05/07/2022 – Page 2 – CanucksBanter

By WILL GRAVES Associated Press

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Louis Domingue remembers dragging a net out into the street, pulling on his rollerblades and dreaming what it would be like to be in the NHL playoffs.

The reality is surpassing the Pittsburgh Penguins’ backup to the backup goaltender’s greatest expectations.

The journeyman stopped 32 shots — including a handful on the penalty kill in the third period with the Penguins reeling — to set the stage for Danton Heinen’s late tally as Pittsburgh surged past the New York Rangers 7-4 on Saturday night to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round series.

“In the last whatever, seven years, I’ve been in and out of the league, it’s the first time I’m a rookie again,” said Domingue, thrust into action with All-Star Tristan Jarry and top reserve Casey DeSmith both unavailable due to injury. “I’m a rookie in the playoffs … every day is a new day for me. It’s a new experience.”

A wild one at that.

The Penguins grabbed control of the series heading into Monday night’s Game 4 by chasing Vezina Trophy-favorite Igor Shesterkin in the first period, blowing a three-goal cushion in the second then responding even with the top line of Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust contributing nothing on the scoresheet until New York’s net was empty in the final minutes.

“A lot of teams don’t recover from (losing a three-goal advantage),” Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan said. “I think it speaks volumes to the leadership and the character of our group that we were able to move by it.”

The Penguins killed off a pair of penalties in the first half of the third to keep the score tied before Heinen jumped on a loose puck near the New York goal line and flicked a shot by Alexandar Georgiev 11:02 into the third to put the Penguins in front to stay.

“Bit of a rollercoaster, for sure. You hate to be in the box, you hate taking penalties,” said Heinen, who was given a 2-minute minor in the third for slashing. “Our kill was unbelievable. Louis was our best killer. But the guys battled for me there, and I was lucky enough to get one.”

Evan Rodrigues had two goals and assisted on another for the Penguins. Jeff Carter also scored twice for the Pittsburgh while Brock McGinn started the scoring on what became two-plus hours of seismic momentum shifts with his first goal of the playoffs.

Pittsburgh Penguins’ Jeff Carter (77) celebrates his goal in the first period in Game 3 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the New York Rangers in Pittsburgh, Saturday, May 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Kaapo Kakko, Frank Vatrano, Artemi Panarin and Andrew Copp scored for the Rangers. Georgiev finished with 19 saves on 20 shots after taking over for Shesterkin, who was chased after allowing four goals in the first period.

New York Rangers’ Kaapo Kakko (24) shoots the puck past Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Louis Domingue (70) for a goal during the first period in Game 3 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series in Pittsburgh, Saturday, May 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

“Igor has been outstanding,” New York head coach Gerard Gallant said. “Really, you look at it right now, and he’s played 10 periods the last four and a half days, five days, whatever it is. I thought it was a good time to jumpstart it. Fortunately for us, we battled back in the second and tied it up. Unfortunately, in the third, they get a goal.”

The Penguins sent Shesterkin to the bench with a dazzling start in which they erupted for four goals — two by Rodrigues — only to promptly squander it with a second-period meltdown culminated by a turnover by defenseman Kris Letang that led directly to Copp’s short-handed tally that tied it at 4.

New York’s push continued into the third. Pittsburgh’s penalty kill — which had given up a goal in each of the first two games — held firm, with Domingue making a sliding stop on Panarin, a save that bought enough time for the Domingue’s teammates to steady themselves.

“We believe in ourselves,” Domingue said. “Once you enter the dance I think any team can win. Maybe we came in a little bit as the underdog but we certainly feel like we belong and showed that tonight.”

The Penguins overwhelmed Shesterkin by throwing bodies and pucks at the net with equal abandon. The first capacity playoff crowd at PPG Paints Arena in three years was in full throat as it lauded Shesterkin — whose 118 combined saves in the first two games was an NHL record — with chants of “IIIIIIIGOOORRR.”

Shesterkin stayed on the bench to start the second period — just the third time he’s played only 20 minutes — and the Rangers responded with a massive push in front of Georgiev to rally.

Copp provided a tying score that seemed inevitable after Kevin Rooney stripped Letang and darted to the net. Domingue made the initial save but Copp knocked in the loose puck as the net was dislodged to draw the Rangers even with 4:01 left in the second. The go-ahead goal, however, never materialized as the Rangers failed to re-claim home ice in a series that has all the ingredients of one that could go the distance.

“We had a chance to change the game and we couldn’t get one,” Rangers forward Ryan Strome said. “So it was obviously frustrating, especially after clawing all the way back.”

NOTES: The Penguins played without D Brian Dumoulin (lower-body injury) for the second straight game. Forward Rikard Rackell also missed his second straight game after leaving Game 1 following a hit to the head. … Jarry skated on Saturday morning, his first . … Rangers played without injured F Tyler Motte (upper body), F Barclay Goodrow (lower body) and D Ryan Lindgren (lower body).

