Penguins Drop Tough One to the Capitals

I’d touched on it in my series preview. A trait that, unfortunately, surfaced in spades during the Penguins’ come-from-in-front 4-3 loss to Washington in Game 3 last night before a packed house of black-and-gold faithful at PPG Paints Arena. A pivotal affair that may have permanently swung the series in favor of Barry Trotz’ crew.

This Capitals team is a different bunch than the one we eclipsed in each of the last two postseasons. Counterintuitive in a way, given that they lost a passel of good-to-solid pros over the summer. But the proof is plain to see.

Not that we didn’t show plenty of character, too. I was duly impressed by the way we controlled the tempo…at least for 40 minutes…and stood up to the Caps physically, to the tune of a surprising 52-41 edge in hits.

In fact, when the Penguins rallied to snatch a 3-2 lead heading into the final frame thanks to second-period goals by boy wonder Jake Guentzel, Patric Hornqvist and Sidney Crosby, I felt pretty good about our chances. We even shook off a brutal, momentum changing hit by Caps assassin Tom Wilson that left rookie Zach Aston-Reese steamrollered on the ice like so much road kill and nursing a concussion and fractured jaw.

Then the never-say-die Caps took charge. Five minutes into the third period, ex-Pen Matt Niskanen beat Matt Murray with an eminently stoppable one-timer to the glove side to knot the score at 3-3. While Washington piled up a 10-3 advantage in shots on goal, our Pens seemed to hang in an odd sort of suspended animation, as if stunned by the sudden turn of events. Indeed, we managed nary a shot on goal over the final five minutes of play.

Still, overtime seemed a sure bet until Niklas Backstrom scurried up the ice on a 2-on-1 with Alex Ovechkin with just over a minute remaining. ‘The Great Eight’ banged the puck off the right post, then in a Crosby-esque display of hand-eye coordination, bunted the fluttering rubber into a wide-open net.

What led to the 2-on-1? The aforementioned Wilson…otherwise known as Public Enemy No. 1 in these parts…knocked the skates out from under a pinching Olli Maatta along the boards high in the Caps’ zone with a borderline trip. For those of you keeping score, Wilson picked up the second assist on Niskanen’s goal, his fourth point of the series. The rugged winger has 20 hits (nine last night)…roughly a fifth of the Pens’ team total of 107.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not starting a Tom Wilson Admiration Society or anything of the sort. In terms of physical play, the guy’s a bully and a cheap-shot artist who’s at his toughest when he knows he won’t be challenged. He went out of his way to avoid Ryan Reaves when the Winnipeg-bred bomber skated for the locals earlier this season. When Tom Sestito thumped Wilson in the 2016-17 season opener in retribution for taking out Conor Sheary’s leg the previous spring? The DC bad boy pretty much melted into the ice for the rest of the game.

Rather, Wilson’s over-the-line approach…ruthless as it is…seems to symbolize the Caps’ hunger, while underscoring a pronounced philosophical difference between the bloodiest of rivals. While Washington employs a loose cannon like Wilson, front and center, we divested ourselves of rugged players and potential deterrents like Reaves and Ian Cole at the trade deadline in pursuit of that extra nugget of skill.

In hindsight, GM Jim Rutherford had it right when he acquired Reaves last summer. A shame he reversed himself.

You don’t bring a fingernail clipper to a knife fight. And that’s most assuredly what we’re engaged in now…a knock down, drag ’em out brawl of a series where only the strongest team survives. The Capitals have us on the run, and they know it.

Lotsa luck the rest of the way.