The Penguins earned it — the game and the expected-goals battle both.
The Penguins' 5-1 rout looks understated compared to what the underlying metrics reveal. Pittsburgh controlled 13 high-danger chances to Vancouver's 3, a margin that dwarfs the final tally. At 5v5, the Penguins' expected goals crushed Vancouver's 5.20 to 3.24—a 62-38% split that was never in doubt.
The shot attempts told a different story. Pittsburgh took 26, Vancouver 24, a near-even split that masked deeper control. But volume doesn't matter when Penguins' chances averaged 0.080 expected goals per shot versus the Canucks' 0.047. Quality overwhelmed quantity.
Vancouver wasted what chances they generated. K. Lankinen finished with a 0.808 save percentage, stopping just 21 of 26 shots. More damning: the Canucks underperformed their expected goals by 2.24, squandering high-danger looks at a 92% clip against Lankinen's own glove. A. Silovs proved the answer, stopping 23 of 24 for a 0.958 save percentage—2.24 goals above expected. He stole a blowout that the underlying numbers had already scripted.
Pittsburgh was lethal at the margins. They converted two goals from low-danger spots, the kind of finishing that separates dominance from catastrophe. Their rush attack produced 2 goals on 25 chances. Vancouver generated four rebound opportunities and converted none; Pittsburgh created five and buried one.
J. Brazeau struck with a wrist shot from the high slot at 5:56 of the third period, opening the rout. Brazeau finished with 1G, 2A in just 11:50. K. Letang added two assists, while A. Mantha posted 1G, 1A. Pittsburgh's supporting cast delivered in full.
This wasn't a scoreline that flattered Pittsburgh. The underlying numbers revealed an even more total dominance.
