After a shocking upset at the hands of the 12th-seeded Montreal Canadiens in the NHL's qualifying round, Sidney Crosby believes the window for the Pittsburgh Penguins' championship core may soon be closing.
"With age, it's a possibility," Crosby said, according to NHL.com's Wes Crosby. "But I can only speak personally. Obviously, I would've liked to stay a little bit healthier and play a full season."
He added: "It's a really hard one to evaluate. That's the honest truth as far as trying to break this all down. It's a tough one to evaluate overall."
Crosby - who turned 33 years old Friday - Evgeni Malkin (34), and Kris Letang (33) have all been with the Penguins during their three Stanley Cup wins since 2009.
The trio has struggled to stay healthy recently. Crosby played in 41 games during the 2019-20 season, while Malkin and Letang appeared in 55 and 61 contests, respectively.
However, head coach Mike Sullivan believes those three players still have years left in the tank.
"I think these guys are still elite players. I believe in this core," Sullivan said. "They're elite hockey players, and I still think there's elite play left in them. So, that's just what I believe. Obviously, at some point, everybody's window closes. ... But I strongly believe that this group has a lot of elite hockey (left)."
Letang echoed his coach's sentiment and said he believes Pittsburgh will contend in the near future.
"I think we still believe in the core group of this team," Letang said. "I think we have a lot left in the tank. We're going to keep playing hard and give everything for the Penguins. I think we have to be better. This year, we didn't play good enough to win, but I feel comfortable with the group of guys that we have."
We've seen plenty of action so far with the first week in the books from the NHL's bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton. All but one series has concluded, and upsets have taken place across the board. There's been no shortage of incredible plays with teams vying for playoff spots and seeding positions. It's been nearly five months since the season was paused on March 12, but it seems as though players haven't missed a step.
Let's take a look at the top 10 plays from across the league until now.
10. Hughes continues to dazzle in postseason
Quinn Hughes may be a rookie, but he was one of the best defensemen in the league this season. His six points in four games lead all blue-liners in the postseason so far. He managed to finally get on the board with his first career playoff goal in Game 4. The 20-year-old simply makes it look easy sometimes, as he wired a wicked wrister top shelf through traffic from high in the zone.
The Montreal Canadiens defenseman scored two of his team's most important goals against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the series. Considering Jeff Petry started just 15% of his shifts at 5-on-5 in the offensive zone during the series, that's pretty impressive. It's hard to choose between his overtime goal in Game 1 or his game-winning goal in Game 3, so here's both.
The Columbus Blue Jackets thought they were down and out in Game 3 of their series against Toronto until Pierre-Luc Dubois decided they weren't. The forward scored two goals to help the Blue Jackets climb out of a 3-0 hole before they eventually tied it. Dubois capped off the night with a pretty backhand goal to complete the hat trick in overtime and recorded the first-ever three-goal night in Columbus postseason history.
These two sequences flew a bit under the radar, but they perfectly showcase some of the reasons Carey Price remains one of the best goalies in the league. Facing one of the league's most dangerous power plays, the Canadiens netminder flawlessly navigates around the crease, keeping his eye on the puck, and, most importantly, keeping it out of the net.
The Carolina Hurricanes netminder started his first postseason game in seven years, and it didn't look like he missed a beat. James Reimer stopped 37 of the 38 shots he faced and made one of the most mesmerizing saves of the qualifying round. With nearly every player on the ice in his crease, the 32-year-old managed to sprawl and get his stick out to deny the Rangers of a sure goal.
The @canes advanced last night, and if you missed it, THIS was one of the most incredible sequences we've seen in a long time.
— #StanleyCup Qualifiers on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) August 5, 2020
5. Aho seals sweep with nifty solo effort
Sebastian Aho turned 23 years old a couple of weeks ago, and it seems like he's getting better and better. He put up eight points in the Hurricanes' three games and helped seal the sweep against the New York Rangers when he potted a pretty solo effort goal in Game 3. He's a threat whenever he steps on the ice, and he's quickly proving why he's one of the best in the league.
— #StanleyCup Qualifiers on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) August 5, 2020
4. Carrier did what?!
William Carrier is a great hockey player, but he definitely isn't known for his elite goal-scoring capabilities. With just 21 goals in 203 career games, the Vegas Golden Knights forward secured his first-ever postseason goal in style. With the clock winding down in a tie game against the Dallas Stars, the gritty forward took a bank pass off the end boards and put it through his legs and into the net.
