WASHINGTON — If we’re being honest, no one really knows for sure how this highly-entertaining second-round series is going to play out.
After Saturday night's disappointing 6-3 loss pushed the two-time defending champions to the brink of elimination, no one dared make any Messier-esque predictions or guarantees of a return trip to Capital One Arena for a potential Game 7.
But, man, the Penguins sounded awfully confident that they can.
It's not just because they are a perfect 4-0 in their last four elimination games or that they've come back to win their last three playoff series when trailing three games to two. And, nah, it's not just because these are, well, the Capitals and we all know their tortured existence ...
Since 1998, the Caps, Nats, Skins and Wiz have played 13 playoff games in which a win meant a conference finals appearance. They're 0-13. Chance No. 14 comes on Monday.
— Dan Steinberg (@dcsportsbog) May 6, 2018
But win or lose, it seems the Penguins will at least give themselves a chance by being the best version of themselves they can be in Game 6 and, potentially, a Game 7. On Saturday, the Penguins finally resembled — at least offensively — what they’re supposed to be. Certainly they were better than what they showed in the first four games against Washington.
TAP ABOVE FOR BOXSCORE, VIDEO"It might have been our best game of the series and we didn't come out with the result we were looking for, but I know our group is capable," Mike Sullivan was saying.
Know what? I believe him, too.
His team's 39 shots were a series high, by far, after averaging just 26 in the first four games. Possession — even strength, power play, etc. — favored the Penguins by a healthy 56-44 percent margin. Nine out of ten times those metrics equal victory. Match those numbers on Monday at PPG Paints Arena and there will be a game back here on Wednesday.
On Saturday, the Penguins checked off a couple important boxes that they frankly needed to if they are to get past the Capitals or anyone else.
First, they got scoring from someone other than Jake Guentzel or Sidney Crosby. Imagine that? But, really, who had Jamie Oleksiak in the pool? The Big Rig’s goal at 2:23 of the first period was the first time that Crosby hadn't been on the ice for one of his team's 11 goals.
Most importantly — this can't be underscored enough — the Penguins finally got significant contributions from Derick Brassard and Phil Kessel, their two biggest enigmas in the postseason to date.
As Sullivan was saying, that is a huge development:
Consider, it was only a few hours earlier that Brassard was lamenting his struggles, while others were speculating that an ailing Kessel might be scratched in favor of Daniel Sprong.
But in a game with crucial implications, two of the most clutch performers in recent postseason history more than pulled their weight.
That Oleksiak goal? That was all Brassard. That's the Penguins' much-maligned — and rightfully so — fourth line possessing the puck and that's Brassard handling it with confidence and skating as if his groin muscles weren't a 20-year-old rubber band:
And that wasn't even the best shift from the Brassard line. There was a stretch from 5:43 to 4:42 left in the second period where the trio of Brassard, Conor Sheary and Tom Kuhnhackl, who may have played his best game ever, hemmed the Capitals' second line in their own zone:
That's tremendous puck possession for any line, let alone a fourth unit that was going up against the likes of Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie and John Carlson.
Want to know why else you should be confident that the Penguins will return for Game 7? Kessel, get this, shot the puck. Sounds simple, right?
Sullivan had been harping on him for weeks to shoot more. But either due to injury or indifference, Phil hadn't been letting loose on his patented crow-hop much this postseason. On Saturday, he had two shots on goal and attempted one other, after having only five shots through the first four games.
His shot at 4:43 of the second went for a power play goal after hitting off Crosby's left glove. Notice how Matt Niskanen didn't even respect the shot, playing Kessel to pass the whole time:
Three minutes later, Kessel picked up a well-earned assist on Patric Horqnvist's power play goal. This time Niskanen came out to challenge the shot but Kessel made a good pass to Hornqvist in the slot. The Swede jammed the puck in to give the Penguins a 3-2 lead:
It was Kessel's first multi-point game since a 5-0 win in Game 4 vs. the Flyers in the first round, and yet another reminder of how effective he can be when he's shooting or even threatening to shoot.
"We're a confident group," Sheary was saying. "The last two years we know what it takes. We have a lot of good leaders and a lot of good veterans that lead the way and us younger guys follow behind. We'll rely on that in Game 6."
But as good as the performances were from Kessel, Brassard, Kuhnhackl, Oleksiak and others, they can't be a one-off either. As Crosby was telling me, it will take a collective effort to win this series:
With their chance at three straight championships in jeopardy, there's really no other way.
"I think everyone understands the situation," Crosby said. "It brings out everyone's best. You don't have anything to save it for, so you just go out there with one focus and that's to win a hockey game and get it to a Game 7. I think that's our mindset here. We have a lot of good things to build off. We just have to make sure we keep going and play the same way."
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Penguins at Capitals, Washington, May 5, 2018 - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS