Harrison's single gives Pirates 2-1 win over Brewers in 10

The Associated Press

http://www.espn.com/mlb/

May 6, 2017

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Gerrit Cole delivers in the first inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers in Pittsburgh, Saturday, May 6, 2017. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH -- A mobbing by teammates. Fireworks over the Allegheny River. Maybe a Gatorade shower.

Game-ending hits never get old for Josh Harrison.

Harrison singled home Gift Ngoepe with one out in the 10th inning to lift the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Milwaukee Brewers 2-1 on Saturday night.

Ngoepe led off the inning with a single against Carlos Torres (1-3), advanced to second on a wild pitch and took third on pinch-hitter Jose Osuna's fly ball. Harrison drove a ball over the head of right fielder Domingo Santana for his seventh career walk-off hit.

"I love it," Harrison said. "You want to win any game anytime you have a chance, but when you're a kid you always dream about coming up with the walk-off hit. It's always special to come through for your team like that."

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle has come to expect Harrison to come through with the game on the line.

"He's like a microwave. You put something in it and something good is going to happen," Hurdle said. "He lays it all out there."

Tony Watson (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings for the Pirates.

Pittsburgh's Gerrit Cole and Milwaukee's Matt Garza each allowed a run over seven innings.

Cole gave up two hits with eight strikeouts and two walks. He retired his last 10 batters.

Milwaukee's Hernan Perez began the fourth inning with his fourth home run, but the Brewers lost for the third time in four games.

Later in the fourth, Josh Bell led off with a double and scored the tying run on a groundout by Gregory Polanco. Bell and Francisco Cervelli each had two hits for the Pirates. Bell is hitting .351 in his last 10 games.

The Brewers have scored just one run in losing the first two games of the series and were held to three hits Saturday on a chilly, windy night. They had scored 57 runs in their previous nine games.

"It was a well-pitched game on both sides and obviously, we faced their three best guys through 10 innings," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "So, they did a nice job. It was a difficult night, obviously, to hit as well. The ball really wasn't going anywhere. There weren't any opportunities we missed out on. We just didn't get many runners."

TRAINER'S ROOM

Brewers: LF Ryan Braun (strained right forearm) was not in the lineup for the fourth straight game but said he is hopeful of returning Tuesday when Milwaukee hosts Boston. Braun rejoined the team Saturday after getting an MRI on Friday in Milwaukee and being examined by team orthopedist William Raasch.

Pirates: RHP Jameson Taillon (groin discomfort) was placed on the 10-day disabled list and RHP Josh Lindblom was called up from Triple-A Indianapolis. Taillon was scheduled to start Monday against the Dodgers at Los Angeles, but rookie RHP Trevor Williams will take his place.

MR. VERSATILITY

Perez made his fifth start of the season at shortstop as Orlando Arcia got the night off after going 1 for 16 in his previous four games. Perez has also started four games each at third base, center field and right field and two in left field.

LONGBALL TROUBLE

Cole has given up seven home runs in seven starts. That equals the number he surrendered all last season in 21 starts.

Conversely, Cole made his sixth straight quality. While his ERA is 2.37 in that stretch, Cole has only one win.

UP NEXT

Brewers RHP Zach Davies (2-2, 6.07 ERA) will face RHP Tyler Glasnow (1-1, 6.97) to close the three-game series. Davies has won his last two decisions but has yet to pitch more than 5 1/3 innings in six starts. Glasnow notched his first major league win in his last outing as the rookie allowed three runs in a career-high six innings against Cincinnati in his ninth career start.

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More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

Roberto Clemente items to be auctioned during MLB All-Star Fanfest

SARAH K. SPENCER

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/

May 5, 2017

Some of the items the Clemente family will auction off during the All-Star Fanfest

At PNC Park on Friday, Roberto Clemente Jr. held up a baseball that featured his father’s name. That’s a rarity in the memorabilia field, he said, since Pirates fans tend to hold on to anything with Roberto Clemente’s signature.

“I remember, with this ball, playing in the house,” Clemente Jr. said. “You know kids.”

