That was brutal. The Washington Capitals played badly and poorly against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Two. I mean poorly in the sense that they did not perform well. I mean badly in the sense that they did some stuff that wasn’t exactly gallant. And yet, thanks to the singularly stellar performance of a certain Saskatchewanian stud in net, the Caps kept the score close.
The Penguins had little to show for their possession dominance until Nick Bonino won a board battle and set up Carl Hagelin for the opening goal.
In the third, Marcus Johansson, that notorious softy, tied the game with a power play goal earned from the paint. But with five minutes left, former Capital Eric Fehr caught a puck from Evgeni Malkin and tapped home the game-winner.
Pens beat Caps 2-1. The series is tied 1-1.
- Brooks Orpik should and will get suspended for this hit on Olli Maatta. Like Maatta, Orpik has a (recent) history with head injuries, so you’d think he’d know better.
- The Caps would have been better off if Orpik were ejected. He got outworked on pretty much every shift, and his failure to win a board battle precipitated Carl Hagelin‘s goal. He finished with 42 percent possession, buoyed mostly by a desperate third period.
- Carl Hagelin is Washington’s postseason nemesis, no? Worse than Halak?
Letang penalty pic.twitter.com/jfWSvYnbuP
— Shane O'Donnell (@shane1342o) May 1, 2016
- Above is the Kris Letang “penalty” after which Marcus Johansson scored his power play goal. I’ll take it because…
- The earlier Evgeny Kuznetsov penalty for goalie interference was a scam. I’m fine with Nate Schmidt‘s goal getting waved off, but the penalty doesn’t jive with Kuznetsov getting drilled just before.
- I’m looking at these bullets and I realize that I’m not adequately telling the story of Pittsburgh’s domination. It was like an all-time PK. The Caps could break out alright, but they got thoroughly outworked deep in their own zone and especially in neutral. Most Washington attacks got broken up at center ice thanks to an aggressive Penguins forecheck. It was so bad Karl Alzner tried to join the press corps. I kinda want to rake the Caps over the coals, but it was also a damn impressive performance by their opponent.
- But the inescapable point is that the Caps didn’t get a shot on goal in the second until 14:48.
- And Tom Wilson‘s line was completely incapable of getting meaningful zone time, going oh-fer at even strength and on for 16 Penguins shot attempts. Yikes.
- Meanwhile, for the second straight game, the third line was Washington’s best at evens. Andre Burakovsky is bacon bits?
- Marcus Johansson has been great this postseason. A marquee goal in the paint to tie the game might finally put to rest his reputation as a soft player.
Eric Fehr basically @russianmachine pic.twitter.com/pJItCmsoOo
— Matt (@Hobbit311) May 1, 2016
- We used to call Eric Fehr a Penguin killer. Now he’s a killer Penguin. Fehr did what we loved him for: crashing the net and scoring big goals against a hated rival. I hate him right now, but I also love him. Traitor.
- Nick Backstrom won 90 percent of his faceoffs. That in inhuman rampage dot work, downright Stecklian.
fury #CapsPens @russianmachine pic.twitter.com/MBLZ6rBVBB
— Taylor Trostle (@tltrostle) May 1, 2016
Unleash the Fury of the night
That was an ugly game. By some point officiating became an abstract concept like dignity or pornography. Washington’s play merited a blowout, but Braden Holtby wouldn’t let that happen.
The skaters in front of him will have to be much better next week.
Off we go to Pittsburgh, where the Caps will have less control over matchups. That might be a good thing.
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