By STEPHEN WHYNO

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fans’ cheers brought Ilya Samsonov close to tears on the way to his first NHL playoff victory.

Chants of “Sammy! Sammy!” followed one of many important saves he made in Washington’s 6-1 rout of Florida in Game 3 on Saturday. Samsonov rebounded after allowing an early goal and the Capitals bounced back from a blowout loss in Game 2 to take a lead in the series against the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Panthers.

Samsonov made 29 saves in his first start this postseason, taking over for Vitek Vanecek and giving teammates and coach Peter Laviolette exactly what they hoped for out of a goaltender whose play ranges from stellar to suspect. From big saves in tight on Florida captain Aleksander Barkov to the stop on Sam Reinhart that ignited the chants, this was the best of Samsonov at the most opportune time.

“I am ready all the time,” he said. “Sometimes you start playoffs, sometimes another goalie, but you need to get ready for every game. I understand if you want to win, you need to win 16 games.”

The Capitals would take two more this round to start. Game 4 is Monday in Washington.

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) celebrates his goal during the third period of Game 3 in the first-round of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoffs against the Florida Panthers, Saturday, May 7, 2022, in Washington. The Capitals won 6-1. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Alex Ovechkin scored on the power play and assisted on T.J. Oshie’s power-play goal. Marcus Johansson, Trevor van Riemsdyk and Garnet Hathaway also scored and John Carlson contributed an empty-netter for the Capitals, who shook off a 5-1 loss in Game 2 and an early deficit in Game 3 behind the play of their new starting goaltender and a stingy effort that stymied the NHL’s best regular-season offense.

“We all know playoffs have their swings and momentums,” said Oshie, who redirected Ovechkin’s shot past Sergei Bobrovsky for his goal. “A team wins one game, the other team is going to make some adjustments and come at you twice as hard the next game. They did that in Game 2 and it was our turn to respond in Game 3, and I think the boys did a really good job from the drop of the puck all the way through.”

Samsonov got the nod over Vanecek in net after stopping all 17 shots in relief Thursday. He got off to a rough start, giving up a goal to league MVP candidate Jonathan Huberdeau less than three minutes in — then stopped every shot he saw the rest of the way.

“A little bit nervous the first five minutes, but it’s just normal for a goalie,” Samsonov said. “After a couple saves, I feel pretty good physically, mentally.”

With Samsonov the backbone at even strength and short-handed, Washington’s penalty kill improved to 9 of 9 against Florida, which ranked fifth on the power play this season at just under 25%. The Panthers also led the league in scoring at more than four goals a game.

But this series against an opponent with more experience in postseason hockey — seven players remain from Washington’s 2018 Stanley Cup championship — has been another rough lesson for the Panthers about how to win the playoffs. Ill-advised penalties by top-pairing defenseman Mackenzie Weegar and Huberdeau paved the way for the power-play goals, a missed defensive assignment opened the door for Johansson’s and a turnover in the corner led to van Riemsdyk’s.

“To me, frustration’s taken over, for some reason,” interim coach Andrew Brunette said. “When you get frustrated, it usually means you’re not working hard enough. Our compete has not been what it has been all year. It could be nerves. But we have to find a way. You get frustrated when you’re not working hard. That’s kind of the case right now. You do undisciplined things because you’re frustrated.”

Similar mistakes cost Florida in the first round last year: a loss to Tampa Bay on the way to the Lightning’s second of back-to-back titles. Only this time, the Panthers were expected to make a deep run after compiling an NHL-best 122 points on 58 victories in 82 games.

If they don’t win three more over the next week, it’ll go down as another disappointment for a franchise that hasn’t advanced in the playoffs since 1996 and entered the postseason as one of the favorites to hoist the Cup. Defenseman Brandon Montour said the Panthers “weren’t really ready to play.”

“It’s playoff hockey — it’s going to be tight,” Monour said. “We’ve just got to play harder. That’s where it starts.”

The Eastern Conference eighth-seeded Capitals improved to 4 of 12 on the power play in the series. Their victory guaranteed at least two more home playoff games this spring, though Monday won’t be an easy one against the angry Panthers and Laviolette knows it.

“If we don’t follow it up, then that’s on us,” he said. “It’s got to be pointed from right now. We’ve got to make sure that our mindset is knowing exactly where they’re at.”

NOTES: Ovechkin’s goal was his 72nd in the playoffs, tying him with Patrick Marleau and Esa Tikkanen for 14th on the career list. His 28 power-play goals are tied for seventh. … Capitals right winger Tom Wilson missed a second consecutive game with a lower-body injury. … Connor McMichael made his NHL playoff debut, replacing Brett Leason, who took Wilson’s spot in Game 2.