Crosby scores twice, Bonino has victor as Pens beat Caps

“He can put teams back on their heels”, captain Sidney Crosby said. “I think that’s the best way of getting some shifts underneath you when it comes to playing hard in intense playoff hockey”.

“It gives us energy to take energy from the crowd and from the building”, Rust said Friday.

After winning twice in Washington, the Penguins host Game 3 on Monday night. He leads the Capitals in scoring chances for per 60 at 11.26. Ovechkin has 36 goals and 29 assists for 65 points in those meetings and Crosby has 30 goals and 47 assists for 77 points.

For the second game, Washington majorly out-shot the Penguins.

The Capitals want more dominating play similar to the first period Saturday, but with better results.

“It was things that people need to say and things that some people need to hear”, winger T.J. Oshie said. Two reasons: Holtby was pulled Saturday after allowing three goals on nine second period shots and, of course, Trotz sounded a tad non-committal when asked about Holtby’s status following the humbling 6-2 loss.

“We just had to change the mojo”. In this series, Crosby has four points; two goals and two spoon-feeding, primary assists in Saturday’s 6-2 win. They have never swept a four-game series. Malkin’s deflection was initially waved off for goaltender interference, but the Penguins challenged and the call was overturned.

“I’ve been around it my whole life”, said Guentzel, taken by the Penguins in the third round of the 2013 draft. “They’ve responded all year and they will respond again”.

As we eluded here in the Game 2 recap, it can’t be easy for the Caps to find answers against the Penguins right now. Sullivan didn’t have an update on RW Patric Hornqvist, who left the game in the first period after blocking a shot from John Carlson.

That’ll go up, though, as he works his way back to 100 percent.

As Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said: “The playoffs are a different animal”.

“I think if you talked to Kevin, he would admit that he can play better”.

Washington Capitals goalie Philipp Grubauer watches the puck against Pittsburgh right wing Bryan Rust in the third period. The Penguins finished the period with a 3-1 lead.

Pittsburgh Penguins center Jake Guentzel, center, celebrates his goal with Sidney Crosby (87) and Ian Cole (28) during the second period of Game 2 in an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series against the Washington Cap. This effect was seen just last series when the Caps played Toronto.

“Haggy’s a great two-way player”, Kessel said. “They capitalized on a couple of mistakes in the second, and that changed the game”.

But there is also a lot of pressure on a player like Shattenkirk individually. Washington D Karl Alzner (upper body injury) missed his sixth straight game. RW Paul Carey replaced Brett Connolly in the Capitals’ lineup.

For a team with a reputation of early playoff exits and one that hasn’t made it past the second round in the Ovechkin era, there’s no shortage of urgency.

The Nashville Predators showed that in sweeping the Western Conference-leading Chicago Blackhawks in the first round, and the Los Angeles Kings won it all as the No. 8 seed in 2012, going a record 10-1 on the road as they carved through the playoffs. Within the first 64 seconds of the second period, Crosby had as many goals as he had points in the Penguins’ series against the Capitals a year ago.