Nick Bonino had some vehicle issues on the way to Sunday's Game 5 against the Ottawa Senators, leaving him temporarily stranded.

Until his wingman appeared, that is.

"All of a sudden the gas didn't work and the power steering went out in the middle of the highway," Bonino explained after the 7-0 win. "I was able to get it to the side. Great teammate Phil Kessel came and picked me up.

"I owe a lot to Phil tonight for being here, a great guy."

More proof that Kessel really is an uber-good teammate.

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Guy Boucher has left no doubt that Craig Anderson is his starter.

The Ottawa Senators goalie allowed four goals on 14 shots in 18:32 of play Sunday during a lopsided Game 5 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, but the head coach won't entertain the thought of turning to Mike Condon for Game 6.

From the NHL's official postgame transcript:

Reporter: Will you go back to Craig for Game 6?
Boucher: Oh, my God.

Reporter: Got to ask the question.
Boucher: I know you do, but you should not.

So that settles that.

Prior to Sunday, Anderson was the top performer between the pipes through the first week of the third round.

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For the second time during the playoffs, Erik Karlsson's game came to an early end.

The Ottawa Senators captain was pulled in the second period Sunday for precautionary reasons and did not return for the final frame of a blowout Game 5 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Karlsson has been playing on an injured foot, and the situation was similar to Game 4 of the second round against the New York Rangers, when he left the game with his team down by three goals.

"The score was not what we wanted, and not only me but we decided to shorten down minutes a bit and move on and get ready for the next game," Karlsson said, per Dan Rosen of NHL.com.

Derick Brassard and Cody Ceci also left the game, but head coach Guy Boucher later confirmed they could have come back if necessary and should be good for Game 6.

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From the Ottawa Senators' perspective, calling Game 5 of their Eastern Conference Final versus the Pittsburgh Penguins a catastrophe would be an understatement.

Pittsburgh cruised to a 7-0 win, the worst shutout loss in Senators playoff history, and head coach Guy Boucher didn't mince his words when asked about his opponent's performance.

"We know they're a better team," Boucher told reporters following the loss. "Everybody knows that on the planet. They're the Stanley Cup champions. They're the best team in the league. That's no secret."

To be fair, the Penguins sure looked the part, dominating the Senators from start to finish.

Pittsburgh got goals from seven different players, and outshot Ottawa 36-25 to take a 3-2 series lead. What's more, the Penguins out-attempted the Senators 56-47 in all situations, and generated 27 even strength scoring chances to Ottawa's 17, per hockeystats.ca.

Correct.

The Senators now travel back home, seeking to force a Game 7 with a bounceback performance Tuesday night.

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William Nylander capped his first appearance at the World Championship with both a gold medal and MVP honors.

The young forward led his country in scoring with 14 points in 10 games, and his seven goals tied for first among all players.

Nylander - whose best moment of the tournament came on a brilliant goal in the quarterfinals against Switzerland - finished the worlds with the fourth-highest point total, behind Russian forwards Artemi Panarin (17) and Nikita Kucherov (15), as well as Canada's Nathan MacKinnon.

He also highlighted the tournament's All-Star team:

In line with these selections, Panarin was named the tournament's best forward, Seidenberg earned best defenseman honors, and Vasilevskiy was deemed to be the top goalie.

Sweden defeated Canada in a shootout to capture its first gold medal since 2013.

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The Nashville Predators confirmed Saturday's report that center Ryan Johansen was treated with surgery on his left thigh for acute compartment syndrome.

Predators general manager and president of hockey operations David Poile released the following statement on Sunday:

On Thursday, May 25, Ryan Johansen was treated for an acute compartment syndrome of the left thigh. Rapid diagnosis and treatment are critical to prevent complications. His symptoms developed shortly after the end of Game Four in Nashville, and as they progressed, he was diagnosed, transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and had surgery performed by head team physician Dr. Jed Kuhn within two hours of his diagnosis. As a result, he had no permanent injury to his muscle, nerves or blood vessels and we expect a full and complete recovery. The Predators would like to thank Vanderbilt Life Flight Paramedics, the VUMC Emergency Department, Operating Room Nurses, and Anesthesiologists for their expedient and excellent care.

