Fanshots

GIF: Penguins tie Game 4 off weird Trevor Daley shot

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Get a whacky goal scored against you? No problem for the Penguins - just score one right back.

The goal was credited to Sidney Crosby, but frankly, I'm not quite sure where he touched the puck, if at all. All I do know is Trevor Daley had that initial shot - and that's gotta be a goal Braden Holtby isn't too happy about letting in.

... Good.

Remember when Daley was traded for Rob Scuderi? What a time.

Penguins equipment manager gives behind-the-scenes Twitter tour before Game 4

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Panoramic equipment room photo!

That's just one of the pictures you can find on Dana Heinze's Twitter feed before the puck drops for Game 4 against the Capitals.

Also for show: a closeup on the sewing machines (those little white towers you can see to the left), the "goalie cage graveyard", which looks cool, and just look at all these laundry bins.

So this is the Pittsburgh Penguins, behind the scenes, on a game day. Looks ready to go!

Even Larry King thinks the officiating in the Penguins/Capitals series is messed up

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Brooks Orpik was suspended for three games. Kris Letang is suspended for one. Tom Wilson was fined (and probably should have gotten worse). Olli Maatta is injured. Marcus Johansson might be, too.

Everyone got excited when the Pittsburgh Penguins matched up against the Washington Capitals in the second round of the playoffs, and for good reason: these are two excellent teams that have quite the rivalry between them.

What we're getting, though, is something else entirely. Every player seems almost intent on killing one another; Wilson said something remarkably stupid today.

This is clearly a series to remember, with memorable finishes across the board - but geez, when you've got even Larry King commenting on it, you know it's getting a lot of notoriety outside the hockey community, too.

Hopefully the level of play keeps up - but we could do with a bit less attempted murder, maybe? The NHL and the officials could really help with that...

GIF: Carl Hagelin scores through Nate Schmidt's legs

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The Penguins hadn't scored in a while. They were getting outshot by the Capitals all the while, the other team desperate to tie up the game.

Not to be, thanks to a ridiculous Nick Bonino pass. He delivered the puck to the blue paint just past an outstretched Braden Holtby.

Enter: Carl Hagelin. Tapping it into the net. From right in between Nate Schmidt's legs.

That level of precision on both Bonino and Hagelin's parts is nuts. What a show from the Penguins in Game 3.

GIF: Tom Kuhnhackl makes it 2-0 Penguins in just one minute

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Tom Kuhnhackl officially has his second playoff goal.

Exactly one minute after the Penguins made it 1-0, they quickly piled on the Capitals to make it 2-0.

At 6:37 into the game, Patric Hornqvist had a beautiful tip to open the scoring; at 7:37, Matt Cullen's cross-ice pass went right off Kuhnhackl and right past Holtby, putting the Capitals in a hole very early on.

The Penguins appear to be partying hard to start this game, indeed.

GIF: Beautiful tip by Patric Hornqvist makes it 1-0 for the Penguins

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The first second round game to take place in Pittsburgh this season, and the Penguins are already partying hard.

Trevor Daley took a shot form the point, and Patric Hornqvist, with a perfect tip, deflected the puck past all of the traffic in front of Braden Holtby - including Holtby himself.

Nobody was stopping that one. What a start for the Pens!

Evgeni Malkin has a point in every playoff game this year

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Remember when Evgeni Malkin made his way back into the lineup after missing the Penguins' first playoff game, the Pens lost, and hot takes abounded that he was disrupting chemistry?

Yeah, about that...

He's played six games these playoffs. In them, he's gotten a point each game - except for Game 4 against the Rangers, in which he scored two goals and two assists - and with that, is leading the Penguins in playoff scoring with nine points.

His most common scoring partners? He doesn't really have any. Malkin's offensive contributions have been spread throughout the lineup. Sidney Crosby has had a hand in three of his points, while Phil Kessel, Nick Bonino, Eric Fehr, Kris Letang, and Chris Kunitz have all had a hand in two. Ben Lovejoy, Patric Hornqvist, Brian Dumoulin, and Bryan Rust have all had a hand in one of his points thus far.

That's 10 different players. It doesn't matter who Malkin is playing with - he's still making sure the puck is going in the net.

WATCH: Nick Bonino's goal forces overtime in Game 1

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What a night Nick Bonino is having. First, he dangles his way to the front of the net to set up Ben Lovejoy for the Penguins' first goal of the series; then, he scores the game-tying goal midway through the third period to ensure the game goes to overtime.

Bonino is in perfect position to receive the behind-the-net pass from Carl Hagelin (the second time both combined for a goal in Game 1). He gets a little lucky as his shot goes off some Capitals sticks - but he scores the goal, ties the game, and all of a sudden, he's got two points in this series, and has become a guy to watch.

My big takeaway from Round 1

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Watching the highlight of all the goals scored in round 1, I was surprised just how much space on the ice Pens players were able to get (excluding goals at the net). I really think that is the key going forward against the Capitals -- continue to create space on the ice with the team speed. Apologies if this obvious to most people.

Daniel Sprong to join Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

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Daniel Sprong's junior season is over. His Charlottetown Islanders defeated Rimouski Oceanic in the third round, but were unable to overcome the Shawinigan Cataractes - who were one of the best QMJHL teams in the regular season - in the second.

Still, that's hardly a fault of Sprong's. He finishes his playoffs with four goals and 15 points over 12 games, good for a five-way tie for fifth place in league playoff scoring.

Now, it's off to the AHL for Sprong. He started his season in the NHL, playing 18 games for the Penguins and scoring two goals; however, considering the number of call-ups currently in the NHL - not to mention how well they've been doing, and how they've played at that level a bit longer - it makes sense to give Sprong AHL games instead, where he's likely to get more minutes. Besides, playoffs are still playoffs!

The WBS Penguins will be playing the Providence Bruins in the first round. Providence finished just one seed above WBS, but with two fewer wins - they collected a fair number of loser points throughout the season.

Sprong will surely be a welcome addition to WBS in their quest for the Calder Cup. Game 1 is this Wednesday, April 20.