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What a 🔥 move by William Carrier to lock up the comeback W for Vegas
It seems like every time Connor McDavid steps on the ice, he does something new that blows the minds of hockey fans everywhere. This year's postseason was no different. Yes, he scored a hat trick - big deal. But his second goal was arguably one of the best of his career. In a quick few seconds, he managed to show off his incredible hand-eye coordination to bat a puck down, put his absurd speed on full display, and made Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Olli Maatta look like a minor-league defender.
— #StanleyCup Qualifiers on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) August 4, 2020
2. Kadri beats the buzzer
The stakes may not have been as high as other qualifying-round series since it was just a round-robin game, but Nazem Kadri managed to score one of the most suspenseful goals of the opening round. With less than a second left on the clock, the Colorado Avalanche forward managed to whack one in the net to secure the victory.
The Toronto Maple Leafs looked to be on their way out of the postseason in disappointing fashion once again until they pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in NHL history. The Leafs managed to score three goals with their goalie pulled in the last four minutes of regulation and then won the game in overtime to force a Game 5. Toronto was the third team in NHL history to win a postseason game after overcoming a three-goal deficit in the final four minutes.
Vancouver Canucks captain Bo Horvat is happy to see how far the franchise has come after his team defeated the Minnesota Wild to advance to the round of 16 on Friday.
"This franchise has been through a lot," Horvat said, according to NHL.com's David Satriano. "These last four years, not making the playoffs, we've taken it to heart. We wanted to come out and prove ourselves, play hard. We have a great group of guys here, and to finally get a playoff win under our belt in a playoff series, it definitely feels great, but we've got a lot more work to do."
The Canucks have made the playoffs three times in the last eight seasons and haven't advanced past the first round of the postseason since they were one win away from capturing the franchise's first Stanley Cup in 2011.
Horvat, who was selected ninth overall in the 2014 NHL Draft, has been a big part of the Canucks' rebuild. He leads the team in games played (446), goals (120), and points (275) since his rookie season.
The 25-year-old pointed to goaltender Jacob Markstrom as one of the biggest reasons behind the Canucks' regular-season success and their qualifying series win.
"He's been a brick wall for us all year," Horvat said. "He might want a couple back or one of them back tonight, but you know what, he's been our rock ever since Day 1, and we wouldn't be in this position right now without him."
Markstrom was superb through the first three games of the series, allowing five goals on 92 shots, including a shutout in Game 3. He stopped just 25 of the 29 shots he faced in Game 4.
Vancouver will face the loser of the final round-robin game between the Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues in the first round of the NHL's traditional playoff format.
"If you want something good," the Greek philosopher Epictetus once said, "get it from yourself." In other words, take responsibility for your thoughts and actions. Don't wait for the world to change. Be resilient and change it yourself.
That mindset has, in a weird way, come to define the stunning, unpredictable, and ultra-entertaining Eastern Conference qualifier series between the Maple Leafs and Blue Jackets. Not only have the two teams that play completely different styles traded wins to set up a fifth and deciding game Sunday, the manner in which they've arrived at this point has been utterly confounding.
Both teams played well enough to win Game 1, though Columbus' combination of elite goaltending and its protective defensive system led to a 2-0 victory. The Leafs kept pressing in Game 2, peppering the Blue Jackets with shots, and were rewarded with a 3-0 win. In Game 3, a comfortable 3-0 lead for Toronto turned very uncomfortable and then disastrous as the Blue Jackets stormed back in dramatic fashion to win 4-3 in overtime. And in Friday's epic Game 4, the Leafs flipped the script and authored their own improbable comeback, also winning 4-3 in overtime after falling behind 3-0, but pulling off their miracle with under four minutes to play in the third period.
Two gut-punch shutouts and two gut-punch 4-3 games. No in-between.
"This is what happens in a series. The ups and downs," Columbus defenseman Seth Jones told reporters Friday night in his postgame media availability. "It's a roller coaster and we've got to try to stay even keel."
Chase Agnello-Dean / Getty Images
By and large, the 2019-20 Blue Jackets are just that - even keel. While his antics with the media might suggest otherwise, coach John Tortorella is steadfast in keeping his players focused entirely on the next obstacle and as far away from outside noise as possible. It's one of the reasons Columbus is in this 2-2 spot with Toronto to begin with. There's a natural, inherent resilience to the oft-forgotten franchise from central Ohio. It wins because it's a unified group, a team in the truest sense of the word.
