Senators Take 2-0 Series Lead in Double-Overtime
The Ottawa Senators have heated up in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and that has them with a comfortable 2-0 series lead in their second round series. Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored four goals on Saturday, including the game-winner in the second overtime, for a 6-5 Senators win over the New York Rangers. The game-winner came 2:54 into the period, after the 24-year-old scored twice in the final 3:19 of regulation to tie the game. He became the first player in franchise history to score four goals in a playoff game, giving them their second 2-0 series lead, and first since the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals. They have never completed a series sweep in the postseason. The Rangers led by two with just over five minutes left in Game 2, and got two goals from Brady Skjei in the loss. Marc Methot and Mark Stone also scored for Ottawa to support Craig Andersen, who made 43 saves. The series moves to Madison Square Garden for Game 3 on Tuesday night.
Kessel, Penguins Cruise to 2-0 Series Lead
It has been all Pittsburgh through two games of the division matchup in the second round series, as the Penguins are heading home with a convincing 2-0 series lead. Phil Kessel scored twice on Saturday night to lead the Penguins in a 6-2 rout of the Washington Capitals in D.C. Jake Guentzel also scored twice, while Sidney Crosby added two assists in their second straight road win to begin the series. Marc-Andre Fleury was dominant between the pipes, making 34 saves, including 16 in the first 20 minutes. On the other end, Braden Holtby has struggled, and continued to do so on Saturday by giving up three goals on 14 shots. Phillip Grubauer relieved the starter and allowed two goals on the first four shots he faced. Washington has dug themselves a big hole, as only 18 of the previous 87 teams to fall behind 2-0 in a series have been able to come back and advance. The Capitals will need to get the job done on the road beginning with Game 3 on Monday night.
Gomez, Kemp, Dodgers Headline Big Day of Baseball
Needless to say, it was a big day of baseball on Saturday night, with impressive performances across the map. It began in Arlington, where Carlos Gomez crushed a seventh-inning home run to complete his second career cycle in the Rangers' 6-3 win over the Angels. He last hit for the cycle with the Minnesota Twins on May 7th, 2008, doing so on Saturday to help Texas snap Anaheim's five-game win streak. Gomez doubled in the first, singled in the third, and tripled in the fifth before the cycle-securing big fly in the seventh. Meanwhile, Matt Kemp continues to rake with the Atlanta Braves, smacking three home runs and driving in five in the Braves' 11-3 rout of the Milwaukee Brewers. The 32-year-old hit big flies in the fifth, seventh, and eighth inning for his first career three-homer game. He is the first Atlanta Brave to do so since Mark Teixeira in 2008, as Atlanta put up a season-high 20 hits in their fourth-straight win. And out west, the Los Angeles Dodgers pulled off late-game heroics, as Yasiel Puig, Cody Bellinger, and Justin Turner hit three straight home runs to tie the game in the ninth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies. Adrian Gonzalez would knock in the winning run with a single for a 6-5 Dodger win over the Phillies. Bellinger hit his first two home runs of his career in the game, and helped L.A. hit three straight home runs for the first time since August of 2012.
The Ottawa Senators have heated up in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and that has them with a comfortable 2-0 series lead in their second round series. Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored four goals on Saturday, including the game-winner in the second overtime, for a 6-5 Senators win over the New York Rangers. The game-winner came 2:54 into the period, after the 24-year-old scored twice in the final 3:19 of regulation to tie the game. He became the first player in franchise history to score four goals in a playoff game, giving them their second 2-0 series lead, and first since the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals. They have never completed a series sweep in the postseason. The Rangers led by two with just over five minutes left in Game 2, and got two goals from Brady Skjei in the loss. Marc Methot and Mark Stone also scored for Ottawa to support Craig Andersen, who made 43 saves. The series moves to Madison Square Garden for Game 3 on Tuesday night.
Kessel, Penguins Cruise to 2-0 Series Lead
It has been all Pittsburgh through two games of the division matchup in the second round series, as the Penguins are heading home with a convincing 2-0 series lead. Phil Kessel scored twice on Saturday night to lead the Penguins in a 6-2 rout of the Washington Capitals in D.C. Jake Guentzel also scored twice, while Sidney Crosby added two assists in their second straight road win to begin the series. Marc-Andre Fleury was dominant between the pipes, making 34 saves, including 16 in the first 20 minutes. On the other end, Braden Holtby has struggled, and continued to do so on Saturday by giving up three goals on 14 shots. Phillip Grubauer relieved the starter and allowed two goals on the first four shots he faced. Washington has dug themselves a big hole, as only 18 of the previous 87 teams to fall behind 2-0 in a series have been able to come back and advance. The Capitals will need to get the job done on the road beginning with Game 3 on Monday night.
Gomez, Kemp, Dodgers Headline Big Day of Baseball
Needless to say, it was a big day of baseball on Saturday night, with impressive performances across the map. It began in Arlington, where Carlos Gomez crushed a seventh-inning home run to complete his second career cycle in the Rangers' 6-3 win over the Angels. He last hit for the cycle with the Minnesota Twins on May 7th, 2008, doing so on Saturday to help Texas snap Anaheim's five-game win streak. Gomez doubled in the first, singled in the third, and tripled in the fifth before the cycle-securing big fly in the seventh. Meanwhile, Matt Kemp continues to rake with the Atlanta Braves, smacking three home runs and driving in five in the Braves' 11-3 rout of the Milwaukee Brewers. The 32-year-old hit big flies in the fifth, seventh, and eighth inning for his first career three-homer game. He is the first Atlanta Brave to do so since Mark Teixeira in 2008, as Atlanta put up a season-high 20 hits in their fourth-straight win. And out west, the Los Angeles Dodgers pulled off late-game heroics, as Yasiel Puig, Cody Bellinger, and Justin Turner hit three straight home runs to tie the game in the ninth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies. Adrian Gonzalez would knock in the winning run with a single for a 6-5 Dodger win over the Phillies. Bellinger hit his first two home runs of his career in the game, and helped L.A. hit three straight home runs for the first time since August of 2012.