Acute compartment syndrome occurs when excessive pressure builds up inside an enclosed muscle space in the body.

Johansen was ruled out for the remainder of the playoffs following the surgery. His Predators currently lead the Ducks 3-2 in the Western Conference Final.

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PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh Penguins are one win away from a return trip to the Stanley Cup Final.

The defending champions pounced on the Ottawa Senators early in a 7-0 demolition in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals Sunday to take a 3-2 series lead. Sidney Crosby scored for a third consecutive game as part of a four-goal first period in which the Penguins twice chased goalie Craig Anderson.

Bryan Rust had a goal and an assist in his return from a concussion. Olli Maatta and Scott Wilson also beat Anderson in the first period. Matt Cullen scored his second of the playoffs, and Phil Kessel his seventh.

Matt Murray stopped 21 shots to win his second straight start following a six-week injury layoff. Game 6 is Tuesday night in Ottawa.

Anderson was pulled briefly after the Penguins went up 3-0 in the first and removed for good to start the second period. He stopped 10 of 14 shots he faced on his 36th birthday.

The Penguins appeared to hit their stride during a 3-2 victory in Ottawa on Friday night in Game 4, playing with the kind of speed and intensity that fueled their run to the franchise's fourth Cup last June. Still, they stressed the importance of finding a way to keep it going in a series that saw the teams alternate wins and losses through the first four games.

The momentum Pittsburgh generated did more than carry over. It crushed the Senators completely.

Rust watched Games 3 and 4 while recovering from a concussion suffered during an open-ice collision with Dion Phaneuf in Game 2. Coach Mike Sullivan placed him on the third line with Nick Bonino and Carter Rowney, and the impact was immediate.

Rust set up Maatta's opening goal by grabbing a loose puck in the Ottawa zone - a common occurrence during the Senators' nightmarish first period - then dropping it to Maaatta. The defenseman who scored just once during the regular season zipped home his second in two games 8:14 into the first.

The Penguins were just getting started. Crosby redirected Trevor Daley's shot past Anderson on the power play 12:03 into the first, and Rust did the same on a shot by Bonino with 3:56 left in the period.

Ottawa coach Guy Boucher briefly removed Anderson in favor of Mike Condon only to return Anderson about 90 seconds later. It didn't help. The player perhaps most vital to the Senators' first appearance in the conference finals in a decade let Wilson bank a shot from behind the goal line off him and into the net to make it 4-0.

Condon came on for Anderson in the second but it didn't exactly provide a jolt. Cullen scored off a centering pass from Mark Streit to make it 5-0 just 1:54 into the second and the Penguins kept pouring it on.

The Senators head back home on the brink of elimination for the first time in their postseason. They head home a little dinged up too. Defenseman Erik Karlsson, playing with a pair of hairline fractures in his left heel, sat out the last 25 minutes after colliding with Wilson. Forward Derick Brassard and defenseman Cody Ceci also skipped the third period, leaving the final 20 minutes as little more than a glorified exhibition.

NOTES: The Senators went 0 for 4 on the power play and are 0 for 29 in their last 29 chances with the man advantage. The Penguins were 3 for 3. ... Crosby's assist on Kessel's goal gave him 100 career playoff assists. He's the 22nd player in NHL history to reach that milestone. ... Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin played in his 141st postseason game, surpassing Jaromir Jagr for the most in franchise history. ... The Penguins scratched D Justin Schultz (upper body) and F Patric Hornqvist (upper body). F Conor Sheary was a healthy scratch. ... Rowney had three assists for Pittsburgh.

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William Nylander was fired up over Sweden's win at the World Championship.

Following a game-deciding shootout save by Henrik Lundqvist, Nylander got the celebration going by jumping into the goalie's arms and toppling him to the ice.

Here's a look at the progression in pictoral form.

Don't tell this squad this tournament doesn't matter.

(Images courtesy: Reuters)

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