Your savory breakfast links:
- Previews of Game 6 in Pittsburgh from Vogs, NHL.com, AP, NoVa Caps, FiCP, and as always,
Pensburgh has you covered from the black and gold perspective. - What worked and what didn’t in Game 5. [Rink]
- News and notes from yesterday’s practice. [Monumental video (Trotz, Holtby, Oshie, Orpik,
Chimera, Rinkside Update/Richards), FiCP] - One of the things we (and many others) were talking about yesterday was the potential for the Pens to swap out Matt Murray for Marc-Andre Fleury… [Rink, WaPo]
- …and after a long 24+ hours of speculation, Mike Sullivan confirmed what we all pretty much knew to be true: they’re sticking with Murray. [Puck Daddy, AP, CSNMA, Post-Gazette, Tribune-Review]
- The idea of trading Alex Ovechkin is not one that should cross the mind of any sane person who pays even an ounce of attention to hockey. [Peerless]
- After sitting out the last three games, Brooks Orpik’s suspension is up and the Caps have their warrior back. [WaPo (and again), CSNMA, Tribune-Review]
- With Orpik back in the lineup, it looks like Taylor Chorney will get the nod – and Nate Schmidt will have a seat. [CSNMA]
- Olli Maatta may also make his first appearance in the series since Game 1, although he’s more of a game-time decision. [ESPN, Tribune-Review, THW]
- The Caps’ penalty kill may finally have a blemish on it after last game, but they’re still confident. [WaPo]
- On the flip side, their power play finally woke up in Game 5 and it’s a big reason why there’s a Game 6. [WaPo]
- The Penguins hope to neutralize the Caps’ power play by improving their work on shorthanded faceoffs. [Post-Gazette]
- History holds no interest for the Caps; all they’re focused on is writing a new chapter. [WaPo, CSNMA]
- Sidney Crosby is still trying to figure out this whole “scoring in the playoffs” thing. Take your time, Sid. [AP]
- In fact, the point production is way down for both Crosby and his cohort Evgeni Malkin since their run to the Cup back in 2009. [Tribune-Review]
- Of course, they’re not the only ones struggling – but Evgeny Kuznetsov is playing well despite a dearth of scoring. [Sportsnet, RMNB]
- The Penguins will need their urgency level to match that of the desperate Caps if they hope to move on. [ESPN]
- Some series have a goaltending duel; apparently this one has a coaching duel. [Tribune-Review]
- Five questions hanging over this series. [Sportsnet]
- Five thoughts and questions on Game 6. [ESPN, Pensburgh]
- The fact that this matchup is a second-round battle and not an Eastern Conference matchup continues to be a bone of contention. [NoVa Caps]
- Everybody hates Tom Wilson. [WaPo]
- If getting whacked in the butt with a stick is what it takes to get T.J. Oshie going, so be it. No judgment. RMNB]
- A game that started with a warmup scuffle ended in an overtime loss for the Bears as the baby Pens pulled even to make the series 2-2. [Patriot-News, Caps Outsider, NoVa Caps]