The Penguins are attempting to take a 3-0 lead in their first-round series against the Columbus Blue Jackets. We’ll be here with live updates and reaction to the game as it unfolds at Nationwide Arena.
9:21 — Sidney Crosby creating and Jake Guentzel finishing — that’s how it might work for the next few years. Guentzel completed his hat trick at 13:10 of overtime after some amazing work by Crosby behind the net. The game is over, and the series feels like it may as well be.
9:08 — This game has been such that an overtime helmet save may not be one of the three weirdest things to take place. That’s what Marc-Andre Fleury pulled off with about 13 minutes left in the first OT.
Heady save by Fleury. #PITvsCBJ #illseemyselfout pic.twitter.com/yMuc6WcDfZ
— Brandon Velaski (@bvelaski) April 17, 2017
8:45 — We’re headed to overtime. As per tradition:
why watch overtime playoff hockey when you can simply snort cocaine and ride a motorcycle out of a helicopter
— Jon Bois (@jon_bois) April 17, 2014
8:31 — Bob Errey said Brandon Dubinsky had to make “the walk of shame” from the box after his penalty cost the Blue Jackets a goal. He made up for it in a very real way, skating past Carter Rowney and potting a huge rebound past Marc-Andre Fleury to tie the game at 15:11 of third period.
8:26 — A dumb hockey play: Cross-checking someone in front of the net in a tie game with your team’s season effectively on the line. That’s what Brandon Dubinsky did.
A smart hockey play: Immediately tracking a miss shot off the boards, then banking the carom off the goalie’s leg and into the net, because it was the only play you could make. That’s what Jake Guentzel did, making it 4-3 Penguins at 11:48 of the third.
8:15 — Zach Werenski got in the face with a puck and came back looking like this.
Zach is back! #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/YojrAEzH6s
— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) April 17, 2017
Hearing about the toughness of hockey players can get old. It’s also true.
7:35 — This is the way things tend to work: In the first period, officials gave the Penguins a power play then took it away. It was a judgment call by the officials that hurt the Penguins
In the second period, the Penguins tied the game 3-3 after Zach Werenski took a shot from Phil Kessel to the face, bled all over the place and struggled to make it to the bench. Not blowing the play dead was a judgment call by the officials that benefited the Penguins. Bryan Rust was credited with the goal.
Maybe it’s karma. Maybe it’s consistently inconsistent officiating. But for the most part, it all evens out.
7:18 — At some point, Sergei Bobrovsky is going to play better. He’s too good to keep doing this sort of thing — but man, he had a chance to glove a Bryan Rust shot at 5:21 of the second period and just ... didn’t. It’s 3-2.
7:10 — One of the weirder parts of the first period: the officials’ decision to award then rescind a power play to the Penguins. We have our explanation.
On non-penalty penalty call. Refs thought a #CBJ had high-sticked Kuhnhackel. After conferring realized it was Ian Cole. Thus, no penalty.
— Tom Reed (@treed1919) April 16, 2017
That’s fine; officials have the right to “pick up the flag” — but still, if the Penguins would’ve scored after Fleury skated to the bench (or, say, scored on themselves), it would’ve been a mess.
7:05 — If you were concerned about the Blue Jackets’ ability to outhit the Penguins in the first two games, you shouldn’t have been. The Penguins won that category 13-12 and are still down 3-1 after the first period. Hitting for the sake of hitting doesn’t accomplish anything.
6:25 — Nick Bonino, all told, probably wishes this hadn’t happened to him.
Nick Bonino takes a slap shot off the jaw. Woof. Hope he's okay. pic.twitter.com/ulK5TyuU0F
— SB Nation NHL (@SBNationNHL) April 16, 2017
6:24 — Brad Werenski scored 30 seconds into a power play. OK, then. 3-1 Jackets.
6:20 — Alright, now the Blue Jackets have equaled their goal total for the series in 5:02. It’s 2-1, courtesy of Cam Atkinson, a Sidney Crosby turnover and a failed Marc-Andre Fleury poke check.
6:18 — The Blue Jackets a) had a lead b) wasted it in a little more than three minutes. Jake Guentzel has six goals in his last seven games. Jake Guentzel.
6:11 — Huh. That worked. Atkinson, who’d been barely noticeable in the first two games, scored in 11 seconds. So, the “second line” started the game and will probably stay matched up against Sidney Crosby. Weird how that works.
Crosby actually won the faceoff but Ian Cole banked a puck off an official’s skate. Everyone laughed when Foligno talked about getting bounces, but that’s exactly what he meant.
6:10 — John Tortorella made a whole bunch of lineup changes, and they don’t have much to do with Matt Calvert. Nick Foligno dropped down from the first line to the second, with Brandon Dubinsky and Cam Atkinson.
Here we go.@BlueTech_Inc projected #CBJ lineup 👇 pic.twitter.com/6s72DwBBy1
— ColumbusBlueJackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) April 16, 2017
Compare that to Game 2:
B-O-B@BlueTech_Inc projected #CBJ lineup 👇 pic.twitter.com/ebK0rNNH5d
— ColumbusBlueJackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) April 14, 2017
First Published: April 16, 2017, 10:14 p.m.
