Crosby gets last laugh in Penguins' Game 7 victory

WASHINGTON — When Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals ended Wednesday night, no matter who won, there was going to be a handshake.

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was going to shake hands with Matt Niskanen, the man who gave him the fourth documented concussion of his career with a brutal cross-check to the head in Game 3.

When the meeting finally happened, it's hard to imagine the satisfaction Crosby felt when Niskanen was the one doing the congratulating.

It's also hard to imagine Crosby gloating during postgame interviews, which he most certainly did not.

“I think we all know how hard it is to move on,” Crosby said. “I think this is a good character win for us, and hopefully we can bring this momentum into the next series.”

Crosby had a tangible effect on the result of Game 7, a 2-0 Penguins victory that earned the team a berth in the Eastern Conference finals, when he assisted on the second-period Bryan Rust goal that gave the Penguins the lead.

The Penguins forced the Capitals into a bad clear with dogged puck pursuit. Ian Cole kept the puck in at the blue line, then pushed a puck ahead to Crosby at the top of the right faceoff circle.

When Crosby passed across the face of the goal to Jake Guentzel at the left post, Rust figured his services wouldn't be needed on the play.

“At first, I thought Sid and Guentz were just going to make a really nice tic-tac-toe play, but then Guentzy just held onto it,” Rust said. “He made a really good pass to me, and I was able to finish it.”

Crosby cited Rust's goal as an example of the improvements the Penguins made between the previous two games, both losses, and Game 7.

“That was kind of more the way we need to play,” Crosby said. “It was great to get a big goal there.”

Crosby identified two other junctures in the game where the Penguins showed improvement.

First, he liked how the Penguins kept their composure after Washington took the first four shots of the game.

“You expect that,” Crosby said. “A team's at home. They had momentum. They're coming off a couple big wins. You expect them to come out hard. We knew we had to be more aggressive tonight, more than we were in the last couple games. I think we got through that first little wave there and got to our game.”

He also liked the way the Penguins controlled territory in the third period, outshooting Washington, 11-6, even though the Capitals desperately needed a goal or two to keep their season alive.

“For at least the second and third, we were more on our game, on our toes a little bit more,” Crosby said. “That was probably one of our better games we've played, and that was the right time to have one.”

Crosby helped the Penguins efforts during both those important stretches, of course, playing the solid 200-foot game he has become known for in his decorated career.

The way coach Mike Sullivan saw it, however, Crosby's contributions in the locker room were just as valuable.

“It always falls back to the leadership of the group and it starts with our captain, with Sid,” Sullivan said. “This guy has an ability to elevate his game when the stakes are highest, and I think he leads by example. He's a quiet leader. He doesn't speak a lot, but when he does, I think everybody listens.

“It starts there with our team, but it doesn't end there. We've got a core of veteran players that have been through a lot together. They've had success and failures. They've been on both sides of it. They understand what's at stake and how to react. They certainly showed it again tonight.”

Jonathan Bombulie is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at jbombulie@tribweb.com or via Twitter at @BombulieTrib.