The Leafs surely are a team, too, but not quite in the same way. They don't abide by the virtues of blue-collar hockey or have anything close to a small-market attitude. Juxtaposed with Columbus, Toronto must find resilience, that chip on one's shoulder, along the way. Which is what made Keefe's blunt assessment of his team's Game 3 performance fascinating.
"I didn’t like our game in the first period. I didn’t like our game at 1-0. I didn’t like our game at 2-0 or 3-0. We just got what we deserved," Keefe, who replaced Mike Babcock in November, said Thursday. "I thought we reverted back to a lot of really bad habits. We didn’t have any real purpose or plan to our game today. We were just making it up as we go along."
He then repeated himself: "We get what we deserve."
Andre Ringuette / Getty Images
That the Leafs were ill prepared is a notable admission, considering it's in Keefe's job description to make sure his team's ready to play, especially in games that truly matter. But let's be honest: Toronto is, without question, the more talented squad here, and perhaps that leads to shortcuts. Theoretically, the Maple Leafs shouldn't surrender a three-goal lead, right? There's a psychological toll that comes with Game 3's ugly collapse if you're not careful.
Except on Friday, roughly 24 hours after making those remarks about not having a purpose or a plan, Keefe settled in and controlled what he could as the visiting coach - player motivation, line combinations, player usage - to spark a rally for the ages late in the third period. Backs against the wall, the plan was going to be carried out this time, no excuses.
Keefe leaned heavily on his stars. Morgan Rielly finished with a game-high 33:51 of ice time. Auston Matthews was second at 28:15. Mitch Marner and John Tavares were third and fourth at 27:58 and 26:52, respectively. Most notably, the three highly paid forwards skated together for 12-plus minutes at five-on-five, creating a super line of sorts, something Babcock only flirted with over the course of his multiple seasons in Toronto. Friday, facing elimination and trailing, Keefe said screw it, let's do this, and just like that, in four minutes, Columbus became Toronto, blowing a 3-0 lead and a glorious opportunity.
Mark Blinch / Getty Images
It seems so incredibly simple: play your best players as much as possible. But in the normal flow of a game, or a series, or a season, it can sometimes be detrimental to grind your stars into the ground. This was different. Toronto was desperate - Jason Spezza was out there fighting! - and Keefe's leadership, his resilience, and his trust in the process paid off. He wasn't stubborn about it, he didn't publicly yell or scream, he simply rose to the occasion as a coach.
Matthews, the series leader in points with six, sniped the game-winning goal - who else? He set up Leafs goals two and three - primary assists on incredibly bold passes through the slot to Tavares and Zach Hyman - in the frantic final minutes. Marner, who clocked a game-high 50 seconds of offensive zone possession time, according to data provided by SPORTLOGIQ, pitched in three assists. Tavares, who turned the puck over in Game 3 ahead of Columbus' OT winner, finished with a goal and the primary assist on Matthews' clincher, which came on a power play with Nick Foligno in the box.
"Your mind just kind of goes blank," Matthews told reporters postgame of the memorable marker. "It's a credit to every single guy on our team for just sticking with it, battling back, and just not quitting."
Matthews and Pierre-Luc Dubois have been unbelievable through four games. Matthews has been an absolute force in all three zones, pushing the tempo no matter the score and no matter how many times Joonas Korpisalo or Elvis Merzlikins - Columbus' two goalies, who've been incredible - shut the door. Dubois, meanwhile, managed to turn a very public lecture from Tortorella during Game 2 into a hat trick a couple of days later. He's asserted himself on both sides of the puck.
Heading into Sunday's Game 5, there are countless questions. Can Columbus persevere without stud defenseman Zach Werenski, who missed half the third period and all of OT on Friday? Can Toronto's fourth line of Spezza, Kyle Clifford, and Pierre Engvall - the trio played 9:22 at even strength, trailing only the super line in five-on-five minutes, and dominated possession to the tune of 76.19%, according to Natural Stat Trick - do that again? The most crucial question, though, given their recent playoff history and this roller coaster of a series and 48 hours, might be: Can Toronto persevere?
On Sunday, it'll be fascinating to watch whose resiliency will shine through. Who will, as the Greek philosopher said, get it from themselves?
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We've been spoiled since the NHL's return, so a two-game slate on Saturday feels eerily quiet.
However, you only need one game to have action, so in that regard, we're living in luxury.