The signed baseball and more Clemente items and memorabilia will be auctioned off at All-Star FanFest during Major League Baseball’s All-Star week in Miami in July. The Clemente family and Hunt Auctions made the announcement Friday.

The auction will take place at the Miami Beach Convention Center, with the collection of Clemente’s items up for grabs July 11. Tickets to All-Star Fanfest, sold on a timed-entry basis, are $35 for adults and $30 for children 12 and under.

Click on the link below to read the rest of the article:

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/pirates/2017/05/05/pirates-roberto-clemente-auction-mlb-all-star-weekend-fanfest-2017/stories/201705050202?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#link_time=1494009536

Bell homers into river, Bucs top Brewers 4-0 after delay

By Will Graves, The Associated Press

http://www.espn.com/mlb/

May 6, 2017

Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Wade LeBlanc delivers during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers in Pittsburgh, Friday, May 5, 2017. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Pirates have asked Wade LeBlanc to do a little bit of everything out of the bullpen the first month of the season. Long relief. One-batter matchups. Tight situations. Blowouts inning eater.

LeBlanc has thrived in them all. Now he can add another item: hitter. LeBlanc tossed three scoreless innings after a lengthy rain delay and added his first RBI since 2011 as the Pirates opened a brief homestand with a 4-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday.

LeBlanc (2-0) allowed just two hits and struck out four. His single to left in the fifth off Rob Scahill (0-1) plated Francisco Cervelli, the first run LeBlanc has driven in since Aug. 30, 2011 while playing for San Diego.

"I wasn't ready to get to anything else besides a fastball," LeBlanc said. "Put a swing on it, close your eyes, hopefully it finds some grass."

LeBlanc trimmed his ERA to 2.33. His 19 1/3 innings lead Pittsburgh relievers.

"He's one of those guys that more often than not can get overlooked within the game with all the analytics that are running right now," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "He has the feel to pitch. He reads swings well. He knows himself very well. He's used it to his advantage."

Josh Bell drove a ball into the Allegheny River on a bounce for his fifth homer for the Pirates. The first baseman's solo shot off Scahill landed on the concourse behind the wall in right-center field at PNC Park then splashed into the river.

"It's not the big fly that I'd hoped for, but maybe another time I'll make it in the air," said Bell, who also doubled. "I'll see. One bounce, not eight."

Gregory Polanco added two hits and drove in a run for the Pirates, who won for just the second time in six games.

LeBlanc (2-0) replaced starter Chad Kuhl after a 2-hour, 27-minute rain delay and teamed with three other relievers as Pittsburgh earned its second shutout.

Nick Franklin had three of Milwaukee's seven hits. Scahill, called up from Triple-A earlier in the week, struggled in relief of starter Jimmy Nelson. Nelson didn't allow a hit in three innings but saw his outing end when the delay dragged on.

"He was on top of his game for sure," Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said. "It was a very solid, quick efficient three innings. We got in, two-and-a-half hours is just too long."

Pittsburgh wasted little time getting to Scahill. Bell led off the fourth with a double, and Polanco singled him home two batters later. Polanco scored on an error by first baseman Eric Thames. LeBlanc came on later in the inning with the bases loaded and dumped a single into left.

"I didn't execute a lot of my pitches," Scahill said. "The ones I left up got hit. The ones I didn't leave up, I got outs with."

Bell's long home run made it 4-0 in the fifth. Milwaukee's only real threat came in the seventh when they loaded the bases off Juan Nicasio. Felipe Rivero shattered Jonathan Villar's bat to get an inning-ending fielders' choice.

BITTERSWEET HOMECOMING

Milwaukee reliever Jared Hughes sprinted out to the mound and tossed a scoreless sixth in his first appearance at PNC Park since the Pirates cut him following a bumpy spring training. Hughes spent 11 seasons in the Pirates organization, including six in the majors.

That made it a little weird for Hughes when he crossed the Roberto Clemente Bridge in his first visit to PNC Park on Friday. He tried the usual entrance and was told he needed to use the side door reserved for the visiting team.

Hughes visited briefly with Pirates manager Clint Hurdle. Hughes was a favorite of Hurdle's son Christian.

