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Defending champion Penguins move one win from finals

The Penguins seized a 3-2 lead over the visiting Senators in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final series.

Matt Murray of the Pittsburgh Penguins makes a save against the Ottawa Senators on May 21, 2017

The Penguins seized a 3-2 lead over the visiting Senators in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final series with a chance to advance by winning Tuesday in the Canadian capital.

"We're a confident group," said Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta, a surprise goal scorer in game four.

"We know we have the potential to do that. Obviously, seven in a game is a lot, but at the same time, we know we have enough skill and we're a really good group, so we can definitely do that in a game."

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The series winner will meet either Nashville or Anaheim in the championship series starting May 29.

Pittsburgh took a 4-0 lead after the first period, the Penguins' scoring onslaught forcing the Senators to replace goaltender Craig Anderson on his 36th birthday with backup Mike Condon.

Maatta opened with scoring 8:14 into the game and Penguins captain Sidney Crosby followed with a power-play goal just 3:49 later.

Pittsburgh's Brian Rust scored on a rebound with 3:56 remaining in the period and Scott Wilson added another goal 2:13 later, with Nick Bonino and Carter Rowney assisting on both goals.

Matt Cullen boosted the Penguins' lead to 5-0 just 1:54 into the second period and Phil Kessell and Trevor Daley added third-period power-play goals to complete the blowout.

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Murray was making his second start after missing most of the postseason because of injury. He picked up his second career postseason shutout.

"We did a really good job," he said.

"The majority of that was because we had the puck the whole time, so we didn't really have to defend," he added.

"I thought we did a really good job staying on our toes and keeping the puck for the most part. When we didn't have it, we were able to create a turnover."

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