Generally when I write my game summaries, it’s usually about what our Penguins did or didn’t do over the course of a contest. But in this instance I’m giving the Capitals their due. Save for an eight-minute window in the third period when we had them on the run, they played a really strong game from goalie Vitek Vanecek on out.
In short, the Caps were the better team and deserved to win. And win they did, besting our boys, 5-2, last night at the Capital One Center in a game that wasn’t as lopsided as the final score would indicate but not super competitive, either.
Special teams played a huge part. After our guys rallied to tie the score at 2-all in the final frame, the Caps cashed in on the power play courtesy of an ill-timed hooking penalty to rookie Drew O’Connor.
Meanwhile, the black and gold reprised their “pass the puck around the perimeter” approach while misfiring on four power plays, for the most part deftly avoiding the prime scoring areas.
You’d think by now Sidney Crosby and company would figure this thing out (SHOOT!!!). But no…
To recap (no pun intended) the Caps grabbed the lead midway through the opening frame on a pretty play by defenseman Nick Jensen, who set up Nicklas Backstrom for a quick snap shot below the circles.
Thanks to another solid outing by Tristan Jarry, the Pens kept it 1-0 entering the third period. Then T.J. Oshie scored on a terrific, diving one-handed pickle stab just past the three-minute mark.
At this stage, dreams of another black-and-gold rally definitely weren’t dancing like sugar plums in my head. But that’s precisely what took place. A minute after Oshie’s tally, Brandon Tanev responded with a little magic of his own. While killing off a hooking penalty to Kris Letang, “Turbo” pounced on a turnover by Alex Ovechkin at the Pens’ blue line and turned on the jets. After slicing across the Caps’ zone, he beat Vanecek through the five-hole for his fifth goal of the season and eighth career shorty.
Exactly three minutes later, Jake Guentzel spun off a check by Brenden Dillon in the corner, bulled his way to the front of the net and stuffed the puck between Vanecek’s pads.
My heart skipped a beat. I thought we might actually steal a point or two in a game we had no business winning.
Alas, it was not to be. O’Connor was sent to the box and Letang’s stick shattered while blocking a shot, essentially leaving us down two men. The Caps patiently waited for a mismatch at the front of the net and got it, with Wilson posting up on “Tanger.” The DC marauder banged home the goal-ahead goal…and game-winner…from the doorstep.
The Caps tacked on a pair of empty-netters, including one by ex-Pen Carl Hagelin, in the closing minutes.
Puckpourri
Washington outshot us, 35-28, and uncharacteristically dominated the faceoff circle as well, winning 61 percent of the draws. They outhit us, 24-21, including a booming late hit by Wilson that sent Mark Jankowski to the locker room for a spell in the first period.
Receiving sheltered minutes (12:51 TOI) Pierre Olivier-Joseph paced the Pens with a plus-two. Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust were minus-two each. Rust led the way with five shots on goal, followed by Malkin, Tanev and Mike Matheson with three apiece.
The Pens are presently tied with Philly for fourth place in the MassMutual East Division with a 10-7-1 record and 21 points. The Flyers have two games in hand.
Opiniyinz
I’m concerned about our lack of scoring depth up front, especially with Jason Zucker on the shelf long term. Compounding the issue is the fading production from Sid and Geno. This was one of those games where we could’ve sorely used a big goal or two from our core.
With our top-end scorers aging and perhaps on the wane and output from the fourth line non-existent, it doesn’t leave us with many pistons firing. Too, grafting Zach Aston-Reese onto Malkin’s wing mitigates the effectiveness of our third line.
It’s not a pretty picture. Here’s hoping Jared McCann returns and finds his misplaced scoring touch, post haste.
Not to overstate the obvious. But we really miss Patric Hornqvist and Phil Kessel on the power play. Kessel, in particular, just took charge. Nobody does that now. Our guys are too busy deferring to each other. You take it, Sid. No, you take it Geno, I insist…
Costly penalty aside, I thought O’Connor played his best game. He skated harder and faster and was more involved.
Kudos for Cody
There haven’t been many instances where the Pens have stood up for each other this season. But Cody Ceci went out of his way to respond to Wilson’s blatant cheap shot, flattening the Caps’ heavy with a hard shoulder check in the neutral zone. When Wilson predictably came back at Cody during a follow-up scrum, the Pens’ defender didn’t back up an inch.
While Ceci doesn’t shy away from contact, it should be noted that he’s not a pugilist and has never engaged in a fight during his eight seasons in the NHL. In fact, he received Lady Byng consideration early in his career. And Wilson’s imposing to say the least.
Cody showed a ton of heart and guts to step up the way he did. I commend him for it.
Now, if Brian Burke and Ron Hextall would only get busy and add a legit physical presence or two…
Hey all,
Speaking of our physical presence (or lack of), there’s a good article on the “Tribune Review” by Mark Madden on the subject…”Penguins could use a player like Tom Wilson.”