Philadelphia Flyers (+120) @ Tampa Bay Lightning (-140)
The round-robin games have been low in intensity at times, but that won't be the case when the Flyers and Lightning meet on Saturday in their final tune-up before the playoffs. Both of these teams aredialed in, making for a tightly contested game with first place and a date with the Montreal Canadiens up for grabs.
The Flyers have allowed just 2.05 expected goals against in two games, limiting their opponents to just eight high-danger scoring chances. The Lightning haven't been as stout defensively, with 3.17 expected goals against in their two games, while giving up 16 high-danger chances. But they haven't missed a beat offensively, and Andrei Vasilevskiy has been excellent.
Philadelphia has benefited from some stout goaltending as well. Carter Hart was superb against the Boston Bruins, while Brian Elliott was sharp against the Washington Capitals. Hart will be back in for this one, with Vasilevskiy remaining in net for Tampa. With both goaltenders on top of their game and plenty at stake, don't expect fireworks in Saturday's lone game in Toronto.
Pick: Under 5.5 (+105)
Vegas Golden Knights (+100) @ Colorado Avalanche (-120)
The first seed in the West is also up for grabs in Edmonton on Saturday. The Knights are having a high-scoring 2-0 start to round-robin play, while the Avalanche have been nearly flawless in their wins.
I'm high on both of these teams, and truthfully there is very little to separate them on the ice. The Knights have a slight edge in goal, while the Avalanche are incrementally better on the blue line, and both are capable of scoring in bunches.
There's a strong possibility these teams will meet in the Western Conference final.If this ends up being the case, possessing top seed - meaning "home-ice" advantage and final line choices before faceoffs - would be huge. There's plenty at stake, so in this final matchup, expect Colorado to keep playing strong defensively and Vegas to try and tighten things up.
Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.
Underdogs prevailed in both of the NHL's 5 vs. 12 qualifying series games Friday. Here are three takeaways from Montreal blanking Pittsburgh 2-0, and Chicago bouncing Edmonton from the playoffs with a 3-2 win.
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Montreal's outing went according to plan
There are two ways to frame the Canadiens' mammoth Game 4 shutout victory. One is to say they basically won in five seconds - the elapsed time between Ben Chiarot forcing a turnover in the offensive zone and Artturi Lehkonen cashing Paul Byron's whirled pass to the tip of the crease. The other is all-encompassing - Montreal had a plan on Friday, and it worked to perfection for 60 minutes.
From puck drop, Claude Julien's charges looked entirely content to angle for a 1-0 win. They planned to bottle up Pittsburgh's rushes, prevent the Penguins from gaining any modicum of space or speed, curb the quality of any shots that got through to Carey Price, and seize on the frustration this approach was sure to cause. And, you know, to score eventually.
The Habs' conservative start was striking after they racked up four goals and a whack of scoring chances off the rush in Game 3. Yet it was also logical they'd default to caution, given the skill gap between these rosters. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were never at their best, but their reputations precede them. As it turned out, Montreal's four top scorers - Tomas Tatar, Phillip Danault, Max Domi, and Brendan Gallagher - didn't need to supply a single goal in this textbook underdog series win.
Andre Ringuette / Getty Images
The Canadiens gained more pep as Game 4 wore on, seemingly assured that quickening the tempo wouldn't benefit Pittsburgh. They overran the Pens in shot and scoring attempts from the midway mark on and were sharper down the tense final stretch. Julien rejigged his lines to promote Nick Suzuki to No. 1 center, which galvanized the new second trio of Danault, Byron, and Lehkonen. That line pounded Pittsburgh at five-on-five to the tune of a 70.5 expected-goals percentage, plus the game-deciding goal.
The big picture here: a .500 team, the 24th-best in the NHL, is legitimately in the playoffs, where they'll probably get pantsed in, say, five games by Tampa Bay or Philadelphia. But let's hold that thought for next week. Price's .947 save percentage (.960 at even strength) is the best mark of the qualifying round, and after the Habs lost Game 2 despite his sensational play, other guys - the defensive triad of Chiarot, Shea Weber, and Jeff Petry, primarily - helped lift the club off the mat.
As for that desired 1-0 scoreline? The insurance marker Weber wound up rimming around the boards and into Pittsburgh's empty net came when Chiarot, Danault, Byron, and Lehkonen - plus Price, of course - were also on the ice. For those players specifically, it'd be hard to script a more fitting ending.
Where was Pittsburgh's urgency?
