Snap Shots: Pens 3, Stars 2
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* The Pens finally got the result they wanted. They found themselves in the same situation they've been in the last four games - up by one goal late in regulation - and for the first time over that stretch, they finished the game in 60 minutes.
They certainly didn't make it easy on themselves. The Stars pulled goalie Anton Khudobin with under two minutes left to play, and with 1:40 remaining, Bryan Rust was called for holding - sending Dallas to a 6-on-4 advantage. It came down to desperation, details and Matt Murray coming up with some clutch stops to get the job done.
"They're still going to press, and we got some big saves," said Sidney Crosby, who helped Pittsburgh get the kill. "'Murr' made some huge saves. You don't want to force him to do that, but when teams press like that sometimes they're going to find a way to create something and he made the big saves.
"We did a good job, too, around the net. If they did get a shot, I thought guys really competed hard. One time (Jamie) Benn had a really good chance and (Kris Letang) Tanger jumped him pretty quick there and we got some good sticks and some blocks. We found different ways."
The Pens have been in playoff mode for a while now, with Crosby estimating that the last 15 games have been like this, and they feel like they're trending in the right direction.
"We've had some practice with tight games and defending leads and that kind of thing," he said. "I'd like to think we're getting better in that area, and with every experience we've gone through, I think it's helped us. It doesn't get any easier. It doesn't guarantee you're going to get those kills just because you have before. But it builds confidence and I think you're starting to see that here."
* The Pens got another huge penalty kill earlier in the period. After the Stars tied the game 2-2 late in the second, they were awarded a power play early in the third.
That was the turning point of the game, because less than a minute into the man-advantage, Teddy Blueger gained possession of the puck and went up the ice with Jared McCann. Blueger fed it over to McCann, who dragged it onto his blade and sniped a backhand spin-o-rama shot into the net. Not only was it beautiful; it was incredibly significant.
"At that point in the game it's a tie game, and you're thinking they could possibly get one on this power play," Crosby said. "To be able just to try to hold them off would have been great, but then to score one is a big boost and I thought it really gave us a big lift. He was great all night, but that was a pretty unbelievable goal and a big goal in the game."
* McCann played it off afterward, saying he was just trying to get the puck to the net, but his teammates and coach couldn't say enough about how impressed they were. It was McCann's second goal of the night, as he also tallied in early in the second when Phil Kessel made a nice play to get in on the forecheck, pick off a pass and find McCann between the hashmarks.
Their line with Blueger really seemed to break through tonight in the sense that they started to show some real chemistry and were able to convert because of it. Sullivan has said that Kessel's line is an important one, and the fact that they were able to step up with some scoring when goals have been hard to come by is a real positive step.
* I can't say enough about the play of Murray, who had to come up with some ten-bell saves against the Stars all night. Not only was he strong late in the game, as Crosby mentioned (making 15 saves in the third period) - he was fantastic early in the game.
At that point in the night, the Stars were doing a good job of finding open space and finding each other for point-blank opportunities, but Murray was up to the challenge and denied them all.
