Penguins cruise past Senators in Game 5, take 3-2 series lead

PITTSBURGH -- Throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Pittsburgh Penguins have searched for the same overwhelming speed they used to win the Stanley Cup last season.
They found it Sunday.
Four first-period goals helped the Penguins defeat the Ottawa Senators 7-0 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final at PPG Paints Arena.

Pittsburgh, which is one win away from reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight season, leads the best-of-7 series 3-2 with Game 6 in Ottawa on Tuesday.
[WATCH: All Penguins vs. Senators highlights | RELATED: Complete Pittsburgh vs. Ottawa series coverage]
"Obviously, the team played extremely well tonight," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "Every line, we liked. It was a solid effort. … This was one of the more complete efforts, for sure. We've had a few of them. This is one of them. I thought our guys had a readiness about them tonight that we're going to need moving forward."
Matt Murray made 25 saves for the Penguins for his second shutout in 24 career Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Olli Maatta scored his second goal in as many games to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead at 8:14 of the first before Sidney Crosby scored a power-play goal in a third straight game to extend it to 2-0 at 12:03. Bryan Rust, who returned after missing two games with an upper-body injury, scored with 3:56 left in the first for a 3-0 lead.

The Senators pulled Craig Anderson after Rust's goal. Mike Condon made one save in 1:28 of relief before Anderson returned to the net following a media timeout with 2:29 remaining in the first.
Senators coach Guy Boucher said he informed Anderson he had taken him out to stall without taking a timeout.
Anderson allowed a goal to Scott Wilson who backhanded a rebound off his skate to make it 4-0 with 1:43 left in the first.
Condon, who made 19 saves on 22 shots, took over again to start the second period. Anderson made 10 saves on 14 shots.
"[I] put [Anderson] back in because he's my man," Boucher said. "I have total confidence in him. I want him to know that. I want him to go back out there. … When I saw where the game was going, he didn't have to live that."
Matt Cullen made it 5-0 at 1:54 of the second period, Phil Kessel pushed it to 6-0 with a power-play goal 50 seconds into the third period and Trevor Daley scored the third power-play goal of the game for Pittsburgh at 8:49 to make it 7-0.
Crosby, who had a goal and an assist, passed Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Getzlaf (18 points) for second in playoff scoring with 19 points. Evgeni Malkin, who had three assists, leads with 23 points.
"I just think we capitalized on our chances," Crosby said. "I don't think we did anything different. I feel like we had a good start. We gave ourselves a chance to score some of those goals."
Senators defensemen Erik Karlsson and Cody Ceci, and forward Derick Brassard each left. Boucher said they were taken out to rest and were healthy enough to return.

Goal of the game

Leading to Crosby's goal, Malkin kept the puck in the offensive zone by stickhandling around Viktor Stalberg several times just inside the blue line. Malkin passed to Daley, who took a slap shot that Crosby deflected under Anderson's blocker.

Save of the game

Anderson temporarily kept the Penguins from taking a 2-0 lead when Carl Hagelin went on a shorthanded breakaway midway through the first period. Anderson denied Hagelin's wrist shot with a pad save at 9:31 of the first.

Highlight of the game

Carter Rowney bumped Kyle Turris off the puck before he could carry it into the neutral zone. Rowney recovered the puck and shot on Anderson, which allowed Bonino to shoot the rebound off of Rust and in the net.

Unsung performance of the game

Forward Josh Archibald had 11:50 of ice time and led the Penguins with six hits in his second career playoff game.

They said it

"We did a really good job. The majority of that was because we had the puck the whole time, so we didn't really have to defend." -- Penguins goalie Matt Murray
"When the coach tells you to go out or come in, you do as you're told. When you're told to play, you go and stop the puck." -- Senators goalie Craig Anderson

Need to know

The Senators dressed seven defensemen with Ben Harpur playing for the first time since May 4. … Penguins forward Conor Sheary was a healthy scratch with Rust back in the lineup. … Malkin played in his 141st playoff game, passing Jaromir Jagr (140) for the most in Penguins history. Crosby is tied with Jagr for second place after playing in his 140th playoff game on Sunday. … Crosby became the 22nd player in NHL history to reach 100 playoff assists when he set up Kessel's goal. ... The team that wins Game 5 to take a 3-2 lead in a best-of-7 series is 198-54 in League history, including 5-0 this season. ... The Penguins earned a margin of victory of at least seven goals in a playoff shutout for the fourth time in their history. Sunday was the third time in the past 10 postseasons that a team earned a shutout with a margin of victory of at least seven goals, and the second time this year. The San Jose Sharks defeated the Edmonton Oilers 7-0 in Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round.

What's next

Game 6 of Eastern Conference Final at Canadian Tire Centre on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports)