Crosby Leaves in Second Period of Game 5 Loss

Sidney Crosby had completely set the tone for the Penguins in their first-round matchup with the New York Rangers, playing the type of inspiring hockey that had everyone wondering if the 34-year-old superstar had somehow managed to turn back time.

"I'm not sure he has the same clock as the rest of us. His time might go a little bit slower than ours," Bryan Rust said prior to tonight's Game 5 at Madison Square Garden. "When you have a leader like that - who's your hardest worker who goes out there and does everything the right way - I think it just has the team follow suit."
Unfortunately, the Penguins lost their leader, and then the game itself by a score of 5-3, on a high hit in the second period. Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba's elbow made contact with Crosby's head on the play.
The captain took a couple more shifts before heading to the Penguins locker room with just under seven minutes left in the second period, and did not return. Head coach Mike Sullivan did not have an update following the game, saying that Crosby is currently being evaluated.
When asked if he thought there was intent from Trouba on the hit, Sullivan replied:
"Did you see the hit? You probably have the same opinion I do."
That's when the game started to turn, with the Rangers scoring three unanswered goals in a span of 2:42 shortly after Crosby left to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead. But the Penguins said that turn of events wasn't directly caused by Sid's departure; it was more because they had some letdowns in their own zone as the Rangers - desperate to keep their season alive and spurred by the home crowd - pushed hard.
"I mean, he's a huge part of our team. So of course (it affected us)," defenseman Marcus Pettersson said. "But we've shown in the past we can play without our stars, so we got to do a better job. We knew that they were going to have a push. And once they got that first goal, they got energy from that. I think we got to do a better job just killing that momentum, getting pucks deep, playing better in the D zone. I think they got a lot of energy from that. We should be able to bounce back from it."
Reigning Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox got it started, followed by another one of his teammates also playing in their first NHL postseason, Alexis Lafreniere, with Trouba getting the third.
"I just think we didn't win the wall battles. We didn't get pucks out. And as a result, we had four or five minutes of extended defensive zone play," Sullivan said. "We just simply have to do a better job there."
To the Penguins' credit, just 13 seconds later, winger Jake Guentzel tied it up with his second of the game - and seventh of these playoffs! - to make it even heading into the third.
"After we gave up the first one, I think we got to do a better job of kind of putting that behind us and continuing to play and not letting the momentum shift affect us as much," forward Teddy Blueger said. "But I think obviously, Guentzy scored a big goal for us and got us right back in. We're still in a pretty good spot going into the third."
But once they got into the final frame, the Penguins got away from their game a bit, and in turn, the game got away from them.
Up until tonight, the Penguins had done a tremendousjob of managing their emotions and making sure that they didn't get carried away with the ebbs and flows. This is a battle-tested, veteran group who's experienced pretty much everything imaginable. But they're only human, and it felt like they maybe weren't as disciplined in that regard tonight.
"We're a competitive bunch. So of course, we get frustrated," defenseman Marcus Pettersson said. "So try to stay out of the stuff after whistle, because you know the ref's gonna take one guy, most of the times, to get kind of get that away from the game a little bit."
The Penguins took all of their penalties in the final frame, going shorthanded on three separate occasions, including just 1:08 in. Filip Chytil converted for his first career playoff goal to give the Rangers a lead they would not relinquish. And when Pittsburgh was at even strength, they just weren't able to find a way to get that equalizer.
"We just got to make sure we play a full 60," Guentzel said. "I thought we played a pretty good game tonight… we got a goal there at the end of the second to tie it up, and it's a 20-minute game from there. So I think for us, we just got to make sure we're excited to go back home and play in front of our fans again."
Tonight's loss was certainly a tough one to swallow, but it's one game, and the Penguins know exactly what they need to do in order to be successful against this Rangers team. That's why they're still in the driver's seat, with a 3-2 series lead and the chance to clinch in Game 6, which is scheduled for Friday at 7 PM at PPG Paints Arena.
"Stay positive. Keep our heads up. We're going back to our building - and we have fun playing back at home," defenseman Marcus Pettersson said. "We can't dwell on tonight's game. We'll get home, get some rest, and be ready for the start of Game 6."