Penguins Sweep Weekend Set with the Panthers, 5-2
I confess, I didn’t watch or listen to yesterday afternoon’s matinee matchup with the Panthers at PPG Paints Arena due to the Easter holiday. So my recap will be of the Dragnet, “Just the facts ma’am” variety.
However, I’m more than happy to report that our Pens took care of business to the tune of a 5-2 victory over the defending Cup champs. One that pretty much punched our ticket to the postseason dance.
The boys in black-and-gold accomplished that feat through a combination of timely scoring and…dare I say…a strong performance in goal by recently much-maligned Arturs Šilovs.
The Pens grabbed the lead at the 11-minute mark of the opening frame on a steal ‘n’ score by our newest offensive sensation, Elmer Söderblom. More on the big huge guy in a bit.
Cole Schwindt knotted things up for the Panthers at 16:15, beating Šilovs with a wrister from the slot. It should be noted the visitors held a sizeable edge in shot attempts (16-11) over the opening 20 minutes and would continue to dominate the shot-based metrics for the remainder of the contest.