The game was a preview of a potential first-round playoff
matchup, and it was played as closely as a postseason game. The Penguins took
an early lead on a goal by Evgeni Malkin, who led a 3-on-1 break and finished
it when he chipped the puck past goalie Braden Holtby from the top of the
crease at the 6:14 mark of the first period.
The Penguins doubled their lead early in the second period
when they smartly broke down the Caps’ defense. Sidney Crosby started the play
by skating the puck into the offensive zone and curling off to his right to
create an opening. Olli Maatta filled in and took a pass from Crosby as he was
skating down the middle. Maatta slid the puck under Matt Niskanen’s stick to
Patric Hornqvist, who freed himself behind everyone. Hornqvist had only to
backhand the puck under Holtby’s right pad, and it was 2-0, Penguins, 3:45 into
the second period.
Less than a minute after the Hornqvist goal, the Caps
started their comeback. A shot by Nate Schmidt was muffled by Malkin at the top
of the right wing faceoff circle, but Mike Richards was first to get to the
loose puck. Richards turned and fired, his shot sailing through a maze of
bodies and eluding goalie Matt Murray to make it 2-1 4:24 into the period.
Washington tied the game late in the second period with
speed. Andre Burakovsky stormed the Penguins’ zone carrying the puck down the
left wing along the boards. He left it for Justin Williams, who skated past
Nick Bonino and circled around the Penguin net. Coming out the other side,
Williams backhanded a shot that Murray stopped but could not control. Evgeny
Kuznetsov was quick to pounce on the loose puck and chip it past Murray’s right
pad to tie the game with just 3:57 left in the second period.
Mid-way through the third period, each team had been the
beneficiary of two power play chances, none of them successful. Then, Malkin
took a high-sticking penalty. A familiar face did them in on the ensuing power
play. With the Penguins unable to clear the puck, Matt Niskanen and Nicklas
Backstrom played catch with it at the top of the zone. A pass from Niskanen was
returned by Backstrom, and Niskanen’s one-timer off that pass flew through a
Marcus Johansson screen and Murray’s glove to give the Caps their first lead of
the contest.
The Caps held the Penguins to one shot on goal in the final
6:22 of the contest after the Niskanen goal, and Washington had their 3-2 win.
Other stuff…
-- The Caps’ 46th win ties the club with the sixth-most wins
in franchise history, the 1984-1985 team that finished with a 46-25-9 record.
-- This was the tenth time in 46 wins that the Caps won by a
3-2 margin and their 13th 3-2 decision of the season (10-2-1).
-- It was the 18th time this season that the Caps won when
allowing the first goal, by far the most such wins in the league (Los Angeles
has 14 wins when allowing the first goal). Last season the Caps had only eight
wins when allowing the first goal.
-- The Caps spread their scoring around, getting goals from
three different players –Matt Niskanen, Mike Richards, and Evgeny Kuznetsov –
and single points from eight skaters overall.
-- If 16 of 18 skaters recorded a shot on goal, you might
think it was the “defensive defensemen” who did not get a mark on that column
of the score sheet. And, you would be
right. Brooks Orpik and Mike Weber, the
latter playing in his first game as a Capital, did not record a shot on goal.
-- Dmitry Orlov was sent to the box twice, once for
embellishing a hook by Ian Cole, and again for a tripping call. It was the first time he was charged with two
penalties since January 10th against Ottawa.
The four minutes made it 20 penalty minutes for the season, a new
career-high, eclipsing the 19 minutes he had in 54 games last season.
-- The embellishment call on Orlov was one of two such
infractions called on the Caps. Jason
Chimera was given the Oscar for his role in “Kris Letang: Holding” just 1:29
before Orlov’s turn on the stage.
-- Jay Beagle is easing back into one of his roles
slowly. He took only two faceoffs
against Chicago in Sunday’s loss, losing both, and he took only three faceoffs
in this game, losing two of them. He did
record four shots on goal, though, to tie Andre Burakovsky for the team lead.
-- Braden Holtby faced 30 shots in this game. It makes him 16-1-2, 1.80, .947, with two
shutouts when facing 30 or more shots in a game this season.
-- The Caps never quite grabbed an advantage in the shot
attempts battle, but they did slowly tilt the ice as the game wore on. At 5-on-5, the Penguins out-attempted the
Caps, 22-11, in the first period, and they held a 20-19 edge in the second
period. The Caps had the edge in the
third period, 14-12, and they held the Penguins two just three attempts (two
blocked, one shot on goal) in the last 6:22 after what would be Matt Niskanen’s
game-winning goal.
In the end…
On a night where most of the attention seemed to gravitate
to the first ever Connor McDavid/Jack Eichel matchup in Buffalo, the two veterans of
the head-to-head matchup went at it.
Sidney Crosby got the point (an assist), but Alex Ovechkin got the
win. How many times over their
respective careers was the outcome reversed?
We like it this way better.
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