I Have A Weak Take On Matt Niskanen's Hit On Sidney Crosby

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Sidney Crosby lying on the ice like that, but it was immediately and frighteningly familiar. Crosby famously lost a year of his prime to concussions, so it feels like too much to hope for that we’ll get to see him again over the final month of the postseason.

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Capitals Win Wild Game 3 In OT After Blowing Late Two-Goal Lead

With two minutes left to play in Pittsburgh and the Washington Capitals leading 2-0, it seemed a mere formality that the Caps would win Game 3. However, the Penguins pulled their goalie and Evgeni Malkin scored to make it 2-1 with just under two minutes to play. Moments later, the Pens’ Justin Schultz snuck in another…

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Sidney Crosby Leaves The Ice After Headshot From Matt Niskanen

The Washington Capitals are in Pittsburgh tonight for a must-win Game 3. They dropped both Game 1 and 2 in Washington, and now they have to win on the road to keep their season alive. Things are getting understandably testy. As Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby went in on goal in the first period, Alex Ovechkin knocked…

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Penguins Beat Capitals After Late Series Of Insane Saves By Marc-Andre Fleury

The Penguins hung on to beat the Capitals, 3-2, after some ridiculous work by Marc-Andre Fleury to keep Washington from scoring on a late scramble in front of the net. With three minutes remaining in the third period, Fleury somehow managed to keep things together even after losing his stick:

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How's That Adam Larsson Trade Looking Now?

The jury’s still out on the Adam Larsson-for-Taylor Hall trade, and if it’s not universally popular in Edmonton, that’s because Hall’s contributions show up on the scoresheet where Larsson’s don’t. But the Oilers dealt from a position of strength—a glut of scoring forwards—to address a specific need—a dependable…

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Predators Rookie Kevin Fiala Stretchered Off Ice And Hospitalized After Scary Injury

During the first period of Game 1 of the Predators’ playoff series with the Blues, Nashville winger Kevin Fiala got squished into the boards by Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo. The crash was very ugly and Fiala folded up like an accordion after he hit the wall. Getting scrunched down to the ice by Bortuzzo probably…

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So Much For The Blue Jackets

This is one of those weird situations where it’s hard to avoid talking about a single call like it swung things, even though the entire series—a five-game Penguins win—was pretty one-sided. But the Blue Jackets are out, after the best regular season in franchise history, and there’s plenty of time to dwell on…

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Yes, The Predators Are Good Enough To Do That To The Blackhawks

This was the postseason without “Chelsea Dagger.” The Blackhawks’ goal song never once played in these playoffs, simply because Chicago didn’t score a single goal at home. They managed just three goals in the entire series, and with last night’s 4-1 loss in Nashville, the West’s top seed were on the other side of…

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Capitals Fans: Ohfuckohshitfuckfuckfuck

Capitals fans: Now that you’re down a game to the eighth-seeded Leafs, in a series that was just supposed to be a warm-up for the real opportunities to choke, how’re those sphincters? Are they so desperately clenched that not even a molecule can pass through, giving you that familiar tummy ache of despair? Or have you…

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Yeah, The Bruins Got Hosed 

When writing a gamer, it can be tough to find just the right verb. You can’t just say a team “won” every time, or that they “beat” their opponents, because overuse gets boring, and you want to convey something of the substance of the game. Did they “dominate,” “thrash,” or “spank” the other team? Or did they merely…

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Pekka Rinne Scrambles For Incredible Desperation Save After Puck Takes Wild Bounce

The Predators nearly ceded the weirdest goal of the playoffs in the first period against the Blackhawks, after a power-play clearance banked off a stanchion and veered towards goal. Pekka Rinne leapt in the path of this one and pawed it just wide of danger.

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Zach Werenski's Face Is Really Fucked Up

In the second period of Sunday’s Game 3 between the Penguins and Blue Jackets, Columbus defenseman Zach Werenski took a Phil Kessel shot right under the eye. Since Pittsburgh kept possession of the puck, officials didn’t stop play, which led to Bryan Rust tying the game at three as Werenski spilled red on the ice on…

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Jake Guentzel Is The Ideal Finisher For Sidney Crosby

The Penguins must have a goddamned farm somewhere, where they just grow top-six forwards. Last year’s Cup run wouldn’t have happened without Conor Sheary and Bryan Rust, and now that those two have solidified their spots as unquestioned essentials to Pittsburgh’s offensive machine, here comes another kid, 22-year-old…

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Zach Werenski Bleeds All Over The Place While Penguins Celebrate Tying Game Up

Zach Werenski sacrificed his face to stop a Phil Kessel shot, only to see the Penguins score anyway moments later as Bryan Rust got the puck past Sergei Bobrovsky while blood poured from the Blue Jackets defenseman’s visage. It’s bad times in Columbus, as Pittsburgh has tied it up 3-3.

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Matt Calvert Suspended One Game For Cross-Check On Tom Kuhnhackl

Blue Jackets winger Matt Calvert will miss the next game of Columbus’s inevitable sweep at the hands of Pittsburgh after levying a stick-breaking cross-check on the Penguins’ Tom Kuhnhackl as last night’s 4-1 bruising came to a merciful end.

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The Capitals Can Unclench 

Weird things happen in the playoffs. After just two days we’ve seen game-winning goals from the unlikeliest players, including Tanner Glass, Joel Edmundson, Melker Karlsson, and Tom Wilson. And last night, with the Cup-favorite Caps facing the pressure and desperately needing an OT winner against Toronto, they got one…

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Tom Wilson Overtime Goal Gives Capitals 1-0 Series Lead

The much-anticipated Toronto-Washington first round matchup is meeting expectations, as tonight’s Game 1 went to overtime after the Capitals erased a 2-0 first period deficit and eventually prevailed after Tom Wilson knocked down a clearance attempt and fired it past Frederik Andersen 5:15 into OT.

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