The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Vegas Golden Knights both won their opening second-round NHL Playoff games in very different ways.
Pucks dropped Thursday night to officially kick off the second round of the 2018 NHL Playoffs. One game featured two of the game’s biggest stars and surefire Hall of Fame inductees, while the other saw the term “expansion team” continue to be redefined.
Pittsburgh Penguins 3, Washington Capitals 2
PIT Goals: P. Hornqvist (3), S. Crosby (7), J. Guentzel (7)
WSH Goals: E.Kuznetsov (5), A. Ovechkin (6)
The Pittsburgh Penguins rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the third period to win the game 3-2. The Penguins did all their scoring in a span of 4:49 of the third period as Jake Guentzel had a goal and two assists, and captain Sidney Crosby recorded one goal with one assist.
It’s the third consecutive season that these two teams have met in postseason action.
Kuznetsov opens the scoring at 17 seconds into the contest.
Alex Ovechkin gives the Caps a 2-0 lead.
Sid the Kid ties the game at 2-2 in the third period.
Guenrzel’s deflection is the game winner.
Game two will be in Washington on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET on NBC.
San Jose Sharks 0 Vegas Golden Knights 7
VGK Goals: C.Eakin (2), E.Haula (2), J. Marchessault (1), A.Tuch (2), S.Theadore (2), C. Miller (1), J.Neal (2)
The Sharks and the Knights both entered the game undefeated in the playoffs as both teams swept their first-round opponents.
But Vegas took control of the game early and never looked back. The Knights had a 2-0 lead just 26 seconds into the first period and cruised to a 7-0 victory at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV.
The seven goals equaled the total number of goals scored in the Knights’ four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Kings in round one.
Knights goalie Marc- Andre Fleury had an outstanding game, making 33 saves and recording his third shutout of the 2018 Playoffs.
Eakin started the scoring for the Knights.
Haula scored just 26 seconds later for a 2-0 lead.
Marchessault continued the Knights assault making it 3-0 six minutes into the third period.
Tuch scored the Knights first power-play goal.
Theodore score in the second period gives the Knights a 5-0 lead.
The game became really nasty in early in the third as the sharks Evander Kane took a five-minute major penalty which certainly will be looked at by the NHL. Kane not once, but twice cross-checked the Knights Pierre-Edouard Bellemare into the face. Kane was ejected and Bellemare left for the locker room to get treated for the hit.
Following a power-play goal by the Knights Colin Miller, James Neal followed up with his second of the playoffs to give the Knights a 7-0 lead.
The two teams will play game two of the series in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
