Caps beat Penguins 3-1, no, really, they won this one

Caps beat Penguins 3-1, no, really, they won this one

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The Washington Capitals played well against the Pittsburgh Penguins in a beautiful event and actually won a game. I will have the honor of telling you about it.

There we were, early in the second period but late in capitalism, when Nick Jensen outsmarted the Belly in the corner to set up Conor Sheary for a laser-fast shot. Later that period, TJ Oshie sent a magic spell to Jakub Vrana, who put it on the roof to beat Tristan Jarry high.

The Caps did not disappoint in the third. Early on, Richard Panik found Lars Eller on the weak side and made it 3-0. The Penguins cracked the lock on a messy play, but the day belonged to Washington.

CAPS WIN. Lost streak across.

  • The first period was a bit sleepy, but it was also curious. Shot attempts at equal strength were 50/50, but Washington controlled 84 percent of the expected goals. This is because they kept Pittsburgh completely out of the fold. This is quite unusual. I wrote about this pattern yesterday, but I did not expect to see it so clearly.
  • In the first period, Garnet Hathaway was the victim of an accidental grazing on Tristan Jarry. Like Valjean before him, Hathaway served his unjust sentence with humility.
  • In the second period, famous devil Mike Matheson made a gut-wrenching and classless and cruel attack on the benign Czech goalkeeper named Vanecek. Absolutely shameful and pathetic, typically Pittsburgh. Simply but ineffectively, the officers gave Matheson only two meager minutes in the penalty area. What a joke.
  • Jakub Vrana has two goals straight, including this cracker jacket set up by Oshie, but this bullet is just to celebrate another painful interruption conversation with the child. These have been my favorite segments lately. He can not stop emotion.
  • The Sheary-Eller Panic was positively dominant. Eller looked good a few games; his goal in the third was inevitable. This was the opposite of Hagelin’s next goal.
  • I do not care for faceoffs, except when Geno uses one to make Kuznetsov disappear, and then Kuznetsov tends to lie on the ground and appeal to the refs like someone just beheaded his action figure.
  • Vitek Vanecek came closer to recording his first NHL exclusion until Justin Schultz pushed a penguin into him as Aston-Reese shot. Big bummer. Schultz probably owes Vanecek an edible arrangement or something.

It was …

It was a damn good match.

It was well played. The Caps scored goals. They did not take a big lead. They did not commit a billion fines. I’m just genuinely pleased with it all.

Now rest for three days, as if they need it. JK they play Thursday. My mistake.

RMNB coverage of caps in penguins

Screenshot thanks to NBC Sports Washington

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