Twitter reacts to Penguins’ double-OT victory

The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Ottawa Senators 3-2 on Thursday to advance to their fourth Stanley Cup Final since 2008 and, of course, Twitter went nuts after Chris Kunitz buried the double-overtime winner.

With so many intriguing storylines to follow in this series, the postgame tweet reaction was worth a read:

Some of us enjoyed the Game 7 action a little bit too much.

Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final goes Monday when the Penguins face off against the Nashville Predators.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Predators-Penguins marks 1st final in NHL history with 2 American coaches

For the first time in NHL history, two American-born head coaches will square off in the Stanley Cup Final, according to the NHL Coaches Association.

Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan, a native of Marshfield, Mass., rallied his team to the final by winning two Game 7s. He made a series-altering decision against Ottawa by starting Matt Murray in Game 4 after Marc-Andre Fleury had carried them up to that point.

Peter Laviolette, a native of Franklin, Mass., has masterfully led his team to a 12-4 record on the road to the Cup Final. His willingness to adapt to his opponent has been put on full display. The Predators played more of a defensive, trap style against the high-flying Blackhawks in Round 1, but then upped the tempo against St. Louis and Anaheim.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Watch: Kunitz’s goal in double OT sends Penguins to Stanley Cup Final

It's a Penguins-Predators Stanley Cup Final.

Pittsburgh defeated the Ottawa Senators 3-2 in double overtime of Game 7 on Chris Kunitz's one-timer winner to advance to the main event. The defending champs are four wins away from repeating.

Sidney Crosby set up the series-winning goal, and it was Kunitz's second tally of the game, after going more than 30 games without a goal.

Goaltender Craig Anderson was the best Senator on the night, stopping 39-of-42 shots, but Ottawa's magical playoff run is over. And what a run it was.

Pittsburgh will host Nashville in Game 1 on Monday night at 8 p.m. ET.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Charles Barkley would rather watch Game 7 than Cavs-Celtics

Charles Barkley prefers actual competition.

The former NBA great and current TNT broadcaster was basically done with Game 5 between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics at halftime Thursday.

Here's a video of Barkley letting his feelings be known:

There's nothing better than Game 7 of an NHL playoff game. And overtime, to boot! Barkley knows what's up.

The Cavs destroyed the Celtics, by the way, and LeBron James is off to his seventh straight NBA Finals.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Watch: Methot levels Malkin with textbook hip check

Marc Methot can lay the body.

That much was clear Thursday, when the Ottawa Senators D-man took Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin off his skates and out of the play with a nasty - but clean - hip check.

The hit was laid near the end of the second period with the game tied at 1-1.

Methot has some previous experience in the hip-check department:

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Karlsson sets Senators record for assists in a playoff year

Erik Karlsson has set the Ottawa Senators record for assists in a playoff year with the primary helper on Ryan Dzingel's game-tying goal late in Game 7. His 16th assist surpasses Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley, who tallied 15 a decade ago during Ottawa's run to the Stanley Cup Final.

Karlsson's feat is especially impressive considering he plays defense, and reached 16 assists in his 19th game, whereas is took Spezza and Heatley an even 20 to record 15.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Watch: Stone stays onside, snipes 20 seconds after Pens open scoring

Mark Stone used every bit of his leg to stay onside. He then made sure it mattered.

The Ottawa Senators forward tied up Game 7 at 1-1 only 20 seconds after Chris Kunitz gave the Pittsburgh Penguins a lead, going upstairs on Matt Murray with a wicked shot.

Here's a better look at Stone's stretch:

Erik Karlsson set up the goal, leading the rush on the play. It was his 15th assist of the playoffs, tying a Sens postseason record.

Conor Sheary and Kunitz hooked up on the Pens' goal:

It was Kunitz's first goal since the middle of February.

Sheary, meanwhile, has been all over the ice in Game 7, making his mark in his return to the Pittsburgh lineup.

The game went to overtime tied 2-2.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Power outages strike at inopportune time in Ottawa

Apparently Mother Nature isn't a fan of Game 7s.

There have been multiple reports of power outages in the city of Ottawa, which obviously comes at an unfortunate time, considering the Senators are set to play in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final at 8 p.m. ET.

Jon Willing, an Ottawa of the Ottawa Citizen is reporting that power isn't estimated to be restored until 1:30 a.m. - Just in time for triple overtime, right?

Those living in this area of the city are likely frantically calling up friends in other neighborhoods to see whose cable hasn't been affected. Otherwise, fans will need to head to the closest sports bar that still has power.

The media has been saying that all of the pressure tonight is on the Pittsburgh Penguins, but now Hydro Ottawa is under more pressure than ever before as the Sens play in their biggest game in nearly a decade.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Penguins’ Schultz suits up for Game 7

Justin Schultz is back in the Pittsburgh Penguins' lineup for Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Ottawa Senators.

Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist took part in the pregame warmup but wasn't listed in the lineup.

Schultz hadn't played since he was hurt in Game 2 of the series against the Senators when he hit awkwardly into the boards by Ottawa forward Mike Hoffman midway through the first period.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Kesler: Game 6 loss to Preds was the toughest of my career

It wasn't the most significant defeat of Ryan Kesler's NHL or international career, but the veteran Anaheim Ducks forward says losing Game 6 of the Western Conference Final to the Nashville Predators was the most difficult.

"This was the toughest loss of my career," Kesler told reporters Thursday at the Ducks' final media session of the season. "This stings. It still stings. We left everything out there."

Kesler struggled in the series as a whole, collecting one point in six games, and he was on the ice for four more goals against than goals for in Game 6.

Still, the 32-year-old has endured several losses that one would expect to cut deeper than Monday night's elimination at the hands of the Predators, including Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final as a member of the Vancouver Canucks and Team USA's gold-medal game disappointment at the Olympics in 2010.

Ducks defenseman Kevin Bieksa echoed Kesler's sentiment Thursday, calling their Game 6 loss the toughest of his career despite the fact that he was also Kesler's teammate on a Canucks squad that came one win short of winning a championship.

Whether it's a case of recency bias or simply a sense of urgency because neither Kesler, 32, nor Bieksa, 35, has ever won the Cup, it's clear the pain of this particular loss is still lingering.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Remember, we are all Canucks!