An early power play goal got the Penguins off and running in Game 4 and they never looked back in a dominating 5-0 victory over the Flyers to take a 3-1 stranglehold on their opening round series. Tallying a goal and an assist, Sidney Crosby passed Mario Lemieux for the franchise lead in playoff scoring. Matt Murray was a rock once again between the pipes, recording his second shutout of the playoffs and his fourth shutout in his last six postseason games. [Pensburgh]
The Pens will look to close out the series on Friday night during Game 5 at PPG Paints Arena.
Catch up on all the storylines with today’s Pens Points...
Thanks to a goal and an assist during Game 4 last night, Sidney Crosby surpassed Mario Lemieux for first all time on the Penguins franchise playoff scoring list with a 173 career points. Kris Letang also put his name in the history books, tying Larry Murphy atop the Penguins all time scoring list for defenseman with 72. [Pensburgh]
A part of playing the game means tuning out the noise around you during the game. That’s not always possible when the fans are as rabid and relentless as Flyers fans can be. Their most frequent target is Sidney Crosby but Crosby and his teammates simply laugh off the taunts and go about their business. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]
A Flyers victory in Game 2 guaranteed that the series will extend to a minimum of five games meaning the teams will face-off in Game 5 on Friday night in Pittsburgh. Listed as TBA on the original series schedule, the NHL announced that Game 5 will face-off at 7:00 PM on Friday. [Penguins]
Vegas bookmakers were lukewarm on the Penguins Stanley Cup chances when the playoffs opened a week ago and even after two dominating performances this series, the books in Sin City still have the Penguins sitting in the middle of the pack at 8/1 odds. [Pensburgh]
Brian Dumoulin has been a key cog in the Penguins back-to-back Stanley Cup championships so it should be no surprise seeing him playing strong once again this time around as the Pens go for three in a row. [Penguins]
Losing a player to injury from game action stings enough but losing a player to friendly fire during practice is downright cruel. That’s the situation facing the Flyers as Sean Couturier left practice on Tuesday after a collision with Radko Gudas. Needless to say, Flyers fans were less than thrilled about what happened. [Trib Live]
It’s unknown at this time how long Patric Hornqvist will be out of the lineup for the Pens after missing Game 4 with an upper body injury. In his absence, the Penguins will have to make adjustments to their power play where he plays such a key role. If the results in Game 4 were any indication, they should be fine. [Pensburgh]
News and notes from around the NHL...
Many hockey fans were up in arms when it was revealed that the Golf Channel (owned by NBC) would be broadcasting a few first round games. Turns out scheduling conflicts forced the league’s hand and pushed them over to the Golf Channel. [USA Today]
No one ever wants to find themselves in the penalty box but for some seasoned veterans who have made a habit of being sent there, they have found ways to pass the time as they wait to be released back into game action. [Sports Illustrated]
At this point, you have probably seen the video of Capitals forward Brett Connolly trying to toss a puck to a little girl on the glass during warmups prior to Game 2 of their series against the Blue Jackets. The young girl eventually received a puck after being passed over twice for two young fans beside her. [ESPN]
Winnipeg Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey has been handed a one game suspension from the NHL DoPS for his cross-check to the head of Wild center Eric Staal during the first period of Game 4. Morrissey will miss Game 5, a potential series clinching game for the Jets. [NBC Sports]
Prior to game action on Wednesday night, the NHL announced the finalists for the Selke Trophy:
Your nominees for the Frank J. Selke Trophy are Patrice Bergeron, Sean Couturier and @AnzeKopitar.
— NHL (@NHL) April 18, 2018
Who will in? Find out at the 2018 #NHLAwards in @Vegas! pic.twitter.com/gH1KeKchK4
Stanley Cup Playoffs Scores...
Pittsburgh Penguins 5, Philadelphia Flyers 0 (Pittsburgh leads 3-1)
Tampa Bay Lightning 3, New Jersey Devils 1 (Tampa Bay leads 3-1)
Nashville Predators 3, Colorado Avalanche 2 (Nashville leads 3-1)
San Jose Sharks 2, Anaheim Ducks 1 (San Jose wins 4-0; will face VGK)