"I needed to make sure I could tell Christian `Jared sends his love, all good," Hurdle said.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Brewers: OF Ryan Braun had an MRI exam on his strained right arm in Milwaukee on Friday. The exam showed no structural damage. Braun will return to the team on Saturday and be available as a pinch hitter.

Pirates: Utility player Adam Frazieris getting closer to making a rehab appearance as he recovers from a strained left hamstring that's kept him out since April 22.

UP NEXT:

Brewers: Matt Garza (1-0, 3.38 ERA) makes his third start of the season for Milwaukee. Garza is 3-6 with a 4.43 ERA in 13 starts against Pittsburgh.

Pirates: Gerrit Cole (1-3, 3.50 ERA) looks for his first win since April 14. Cole is 2/3 with a 3.77 ERA in seven starts against the Brewers.

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More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

D.C.'s follies have kept Capitals from overcoming Penguins

By Mark Madden

http://www.timesonline.com/sports

May 5, 2017

Jake Guentzel #59 of the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrates his second period goal against Braden Holtby #70 of the Washington Capitals in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG Paints Arena on May 3, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images)

If Washington is to come back and eliminate the Penguins in their second-round series, it will have to be done on talent alone.

Because the Capitals are the dumbest good hockey team I’ve ever seen.

A parade of lame offensive-zone penalties killed the Capitals in Game 4 Wednesday. John Carlson’s roughing call led to Justin Schultz netting the Penguins’ game-winning goal on the power play. T.J. Oshie’s high stick with a bit less than two minutes left sealed the Capitals’ fate. Alex Ovechkin was twice sent to the box, perhaps by way of somehow getting on the scoresheet.

Witnessing such stupidity, you can ascertain why the Capitals have never progressed past the second round in the Ovechkin era. Whatever it is the Capitals never had, they still haven’t got.

Imagine being the Capitals’ Justin Williams, a three-time Stanley Cup champ elsewhere who was playoff MVP in 2014. Williams knows what it takes, but looks around and sees teammates being reckless, taking bad penalties and underachieving – again – with the money on the table.

I don’t know what Williams is thinking, but I bet it includes the word “imbeciles.”

Assuming Sidney Crosby is out for the rest of the series – and anybody’s guess is just that, a guess, despite Crosby skating – the Capitals can’t be counted out. The Penguins are missing a lot of what makes them great.

But so are the Capitals.

They’re missing a productive Ovechkin: Just one goal in this series, and only two shots on goal Wednesday. The Capitals’ power play was 0 for 4, and that failure must be visited upon Ovechkin.

They’re missing what goalie Braden Holtby delivers in the regular season. In the playoffs, Holtby makes every save except the one he has to.

They’re without a coach who has answers. The reckless play cited reflects directly on Barry Trotz, who has never made it past the second round of the playoffs in nine previous chances. Like coach, like team.

Will the Capitals find the plot?

If so, they had better hurry.

Because of their injuries, I can’t assume that the Penguins win the series. They are minus hockey’s top player, their best defenseman and their No. 1 goalie. (Marc-Andre Fleury’s stellar play makes it easy to forget Matt Murray is out.)

But the Penguins are focused, and not rattled in the least despite such prominent absences. That reflects directly on their coach, Mike Sullivan.

The Penguins acted wisely Wednesday by not retaliating against Matt Niskanen on behalf of Crosby. Some teams operate well in chaos. The Penguins are not one of them.

An elimination of Washington would be the Penguins’ best revenge.

The Capitals would likely get blown up. Trotz might be fired. Prominent players might be traded. Free agents might depart. Washington might no longer be a preferred destination for other team’s free agents.

And if Capitals ownership does none of the above, it suggests the franchise is resigned to being second fiddle to the Penguins. Keep hanging those Presidents’ Trophy banners, then keep hanging yourself come springtime.

Deleting the Capitals – especially without Crosby, Letang and Murray – would scar that franchise.

A punch to the jaw is just a punch to the jaw. Given the circumstances, knocking out the Capitals would be hockey Armageddon.

Mark Madden hosts a radio show 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WXDX-FM (105.9).

