On this date in Penguins history: Patric Hornqvist puts the Caps on the brink of elimination

04/05/2024 14:00

Eight years ago today, Patric Hornqvist turned things around for the Penguins' franchise.

Eight years ago today, Patric Hornqvist put the Capitals on the brink of elimination in the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

It was the second round of the playoffs and the two teams with the most regular season points in the Eastern Conference were matched up in the postseason for the first time since 2009.

The Penguins lost a contentious opening game of the series before evening things up at 1-1 and Matt Murray put on a show to steal Game 3 and give the Penguins a 2-1 series lead.

Enter the pivotal Game 4.

The Penguins and Capitals would trade first and second period goals and head into the third period tied 2-2.

A long 20 minutes and things were still tied and the game was going to overtime.

Penguins fans felt the inevitable loss coming as the team had dropped eight straight playoff games dating back to 2013, including Game 1 of the current series.

But then, Patric Hornqvist struck and arguably changed the direction of the franchise with one lone goal.

It is still wild to me how many things need to go right during a long Cup run, including the bounce that Hornqvist got and how the puck made its way right to his stick as he was ready in a shooting position. Incredible.

The Penguins put the Caps on the brink of elimination, ultimately winning the series in six games and going on to win their first of back-to-back Stanley Cups.