Lovejoy enjoys emotional win
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Ben Lovejoy’s emotion-filled week ended with a satisfying victory by his new team against the club that traded him back to his old stomping grounds four days earlier.
Patric Hornqvist scored twice in the second period, and the Pittsburgh Penguins also got goals from Evgeni Malkin, Blake Comeau and Sidney Crosby in a 5-2 victory over the league-leading Anaheim Ducks on Friday night.
The game actually was a homecoming for three ex-Ducks, including Chris Kunitz and Daniel Winnik. Lovejoy, traded on Monday for Simon Despres, couldn’t keep his voice from cracking several times while answering postgame questions.
“That was awesome. The boys really rallied around me,” said the seven-year veteran defenseman, who spent his first four-plus seasons in the Steel City before he was traded to Anaheim in February 2013.
“Anaheim was such a special place for me,” Lovejoy said. “This morning I took an Uber to the rink from my old house in Newport (Beach), and I got a little emotional ... the driver was a bit weirded out. But I felt like I got it all out then, and I was able to come in here with so much energy and adrenaline.
Thomas Greiss made 27 saves, improving to 8-3-3 and helping the Penguins win for the fifth time in six games. They lost 3-1 at Columbus in the opener of a four-game road trip.
“Nobody was happy about our game against Colorado, so everybody wanted to show each other how good we can play,” Hornqvist said. “We came out of the gates good, and I think we had the momentum almost the whole game. Our second period was really good and we got a big win with a big team effort. We know we can beat anyone. We just have to get hot.”
Crosby scored into an empty net with 10.3 seconds remaining.
The Penguins are 6-0 when he and Malkin both have goals.
