Capitals Outlast Penguins in OT

With sincere apologies to our faithful PenguinPoop readers and guests, I don’t have time to post a more traditional game summary. Instead, I’ll dispense with the details and share a few recollections of last night’s heartbreaking 3-2 overtime loss to the Capitals in Game 3 at PPG Paints Arena.

Rarely have I been prouder of our guys. Dealing with the shocking dual losses of top scorers Sidney Crosby and Conor Sheary, the Pens showed a ton of guts, not to mention heart, spirit and resilience. A display of valor truly worthy of a champion.

Once again, the black and gold proved they’re never out of a game, even when the odds are thoroughly stacked against them as they were last night.

Heck, I’d pretty much resigned myself to a loss when Evgeni Malkin beat Caps goalie Braden Holtby in the waning minutes from his favorite spot in the right faceoff circle.

I hollered loud enough for my boss, Dave, to come scrambling out of his office at Wright’s Gym.

“Did we score?” he asked.

“Yes!” I replied, slightly out of breath. “Geno got one!”

Eyes glued to the big screen TV, I yelled even louder when Justin Schultz struck from center point moments later. Again, Dave came piling out of his office.

“Again?”

“Yeah…Schultz this time,” I huffed.

I couldn’t help but notice the posture of the two teams. While the Pens flew to their bench in an unbridled display of ecstasy, skates barely skimming the ice, the Capitals slunked—heads down—in slow motion, as if tethered to an unseen ball and chain of playoff failures past.

Dear Lord, we just might win!

If only we’d had a few more minutes of regulation. Our guys just weren’t able to hold the momentum through the break. With Trevor Daley in the box, Kevin Shattenkirk made a nice play to change the shooting angle. He beat Marc-Andre Fleury clean to the blocker side.

After receiving a reassuring rap on the backside from Ian Cole, Flower quickly exited the ice with teammates in tow. No sense in sticking around.

No shame in losing, either. Especially when you gave it your all.

That’s what our guys did last night.

Puckpourri

The Penguins controlled the faceoff circle (36-31) and outhit the Caps by the same margin. Washington held a slight edge in shot attempts, 63-55, and shots on goal (33-30).

According to an ESPN report, Mike Sullivan announced that Crosby has suffered a concussion.

“Sid has been diagnosed with a concussion,” the Pens’ coach said. “He will be out for tomorrow’s game. We will evaluate him from there.”

“He’s very upbeat and positive,” Sullivan added. “We’re very optimistic and hopeful we’ll have him back in a timely fashion.”

Sheary is in concussion protocol as well. He was hurt in a collision with teammate Patric Hornqvist.