Caps fall with Ovechkin as rivals rise without Crosby

By Thom Loverro

http://www.washingtontimes.com/

May 4, 2017

Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals handles the puck against Ron Hainsey #65 of the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG Paints Arena on May 3, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images)

I guess Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin are really joined at the hip.

Since Crosby, his rival superstar, had to sit out game four Wednesday night due to the concussion he suffered at the hands of Matt Niskanen in Game 3, Ovechkin apparently had a sympathy game, sitting out as well.

In fact, until Ovechkin’s offensive zone penalty in the third period during a Washington power play, it was hard to notice if Ovechkin — the Capitals team captain — was on the ice at PPG Paints Arena in Wednesday night’s 3-2 loss to the Penguins.

The loss gives Pittsburgh a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, with Game 5 Saturday night at the Verizon Center.

Washington doesn’t do well when they have a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals, so the prospects of coming back when they’re down 3-1 to win three straight against this Penguins team seems delusional, if not impossible.

“I didn’t play my game at all tonight,” Ovechkin told reporters.

“I think, me personally, I have to play much better. I think I didn’t control the puck well. You know, I make stupid decisions. Unfortunately, it happened, and we have to forget it and we have to move forward. Every game right now for us is [a Game 7], so we have to win three to move forward. I’m pretty sure we’re ready for that.”

What in Alex Ovechkin’s past would make him think that he — and his teammates — are “ready for that?”

Here is the phrase that should define this Capitals-Penguins series — “compete level.” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan repeatedly uses it to describe his team.

“I thought it was a gutsy, gritty, scrappy game for our group,” Sullivan told reporters after the Game 4 win. “Those guys personify that. They were not perfect by any stretch, but I love our compete level.”

He said it again after his team lost Game 3 by the score of  3-2, after Crosby went down with the blow to the head by Niskanen.

“We just play the game,” Sullivan said. “We played the game hard. Thought our guys competed extremely hard tonight. I loved our compete level.”

Compete level – it defines this series.

Who sets the standard for that compete level?

Compare Sullivan’s comments in their loss to what Washington coach Barry Trotz said after Wednesday night’s 3-2 loss.

“Our top guys tonight, I thought, weren’t as good as they needed to be,” Trotz said. “I didn’t think our top guys really stepped up today, which was very unfortunate for us.”

You don’t need a scorecard to figure out who Trotz is talking about here.

Crosby didn’t even play, yet he had more of an impact on Game 4 than Ovechkin.

“He’s (Crosby‘s) our leader, he’s a guy that is the face of the organization,” Pittsburgh forward Chris Kunitz told reporters. “When a guy like that goes down, everybody wants to do it for him, because he obviously puts it on the line every single night for us and usually carries us to victory the way he plays. So if we can get out there and try to win for Sid, that’s how we did it tonight.”

This issue of leadership came up in the press conferences after games one and two.

Trotz was asked how he would describe Ovechkin’s style of leadership in the Capitals locker room? “Good,” Trotz said. “I think he tries to lead by example. I think he’s grown. All leaders are caring, and he is a very caring guy when it comes to his teammates and all that. The thing about leadership is that you care about everybody else first, and I think that’s where Alex has grown a lot probably from his early years. I wasn’t here. But I think he understands that culturally, the NHL is a great teacher of leaders, and I think he has learned from some really great teachers who have come through this organization and I think he’s learned internationally, on a big stage, he gets all that.”

He’s “good.” He’s “grown.”

Now what Sullivan said about Crosby and leadership.

“I can’t say enough about Sid’s leadership,” Sullivan said. “His play speaks for itself, but I think his leadership to this team both through his example on a daily basis and the influence he has on our young players and the rest of our group, I can’t say enough for. I’ve gained so much respect for him as a person in the time I’ve been coaching him. You don’t really gain appreciation for a guy unless you get to see him on a daily basis. Everyone knows how good a player he is. I just think he is a terrific leader as well.”

We saw Crosby’s leadership by his absence Wednesday night — just as we saw Ovechkin’s by his presence.

Thom Loverro hosts his weekly podcast “Cigars & Curveballs” Wednesdays available on iTunes and Google Play.

