Those who were wondering how effective Sidney Crosby would be in his first game back didn’t have to wait long to find out.
The Penguins star, who skated with a softball-style facemask Friday night after missing 13 games with a broken jaw, wasted no time getting his name back on the scoresheet. Crosby scored twice in the first eight minutes of Game 2 as Pittsburgh built an early 3-1 lead on the Islanders.
After smoking the Isles 5-0 in Game 1 of the teams’ first-round series, the Penguins seemed well on their way to a second blowout in three days.
Check out Crosby’s two tallies in the video below.
Isles make a statement
Alternate captain Kyle Okposo made sure the No. 8 seed did not go quietly, though, as the Islanders winger gave his team a much-needed jolt in the second period.
After Pittsburgh’s Matt Niskanen laid out Matt Moulson with an open-ice hit, Okposo went after him, and the two dropped the gloves in a spirited bout. Niskanen ended up getting the better of Okposo in the end, but the tilt energized the Islanders, who went on to score three unanswered goals — all on favorable bounces off the back boards — to even the series at 1-1.
Okposo himself notched the game-winner when his shot missed the mark but rebounded off the back of goalie Marc-Andre Fleury‘s pads and into the net.
“We know that we didn’t play the way we needed to,” Crosby said after the game. “I don’t think we feel like we did enough to deserve that one.”
Check out the fight that turned the tide in the video below.
Toothless wonder
With all the drama surrounding the Senators-Canadiens series, it wasn’t particularly surprising that someone lost a tooth during Game 2 on Friday. Most didn’t expect that player to be Montreal goalie Carey Price, though.
With the Habs leading 2-0 early in the second period, Price got accidentally run over by his own teammate, with Jarred Tinordi‘s skate catching him right in the face. The netminder remained down in his crease for a few moments before skating over to the Montreal bench — to deliver the dislodged tooth to one of the team trainers.
Price’s smile may have taken a hit, but his play in net did not. The Canadiens, who were missing the services of Max Pacioretty, Brian Gionta and Lars Eller, rode a strong performance by their goalie to a 3-1 win that knotted the series.
Montreal’s first goal was a bit of a gift, as Ottawa defenseman Erik Karlsson‘s pass in front of his own net was intercepted by Ryan White for an easy goal. The All-Star didn’t deny his mistake, and he owned up to it on Twitter after the game.
[tweet https://twitter.com/ErikKarlsson65/status/330510090803216384 align=’center’]
See Price’s impromptu dental work in the video below.
