Visiting striker Andrew Cogliano opened the scoring in Vancouver in the 12th minute. He was followed by Valerij Ničuškin and Mikko Rantanen, both of whom used a five-on-three power play in the middle part. Alexandar Georgiev let in the only goal in the 33rd minute off the stick of Elias Pettersson, but Brad Hunt gave Colorado a three-goal lead in the second period. The defending Stanley Cup champions, who are on the verge of making the playoffs, won for the fourth time in a row.
“We have difference players back (from injury) like Val (Ničushkin), Mikko (Rantanen), Nate (MacKinnon) and we’re playing in the offensive zone more often now than in the defensive zone. They’re hard to stop and with them our pace of play is faster, ” Cogliano explained Colorado’s current form. The first two wins of the series were won by the Frenchman.
On the other hand, Vancouver lost the sixth of its last seven games, and the club’s president of hockey operations, Jim Rutherford, said a few days ago that he is in talks with possible candidates for the coaching position. There are also player exchanges in the game.
“I’d be crazy to say I don’t know anything,” said current coach Bruce Boudreau, and he didn’t answer another question about what coaching in the NHL means to him. Overcome by emotion, he politely ended an interview he gave the morning of the Colorado game. “I think that was the first game where what was going on hit us. It got to us. We’re down, it’s not easy. We’ve got to find a way to stay positive and keep working,” Vancouver defenseman Tyler Myers said.
Pittsburgh led after the opening period on goals by Rickard Rakell and Jason Zucker. Both scored in the 12th minute within 43 seconds. The remaining two goals for the home team were scored by Jake Guentzel, who also scored an assist in the match and was named the first star. Goaltender Tristan Jarry also put in a solid performance, stopping 44 shots and being surpassed only by Brady Tkachuk in the 39th minute at 3-0.
“We tried, we pushed them, but Jarry made some unbelievable saves,” Ottawa coach DJ Smith said. Goalkeeper Jarry was catching the first game since the injury he suffered on January 2nd. “He calmed us down. Even tough tackles looked so routine in his delivery. He was phenomenal,” added Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan.
The two teams met two days ago, with Ottawa winning 5-4 in overtime. “We expected them to push us and want to give us the loss,” Ottawa forward Derrick Brassard said. “We also used four power plays last time, so we assumed they would focus on that. It turned out that they converted their chances and we didn’t. Their goalie made a great catch. He got to the goal after a long time and you could tell he was full of energy “, he added.
The match also brought one curious moment at the end. Pittsburgh defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph played the puck and was attacked by his older brother Mathieu. After the fight, both held their sore faces and were sent off for high stick play. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything like this. Moreover, in a fight between two brothers who started against each other. I believe they will laugh about it at some family barbecue in the summer,” coach Sullivan commented on the situation.
| Friday’s NHL results: |
|---|
| Pittsburgh – Ottawa 4:1 (2:0, 1:1, 1:0) |
| Goals: 38. and 47. Guentzel, 12. Rakell, 12. Zucker – 39. B. Tkachuk. Shots on goal: 44:45. Spectators: 18,237. Stars of the game: 1. Guentzel, 2. Jarry, 3. Zucker (all Pittsburgh). |
| Vancouver – Colorado 1:4 (0:1, 1:3, 0:0) |
| Goals: 33. E. Pettersson – 12. Cogliano, 21. Nichuskin, 31. Rantanen, 40. Hunt. Shots on goal: 29:29. Spectators: 18,813. Stars of the match: 1. MacKinnon (Colorado), 2. E. Pettersson (Vancouver), 3. D. Toews (Colorado). |