Pardon a quick reference to Friday's Nashville-Arizona game, which the Coyotes won 4-3 in overtime to seal that series. Bowing out at this stage is a profound disappointment for the Predators, the Western Conference's sixth seed, but at least Roman Josi can't be blamed. He didn't score but took a dumbfounding 14 shots on Coyotes goalie Darcy Kuemper, more than a quarter of Nashville's 52 overall.
Suffice to say that Crosby and Malkin didn't rise to Josi's standard in Game 4. The moments that they, or any teammate, played with the needed urgency to snap Pittsburgh's trance were scant. Crosby forced a good save from Price at the end of a rare odd-man rush, and he rang one slapper off iron during a third-period power play. Those were fruitless highlights on an afternoon Pittsburgh generated just 22 shots and three high-danger chances.
Chase Agnello-Dean / NHL / Getty Images
If Montreal was the chief beneficiary of this postseason's unique format, the Penguins fell prey to the danger it represents: a hot goalie toppling a high seed in a shorter series than usual. That doesn't fully explain this catastrophic letdown, though, and for as impenetrable as Price looked at times, stars have to be ready to bear the burden of facing him. Malkin helped drive solid possession numbers across the series but wasn't on the ice for a single Pens goal at five-on-five. Pittsburgh only scored four of them, anyway.
By the time Game 4 ended, broadcasters working the series were trendily pointing out how Pittsburgh's lost nine of its 10 most recent playoff games, including last season's first-round sweep at the hands of the Islanders.Their Stanley Cup form of 2016 and 2017 recedes farther in the rearview every year.
By inserting Tristan Jarry in net for Game 4, coach Mike Sullivan was seeking to replicate the boost Matt Murray provided when he displaced Marc-Andre Fleury during the 2017 Eastern Conference Final. Ultimately, the Pens' struggles against Price negated their goaltending question. Jarry and Murray are both about to hit restricted free agency, but the team's more pressing issue is its great disappearing killer instinct.
Chicago won with mettle
The Oilers could have beaten the Blackhawks without necessarily changing too much, as their No. 5 seed foretold. In what's obviously bare consolation, the advanced metrics are on their side as they exit the bubble in their own home city. Their superior shot share and number of quality chances at five-on-five amounted to an expected goals percentage of 58.52. Put into words, they probably should have won three of four games, not the reverse.
In reality, Chicago outscored Edmonton 12-9 at full strength - and 3-0 across the third periods of Games 3 and 4, as the Oilers squandered one lead and then biffed the chance to claim another and avoid premature elimination. A few factors led to Edmonton's undoing, primarily defensive lapses at the wrong time and the general absence of secondary scoring - an impediment in a matchup that featured so many goals both ways.
Dave Sandford / NHL / Getty Images
Crucially, the Oilers lacked tenacity in decisive moments, which is what helped the Blackhawks secure their first series victory since 2015, when Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane last hoisted the Stanley Cup.
In Game 3, Edmonton blinked and lost its one-goal edge in the third period, when Chicago rallied back to score on two netfront tips. The team's cunning and brawn set up all three of their goals in Game 4. Brandon Saad got inside position by the net on Oscar Klefbom ahead of his wraparound tally. At 2-2, Toews outmuscled Ethan Bear in a puck battle and then fed Dominik Kubalik for his one-timed winner.
Small breaks and decisions had an outsize effect in shaping Chicago's victory, which happens in close games. Think of Darnell Nurse's (admittedly dubious) interference penalty that interrupted a five-minute Oilers power play. Think of Kubalik stretching to stay onside during the zone entry that preceded his goal. Think of Edmonton getting booked for too many men with two minutes left, and Chicago adopting a four-corners offense to burn most of that remaining time.
Connor McDavid exits the playoffs as the clubhouse leader in scoring with nine points. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl were forces in this series, too. But the dearth of help behind them, and strong showings from Kane and Toews in their own right, along with Corey Crawford finally standing tall in Game 4 all offset the duo's brilliance. Crawford's 43 saves included a few huge stops in the waning minutes that will nag Edmonton's stars all summer.
Like Montreal, the Blackhawks will be severely outmatched next round by Colorado or Vegas, the round-robin heavyweights still in the running for the West's top seed. That said, nothing can detract from the gutsiness they showed in the play-ins, nor from the significance of these legendary franchises' latest milestones. Before Friday, no NHL team had shocked the world in a 5 vs. 12 showdown in decades.