Penguins continuing on tradition of resiliency against Capitals

Kevin Allen , USA TODAY Sports
https://www.usatoday.com/
May 4, 2017



Pittsburgh Penguins' Patric Hornqvist (72) gets the puck past Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby (70) for a goal during the first period of Game 4 in an NHL Stanley Cup Eastern Conference semifinal hockey game in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, May 3, 2017. (Gene Puskar/AP)


PITTSBURGH — When you think of Pittsburgh Penguins tradition, you think showtime offense.

Mario Lemieux. Jaromir Jagr. Ron Francis. Paul Coffey. Sidney Crosby. Evgeni Malkin. The Penguins have a history of magical scorers.

But the tradition that no one discusses, but everyone in the organization understands, is that the Penguins have historically found ways to overcome injuries. It’s been part of the Penguins’ culture for almost 30 years, dating to the days when Lemieux was in and out of the lineup with a variety of medical issues.

That tradition of resiliency helped the Penguins win a Stanley Cup last June and was on display again Wednesday when they overcame the absence of injured captain Crosby to down the Washington Capitals 3-2 and move within one win of reaching the Eastern Conference Final.

“These guys are willing to block shots, defend hard, get into people’s bodies,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “That’s what jumps out to me with our group right now — their willingness and commitment just to compete, defend, and do what takes.”

When Crosby was ruled out of Game 4 because of a concussion suffered in Game 3, the presumption was Pittsburgh star Evgeni Malkin would carry Crosby's load.

But Malkin wasn’t the story in this game. The story was Marc-Andre Fleury making 36 saves and the Penguins blocking 24 shots. Fourteen different Penguins blocked a shot on a night when the Pittsburgh team could only muster 18 shots on Washington's net.

“(Malkin) is an unbelievable hockey player. He commands so much attention when he has the puck,” Pittsburgh defenseman Ian Cole said. “But hockey isn’t like basketball where you can say, ‘go play the entire game.’ It’s a team game, and it’s very much reliant on guys to step up.”

The Penguins are now playing without the world’s best player in Crosby, top defenseman Kris Letang, No. 1 goalie Matt Murray and 23-goal scorer Conor Sheary.

“It was a gutsy, gritty, scrappy game for our group,” Sullivan said.

Despite having limited offensive zone time, the Penguins scored on a breakaway by Patric Hornqvist and an ugly goal credited to Jake Guentzel, whose centering feed was deflected into the net by Washington defenseman Dmitry Orlov. The game-winning goal came on a blistering shot from the point by Pittsburgh defenseman Justin Schultz on the power play.

The Penguins were the highest-scoring NHL team in the regular season, but that’s not how they found success in Game 4

“We would like to spend more time in the offensive zone, and have the puck more than we did, but I give our players credit because of their commitment to defending,” Sullivan said. “We’re paying a price.”

On a night when the Penguins seemed to continually make the right plays at opportune times, the Capitals struggled with consistency. They took too many penalties, particularly in the offensive zone.

Washington captain Alex Ovechkin said he didn’t like the way he played.

“Our top guys weren’t as good as they needed to be,” Washington coach Barry Trotz said. “I didn’t think they stepped up.”

Trotz said what his team now needs is to enter Saturday’s Game 5 in Washington with some desperation. They need to match the resiliency the Penguins showed in Game 4.

“If we don’t have the urgency we need in that game, then we don’t earn the right to keep playing, plain and simple,” Trotz said.

But the Penguins believe they can play better — much better — than they did in Game 4.

“We have another level to get to as a team,” Cole said. “They still had a lot of shots and chances. We can get that down.”

But Cole said the Penguins’ level of desperation “is through the roof.” It's winning strategy, particularly when it's unknown when Crosby or Sheary might return to their lineup.

“What the coaching staff admires about our team is its ability to find ways of winning different ways,” Sullivan said. “I think it says something about the character of our group and the leadership in our dressing room.”

Fleury impenetrable against cracking Capitals

By Kevin Gorman

http://triblive.com/sports/

May 4, 2017

Marc Andre-Fleury @29 of the Pittsburgh Penguins makes a save against the Washington Capitals in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG Paints Arena on May 3, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Matt Kincaid/Getty Images)

Lucky for Matt Niskanen, the Washington Capitals defenseman isn't active on social media.

