Penguins Halt Skid, Dump Capitals 4-1

Two old Metro Division lions clashed last night in the gladiator pit otherwise known as Capital One Arena. Both were missing a few teeth and suffering from mange. Indeed, the Penguins were in the midst of an ugly 0-6-1 slide; the Caps only marginally better at 2-3-2. In the end our Pens roared the loudest, eclipsing our old blood rival by a 4-1 count.

However, where contests with the Caps used to be passionate, electric affairs, this one was rather tame by comparison. Some of that was attributable to the fact that our hosts were missing a legion of key players, including Nicklas Backstrom, Connor Brown, John Carlson, Dmitry Orlov, T.J. Oshie, Tom Wilson and old friend Carl Hagelin. (And we think we have injury problems…sheesh!)

Still, take nothing away from Mike Sullivan’s troops. Following a sluggish start, we played the quintessential road game, limiting the Caps to 25 shots on goal while taking full advantage of our opportunities. Indeed, if we’re to salvage our season, this game served as a blueprint. Our boys were patient, detailed, focused and controlled. Contrary to our recent struggles, we did a good job of playing with and protecting a lead. We killed off four Washington power plays. Perhaps most important, we played for a full 60 minutes…perhaps for the first time all season.

Definitely a win to build on.

The Goals

Following an evenly played first period, the Pens snatched the lead at 7:43 of the middle frame thanks to an innocent-looking play by the Evgeni Malkin line. Geno, at his direct and forceful best, dug the puck off the left wall and fed Rickard Rakell behind the net. Rakell relayed the rubber to Jason Zucker, who flung a sharp-angle shot from the right wall that somehow trickled through Darcy Kuemper’s wickets and in.

Five minutes later we expanded our lead to two on the rarest of occurrences…a shorthanded goal. Jeff Carter, back in the lineup after missing three games, picked off an errant outlet pass by Erik Gustafsson and fed Brock McGinn between the circles. “The Brock Star’s” shot had just enough mustard to slither between Kuemper’s pads and over the line.

The Pens made it 3-0 just past the 15-minute mark. Jeff Petry teed up a pretty feed from Sidney Crosby and let ‘er rip, blasting the biscuit over Kuemper’s flailing glove hand. Capping (pun intended) a near-perfect period of hockey for the black and gold.

The third period was as noteworthy for what didn’t occur as for what did. After Marcus Johansson ruined Casey DeSmith’s shutout bid at 12:22 of the frame to make it a 3-1 game, we didn’t panic and we didn’t fold. Even when Petry left the ice after getting the worst of a collision with Nicolas Aube-Kubel to leave us with only three healthy d-men. Carter filled in on defense for a shift before Petry mercifully returned to the bench.

Jake Guentzel sealed the victory with empty-netter at 18:14, courtesy of a “Murphy Dump” by Kris Letang.

Puckpourri

The Pens outshot the Caps, 28-25, and won 51 percent of the faceoffs. The Caps held a slight edge in shot attempts (60-58).

DeSmith made 24 saves to earn the second-star. Top star honors went to McGinn. Since I called him out for being an empty jersey, he’s been one of our best players. Nice to know my reverse evaluation mojo remains intact.

McGinn skated on the third line with Carter and Danton Heinen. Rookie Filip Hallander joined Ryan Poehling and Josh Archibald on the fourth line. They were dreadful, possession-wise, yielding 11 shot attempts against 5v5 while mustering none. An off-the-cuff observation…the NHL game seems too fast for Hallander.

Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Jan Rutta exited in the second period, leaving us with only four healthy d-men. No word as of yet on the nature of their injuries. Petry had an ice bag on his left knee following the game.

Bryan Rust dropped the gloves for the first time in his NHL career, engaging Trevor (The Wrong) van Riemsdyk in a hugfest.

Kasperi Kapanen was a healthy scratch.

And Don’t Call Me Shear(l)y

Conor Sheary didn’t score against his ex-mates, which in and of itself is noteworthy. However, at 13:48 of the third period he inflicted damage of a different kind, flattening Hallander with a chicken-wing elbow that would’ve done the aforementioned Wilson proud.

Ovi and Out

The Pens’ defense spent a good portion of the evening trying unsuccessfully to dodge the Wild Bull of Moscow, Alex Ovechkin. The Caps’ strongman, who dished out seven hits, destroyed Rutta with a huge body check behind our net, sending the Pens’ d-man to Palookaville and the locker room. Ovi proceeded to hammer Marcus Pettersson and Letang in the third period with similarly robust checks. Mercifully both survived.

On Tap

The Pens travel north of the border to take on improving Toronto on Friday night. Then it’s on to Montreal to face Les Habitants on Saturday evening.