He touches on a lot of the issues I’ve written about concerning our lack of toughness, including how Jim Rutherford should’ve forced Mike Sullivan to play Ryan Reaves (or else) while we had him.
Refreshing to see that someone agrees with us.
Rick
PS–Dan Kingerski likewise posted an article on “Pittsburgh Hockey Now” concerning the toughness issue…”Yep, Capitals Show the Penguins Are Missing a Tough Answer.” Again, echoing a lot of the things we’ve been saying.
Alas, Sullivan seems wedded to his purist (no fighting) approach.
Rick
As always your spot on. I did see wherein one article Hextall says every team
would like a Tom Wilson and if the opportunity presents itself the Pens would
have an interest.
Not sure how to take his quote. We know that finding a player that’s as
productive and physical as Wilson is rare. So does this mean we won’t
make a move to add toughness unless the player can play on our 1st or
2nd lines – I hope not.
IMO we need to evaluate our team toughness – they need to look closely
at how the Bruins were constructed – they have the skill, size, speed and team
toughness throughout their lineup.
One interesting note: I believe Ovi just has (1) goal against the Pens so far
this season and 3 or 4 assists. Don’t hold me to that.
I look forward to your thoughts.
And yet Wilson’s hit had nothing to do with losing the game. So what’s your point? They lost because of special teams. That’s the real issue.
Also all the focus on the pp misses an equal sized problem. I’d be focusing on Vellucci. The Pens always had a top end pk while Martin was in charge. Under Velluci they’ve fallen apart. How come no one seems to notice this?
Disagree, Stratton.
There’s a Corsi 5v5 game log chart in the Pittsburgh Hockey Now article that clearly shows Washington’s possession numbers spiking after the hit.
I’m not saying we win the game if Wilson doesn’t wipe out Jankowski. The Caps appeared to be firing on all cylinders. But the hit was a factor.
I won’t argue with you about the special teams. On the power play, I do think it’s more of a personnel issue. I can’t believe Mark Recchi is that superior to Todd Reirden as a power-play strategist, especially given the latter’s success in Washington and earlier in the ‘Burgh.
But on the PK? Vellucci does seem to be a poor substitute for Jacques Martin, who in my humble opinion was an excellent coach.
We may miss Jack Johnson taking the body as well. Nobody does that now, and our net-front coverage on the PK is virtually non-existent. Can’t help but think Sullivan and his stick-on-puck philosophy has a hand in that, too.
Rick
Penguins PP from 2016-present
16-17: 23.1%, 4th in the league 1st Full Season of Martin w/ 81, 72, 58, 87, 71
17-18: 26.2%, 1st in the league – Martin w/81, 72, 58, 87, 71
18-19: 24.6%, 5th in the league – Martin w/81, 72, 58, 87, 71
19-20: 19.9%, 16th in the league – Martin w/72,58,87, 71 but w/out 81
20-21: 15.5%, 26th in the league – Vellucci w/58, 87, 71, but w/out 81 or 72
81 has 4 PPG in Az. so far in 20-21 and 72 has 5 PPG in Fla.
So, my 1st question after looking down the last several seasons was it Martin’s ability to coach the PP or Kesse’s and Hornqvist’s abilities to drive the PP forward?
My follow-up question, was it better to trade Kessel and Hornqvist or would it have been better to keep Kessel and Hornqvist and fire Sullivan? It may be a hard question to definitively answer. We will never know what would have happened if Sully was sacrificed and Kessel and Hornqvist kept. All we do know is that Sullivan has this team in a state of inexorable decline.
However, the question of whether the team would be better off as it is, with Sullivan as Coach, or with Kessel and Hornqvist driving at least the PP, is a question that anyone capable of divorcing themselves of their own biases and looking at this team objectively has to be asking themselves as the Crosby/Malkin era fades into hockey lore.
Sorry meant reirdon PP
Hey Other Rick,
Just a mild correction. I’m 99 percent sure Mark Recchi coached the power play while Martin had the PK. And Reirden coaches the power play now.
But the numbers back up our perception. And nobody can convince me we wouldn’t be scoring more with the man advantage with Hornqvist and Kessel.
They bring two critical elements…a quarterback and a net-front presence. We totally lack the first and have only marginal substitutes for the second. Guentzel and Rust try, but they’re simply not Hornqvist. Nobody is.
I wouldn’t mind seeing Mike Matheson get a shot on the top unit in place of Kris Letang, but that’s just never gonna happen.
Rick
You seem to forget that Kessel was a disaster at even strength and his laziness affected the whole team. And exact how would his $6.8 m salary going to shoehorned in?
As far as Hornqvist is concerned, the Pens had him last year and the pp wasn’t too great then either.