Only then would he know that Penguins fans wanted his flesh and blood as payback for his cross-check on Sidney Crosby.

Niskanen was nervous after being cast as the villain for knocking the Penguins captain out indefinitely with a concussion in what is the defining play of this Eastern Conference semifinal series.

The Penguins had other ideas for retribution Wednesday night in Game 4. While the PPG Paints Arena crowd booed lustily every time Niskanen touched the puck, players such as Patric Hornqvist and Chris Kunitz got into his head early and took Niskanen out of his game.

The Capitals, however, had no answer for Marc-Andre Fleury. The Penguins goaltender has become impenetrable, whether it's protecting the net or his mindset.

Fleury stopped 36 of 38 shots in the 3-2 victory before a sellout, standing-room-only crowd and has emerged as the shining star on a team suddenly in need of one.

“I think Marc has played extremely well for us,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “He's a competitive guy. He's a Stanley Cup-winning goaltender, and I think he's showing it.”

Turns out, the Penguins didn't need to seek revenge on Niskanen, who drew a game misconduct for his hit on Crosby but avoided any further punishment from the NHL. Niskanen was tentative and ineffective, and it was reflective of his Capitals teammates, who had six penalties and went 0 for 5 on the power play.

“Your goaltender is usually your best penalty killer,” Sullivan said. “They make that timely save for you. Marc did that all night long, not just on our penalty kill but five-on-five, as well.”

Where Washington won Game 3 with what was debated as a dirty play, the Penguins won Game 4 with their play in the dirty areas. They fought for pucks along the boards. They gave up their bodies to block 24 shots, compared to the Capitals' 11, and won the battle of hits (40-30).

“He's been our No. 1 star all playoffs,” said Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz, who scored the winner on a power-play goal at 11 minutes, 24 seconds of the second period. “It seems every other night we're saying how good he was. Again, he kept us in it in the second when they were coming. He has a lot of fun back there, and he loves the moment and it's fun playing for him.”

Afterward, Capitals coach Barry Trotz lamented his star players didn't do enough but credited Fleury for another fine performance. In these four games against the Capitals, who feature one of this generation's great goal scorers in Alex Ovechkin, Fleury has stopped 133 of 142 shots, a .937 save percentage.

“Marc has elevated his game at an important time of the season,” Sullivan said, “and I think it's the highest compliment you can give a player.”

Trotz said the Penguins have the edge in pedigree as reigning Stanley Cup champions. The Capitals have only the President's Trophy, awarded to the NHL's best regular-season team. The Penguins take a 3-1 series lead to Game 5 on Saturday at Verizon Center with a chance to clinch.

“You've just got to mentally fight through it,” Trotz said. “That's the part we have to wrap around our minds. One of the things in playoff hockey is you have to earn the right to play. That's not a given.

“The Pittsburgh Penguins have played without a number of players all year, and you were going to get their best game and we needed our best game to beat them. We had a lot of zone time. We had a lot of chances. Fleury was a big player. We had some good chances. We didn't bury them. We're sitting here now, down 3-1.”

Fleury acknowledged the Capitals have tried to get into his head, once considered the most fragile part of his game to the point that he sought counsel from a sports psychologist after one playoff failure. From crashing the crease to setting screens in front of the net, nothing has rattled the 32-year-old netminder this postseason.

The Capitals continue to take shots, and Fleury continues to stop them.

“I don't know,” Fleury said. “I don't worry too much about what they're thinking. I just want to stop the next one.”

Like a fine wine, we are watching vintage Fleury.

Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at kgorman@tribweb.com or via Twitter @KGorman_Trib.

MORE PENGUINS/NHL

Crosby-less Penguins down Capitals, take 3-1 lead in series 

Fleury 'like a fine wine' in playoffs 

Plus-Minus: Penguins vs. Capitals, Game 4 

Penguins notebook: Sullivan tweaks lines in absence of Crosby, Sheary 

Photo gallery: Penguins vs. Capitals Game 4