Inside Scoop: Round 2 Playoff Memories

The Penguins made the playoffs for 16 consecutive seasons from 2007-22. It had been the longest active streak in all of the major North American professional sports leagues, and no NHL team was more dominant over that stretch. In addition to their three Stanley Cups, Pittsburgh piled up 768 regular-season wins and 103 playoff victories.

The team is celebrating that incredible run by sharing some of the top moments from each round over the years. In addition to the video for Round 2, team reporter Michelle Crechiolo - who has been with the Penguins since the 2010-11 campaign - shares some of her own personal favorite memories that she's experienced during her time with the team, in written form.

The Round 1 video is here, and the Round 1 feature is here.

When we think about Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs here in Pittsburgh, we think of Penguins-Capitals.

The two rivals met in the Eastern Conference semifinals on four separate occasions during Pittsburgh's 16-year playoff streak, and each time, the team who emerged victorious went on to win the Stanley Cup. The Penguins won in 2009, 2016 and 2017, while the Capitals won in 2018.

There are so many great moments from the years the Penguins came out on top, and it was hard to narrow them down… but here are the ones that stuck out the most.

DELAY OF GAME … TIMES THREE

Years later, you still have to shake your head at what transpired in the third period of Game 6 between Pittsburgh and Washington on May 10, 2016. It was truly wild.

The Penguins had a 3-2 series lead and the chance to eliminate the Capitals on home ice, and the HBK Line came to play, with Phil Kessel scoring twice and Carl Hagelin getting on the board to give Pittsburgh a 3-0 lead over midway through the second.

But after Washington cut the deficit to one in the final frame, things got weird - starting when a backhand clearing attempt from Chris Kunitz went over the boards, and he went off for delay of game. During the ensuing penalty kill, Nick Bonino had to join his teammate in the penalty box after he, too, put the puck over the glass, which gave the Capitals a 5-on-3 power play for 54 seconds.

Then, right as Kunitz was stepping back onto the ice, Ian Cole ALSO misfired on his clearing attempt - sending Washington right back to a two-man advantage. None of us could believe what we were seeing. For three straight delay of game calls to happen one after the other, during such a crucial time of an elimination game, was just an insane streak of bad luck.

The stress levels at PPG Paints Arena were through the ROOF, but as Sidney Crosby put it, "it was a little shocking when you see that third one go over. You almost have to laugh sometimes in situations like that. You just have to find a way to get through it."

The Penguins managed to survive that stretch with minimal damage, giving up just one goal, which was the tying tally that forced overtime. That's when Bonino took on the role of The Heartbreak Kid for Washington's playoff hopes, netting the winner that inspired this iconic call from Harnarayan Singh of Hockey Night in Canada: Punjabi.

Read more about the legendary "BONINO! BONINO! BONINO!" goal calls here

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MR. ELIMINATION

The Penguins met in the second round for the second time in as many years during the 2017 postseason, with the series going the distance.

Justin Williams, a three-time Stanley Cup Champion with Carolina (2006) and Los Angeles (2012, '14) entered the final contest with nickname 'Mr. Game 7'. Williams was undefeated in all seven of those winner-take-all games he had played up to that point. But on the night of May 10, the veteran forward was upstaged by Bryan Rust, also known as 'Mr. Elimination'.

At that point, the young winger came up clutch in key moments like clockwork. The day before his 25th birthday, Rust opened the scoring to give him eight goals and 12 points in 12 career playoff elimination games. He was named the Second Star in Pittsburgh's 2-0 victory - with his goaltender earning the First Star. More on that in the next section.

FLOWER'S GAME 7 HEROICS: '17 EDITION

After every win of the 2016-17 campaign, the Penguins awarded a Pirates batting helmet to the player of the game. Whoever received it last handed it off to someone else. Following that aforementioned victory over Washington in Game 7 of their second-straight Round 2 matchup, as Marc-Andre Fleury prepared to do just that, cries of "KEEP IT! KEEP IT!" echoed around the locker room.

He was simply outstanding, making 29 saves to earn the first road Game 7 shutout in Penguins franchise history. The Capitals came out flying in front of their home crowd, determined to exorcise their own playoff demons, but Pittsburgh's veteran netminder played the savior for his team.

