series as a whole was there to make in the third period. But the play went exactly the opposite way. According to The Athletic, overall at 5v5 in the third period: “Pittsburgh controlled expected goals (72 percent), shot attempts (22-9), goal chances (14-4) and high-risk chances (6-2 ) “.
This gave a definite answer to the big lead and the decisive victory. And although Heinen was the one who noted, Crosby’s influence cannot be underestimated.
Crosby would place the exclamation mark at night with a pass between the plate’s legs to hit Jeff Carter on goal for an empty net. It was also an important point in the big picture as Crosby’s 197th playoff point, which put him ahead of Paul Coffey in sixth place of all time in the playoffs.
Crosby has up to six points (1G + 5A) in the three games of this playoff. Together with Jake Gunzel, Sid and his line almost single-handedly put Game 2 into competition in the third period before New York retired. The first line did not score in game 3 (until the assist of the empty nets of Crosby), but it was still dangerous and put its stamp on the game.
In order for Pittsburgh to win playoff games and then build that in an attempt to win playoff series, they need their star players to play as stars. The pens are leading 2-1 at the moment in large part, because the best player on the ice so far in this series was their captain.
Pens needed such solid strength after making a three-goal lead in the second period.
“What may be the most rewarding part for me as a coach in winning this game is that a lot of teams, when you allow a team to come back into the game the way we did. In many of these cases, a lot of teams don’t recover from that, “coach Mike Sullivan said after the game. “I think that says a lot about the character of the group and the leadership we have that we’ve been able to move with.”
The best advantage Sullivan has in times like these is that he knows that Pens should never look too far for character and leadership. All he has to do is pat number 87 on the shoulder and send him to the next shift.
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