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Carnage & Chaos Reaction; Penguins Have Player Who Came Back From 3-0
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- Carnage & Chaos Reaction; Penguins Have Player Who Came Back From 3-0
Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
PHILADELPHIA —The scrum, then fists, finally a melee began at 4:33 of the second period. The Pittsburgh Penguins turned a 1-0 lead over the Philadelphia Flyers into a 3-1 game deficit from which they could never recover, and 5-2 loss bringing them to a 3-0 series deficit from which very, very few have ever recovered.
Yet the Penguins have one player who helped lead a charge on hockey’s biggest stage down 3-0 to force a Game 7. In the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, the Florida Panthers pummeled and embarrassed the Edmonton Oilers for a 3-0 series lead before Connor McDavid carried his team and goalie Stuart Skinner became unbeatable to force Game 7, (which they ultimately lost 2-1).
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That situation was not entirely dissimilar to the current predicament in which Skinner and his new team, the Penguins, find themselves.
“We’ve got a resilient group. I can say that over and over and over again, but we’ve proven it. We’ve shown it,” said Skinner. “You know, this is the group that can definitely come back from this deficit. I certainly believe that. I’ve personally done it–to be able to go to Game 7. You know, it’s possible. Statistics are fun to look at, bbut that doesn’t mean they’re always right.”
Indeed, that Edmonton team also faced an opponent which used every whistle as the start of physicality rather than the end of it, and looked unbeatable. No one watching the 2024 Stanley Cup Final thought a comeback was possible.
And yet, it was.
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In NHL history, only four teams have rallied from down 3-0 in a series to win. The 2010 Flyers did so, overcoming the Boston Bruins to reach the Eastern Conference Final. Including those four, there have also been 10 teams that fought back to force a Game 7, including that Edmonton team.
“I mean, I draw on a lot (from that experience). The playoffs are intense. There’s a lot of pressure, lot a lot of noise going on everywhere. I feel like when you go down 3-0, what really helped me, in my experience, was it kind of just frees you up,” Skinner said. “You don’t really have anything to lose, and we’re in a spot where we don’t have anything to lose, and they do, you know, if we catch them a couple times, then again, just talking about momentum, you know, you can change momentum, and when that happens, things can go in your favor.”
The emotion in the Penguins’ room following the Game 3 loss was anything but sullen. There was indignation, if not anger, and plenty of incredulity espoused in the room, but also unmistakably worn on their faces.
“Turned in a bit of a WWE match in the second period, and they kind of fed off that,” said Bryan Rust , who pummeled Flyers winger Travis Konecny after Konecny elbowed him, for which Rust received an extra penalty, which led to a tied game, 1-1.
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Through all the chaos, the power play count was even until the Penguins earned a couple of third period advantages, scoring on one. Amidst the carnage was also consistent interference preventing the Penguins’ forecheck, but the focus on the melee overrode any such complaints.
“You know, they also have to be in a position to defend themselves. It’s after every, almost every whistle or shot,” said Muse Wednesday night. “So we’ve got to focus on what we can control. We want to play between whistles. I think our guys were working to do that, but it’s after. Every time.”
And so, facing elimination, the Penguins have an extra day in Philadelphia before Game 4 Saturday to contemplate their path and their fate. Perhaps the Penguins found their rallying cry in the earned anger of feeling shortchanged by referees. Or perhaps the anger earned in shortchanging themselves as it took them into Game 3 before they humbled themselves to solve the Flyers’ defensive posture with a simple game, only to have the Flyers drag the game into the gutter.
“Yeah, we know what they’re about. We know what to expect,” said Rust. “We’ve just got to do a better job of managing those emotions.”
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Crosby spoke with a directed anger, even as the words belied his demeanor.
“Not much room for error when you’re in this position. That’s the reality. The fact is, we’ve got to win a game. That’s going to be our focus. We can’t grab three (wins) on Saturday,” said Sidney Crosby. “So we’ve done some good things. We had some good zone time. We got the power play going tonight, so hopefully we can put a full game together here in Game 4.”
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