Fleury's best stop came when he thwarted Alex Ovechkin with the shaft of his stick - and per his tradition, thanked his stick afterward with a funny and slightly inappropriate gesture. It was right up there with the one Fleury had in Game 7 of the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals, in that same building, against that same player (more on that in a second).

I know Flower produced many brilliant performances during his time with the Penguins, but that one will always stand out because of the circumstances surrounding it. He handled trade rumors and sharing the net with rookie Matt Murray with such class and grace, never letting any of it affect his play, remaining the consummate teammate through it all.

JUST PLAY

The Penguins really embodied the phrase "Just Play" (which was later engraved on their 2016 championship rings) in those battles with the Capitals, particularly when Sidney Crosby left Game 3 of the 2017 series due to injury.

He was diagnosed with a concussion after getting caught up high by former teammate Matt Niskanen, who received a five-minute major for cross-checking and a game misconduct, and insisted afterward he wasn't trying to injure Crosby on the play. While opinions on the play differed, and Crosby chose not to comment, Fleury - half-jokingly - taped over Niskanen's name on the back of his goalie mask that paid homage to guys he'd played with.

Crosby had been playing inspiring hockey, and the Penguins had been going as their captain did - so when they lost him, they looked lost themselves. For a while, everything was out of sync, but the Penguins picked themselves up and got back in the fight. They fell in overtime that night, but held their heads high going into Game 4 - coming up with a huge win despite 87's absence.

FLOWER'S GAME 7 HEROICS: '09 EDITION

Before the gates opened to the public at D.C.'s Verizon Center ahead of Game 7 versus Pittsburgh back in 2009, the game entertainment staff was running highlights on the videoboard as part of their dress rehearsal. Marc-Andre Fleury happened to be sitting on the bench preparing for the game, and decided to look up and watch. He realized that in all of the clips featuring Ovechkin, the superstar sniper tried going glove side every time.

So when Ovechkin flew behind the defense and went in alone on Fleury for a breakaway just minutes into the game once the puck dropped a couple hours later, the goaltender was completely calm, because he knew exactly where his opponent was going to shoot. Fleury reached out and decisively snagged the puck out of midair to keep the game scoreless, a big smile on his face as he swept snow from his crease and got set for the ensuing faceoff. Flower told me that story years later when we were chatting in the Penguins locker room, which stands as one of my favorite Inside Scoops ever.

DUELING HAT TRICKS

Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin have been a marquee matchup for nearly two decades, and every time they go head-to-head, it's like an angel gets its wings. There have been so many epic battles between those two over the years, with their dueling hat tricks in Game 2 of the 2009 Eastern Conference semifinals the stuff of legend.

The Capitals came out on top that night to take a 2-0 series lead, so even though the Penguins and their fans knew they had witnessed a game for the books featuring epic performances from the two biggest superstars in the NHL, it was a bit tough to fully appreciate it in the moment. But thankfully, Pittsburgh went on to win the matchup, thanks to their future franchise defenseman. More on that in the next section.

LETANG BREAKS OUT

It was such an enjoyable experience documenting the early years of Kris Letang's career ahead of his 1,000th game in April. Unlike Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, he was much more under the radar back then, and needed some time to develop from a third-round draft pick into the franchise defenseman.

After playing in 16 of 24 games during their run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2008, Letang played a bigger role in 2009 - and truly broke out during the Eastern Conference semifinals against Washington. He scored three goals in the series, including the overtime winner in Game 3, which kept the Penguins from falling into a 3-0 series deficit.

"That one, I would say, is one of my most important goals," Letang said. "Especially when you're down 0-2 to a team like that. So, I think it was huge."

PUTTING ON A CLINIC

Finally, one of the most memorable lines I've heard came during Pittsburgh's 2013 Eastern Conference semifinal matchup with Ottawa.

That year, the Penguins had the No. 1 offense in the league, while the Senators had the No. 2 defense. It seemed to be a classic case of unstoppable force meets immovable object, but it turns out that the Penguins couldn't be stopped. They outscored Ottawa 22-11, and after their 6-2 win in Game 5 to eliminate their opponent, then-Senators head coach Paul MacLean said, "I hope they don't bill us for the clinic." That quote's always stuck with me.