Penguins flex on the Senators with a four-goal first period
By Ian Levy
The Pittsburgh Penguins wanted to get off to a fast start in Game 5, but this is ridiculous.
Through the first four games of their Eastern Conference Finals matchup, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators have looked fairly evenly matched. Each team has won a game on the other’s home ice and three of the four games were decided by a single goal — the exception being Ottawa’s 5-1 victory in Game 3.
Pittsburgh stole the momentum back with a series-tying 3-2 victory in Game 4, and now that wave of momentum seems to be coalescing in a tidal wave, threatening to destroy the Senators. They’ve only played 20 minutes in Game 5, and the Penguins already hold a 4-0 lead.
It was an unlikely scorer, Olli Maatta, who first broke through for Pittsburgh.
Olli Maatta puts it in the back of the net https://t.co/Vk5kSiCj8G pic.twitter.com/jL5OuPjR1L
— SI NHL (@SI_NHL) May 21, 2017
A few minutes later, Sidney Crosby got in on the action, adding a second goal for Pittsburgh with the deflection right in front of the net.
Crosby redirect puts the Pens up 2-0 pic.twitter.com/EDy3kD4m6r
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) May 21, 2017
Nick Bonino and Scott Wilson would both add goals, piling it on. In addition to his goal, Bonino added two assists. The last three goals for Pittsburgh all came within the span of eight minutes as the game got away from Ottawa incredibly quickly. The Penguins only outshot the Senators 14-12 in the first period, but their ability to finish plays have given them an enormous lead.
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Needless to say, the Senators are going to need to dig deep if they’re going to come back and pull this one out.