The loss of the Washington Capitals four-game series was overcome. The Caps played their rival Pittsburgh Penguins with fantastic equal strength and kicked off with a 3-1 victory.
The Caps scored the Pens 42 to 27 and tried five to five 37 to 34.
- So without the Justin Schultz late there in the third period, I think it’s about such a perfect match that a team in the Peter Laviolette system. A high shot total for the Caps and they did not give the Pen a big chance at five-on-five. Not just in one period. In all three of them. Did things finally click? Are the dudes who have been out for weeks on end finally back in the best game mode? Let us hope that both are true for the sake of all our common sense.
- Good golly was that the third line of Caps immediately flew out of the bag or what? With Lars EllerThe line on the ice was five-to-five, the Caps having 92.9 percent of shot attempts, 83.3 percent of points, two goals for and zero shots for the Penguins. It’s complete dominance and they managed to play most of their minutes against Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin’s lines. Wowee. Conor Sheary he looked fantastic the second game in a row and in seven career games against his former teammates he has five goals. Richard Panik‘s good play all season is finally rewarded with points.
- Vitek Vanecek needed this one. Without the above late mistake, Vitek is likely to secure his first NHL career exclusion. The defense in front of him made his life very easy on the way to a 26 victory, but at the same time any victory is a confidence booster for a rookie goalkeeper.
TJ Oshie and Nicklas Backstrom scored the shots on Vrana’s goal. Since 2015-16, Backstrom (8g-21a-29p) and Oshie (13g-15a-28p) have the most points against Pittsburgh among all NHL skaters.
– CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) 17 February 2021
- Wanted to give a quick defensive call to the BOK. Alex Ovechkin breaks a two-to-one rabbit from Pens with a diving stick check when a Caps power lapse expires and the shooter heads in the other direction, straight Jakub Vranatheir goal. He does it all, people.
- The Caps got more power play (five) than an opponent (three). Enjoy it.
- Nick Jensen was now strong for a handful of games in a row. His strong board work and pinching led directly to the opening goal of the Caps.
Numbers thanks to Hockey-reference.com and NaturalStatTrick.com.
RMNB coverage of caps in penguins
Screenshot thanks to NBC Sports Washington