Monday night at PPG Paints Arena, the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins played in a historic game likely never to be duplicated. The two rivals combined for 15 goals. Only one of tallies was scored by one of the team’s two future Hall of Famers (Sidney Crosby in the third period).
After jumping out to what seemed like an insurmountable 3-0 lead, the Capitals gave up five straight second-period goals to the Penguins.
“There were about four or five turning points,” Matt Niskanen said to the Capitals’ Mike Vogel. “The four-on-four in the second period, they get two goals in two minutes. That’s where things started to get a little crazy. Obviously they got a ton of momentum then. We couldn’t really stop them for a while.”
The Capitals would then mount comebacks two different times before eventually forcing overtime with the two teams tied 7-7.
After a controversial no call in the extra session, Conor Sheary scored the game-winning goal, ending a game that seemingly could have gone on forever.
The 15 goals were the most tallied scored in a Caps-Pens game since 1993, when the Penguins beat the Caps 7-5 on March 18, 1993.
All 15 goals in 87 seconds (Video)
Now let’s review every single goal.
FIRST PERIOD
1-0 Capitals – Andre Burakovsky goal
Points of Turnovers: Caps 1, Pens 0. Burakovsky scores early in the 1st. #CapsPens #RockTheRed pic.twitter.com/Rd6pKl5Rlz
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 17, 2017
Goal by Andre Burakovsky (7) Assisted by Daniel Winnik (6).
2-0 Capitals – Nicklas Backstrom goal
Backstrom stays red hot. #Caps up 2-0. #CapsPens #RockTheRed pic.twitter.com/ERVMCke4VP
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 17, 2017
Goal by Nicklas Backstrom (13) Assisted by TJ Oshie (12) and Alex Ovechkin (17)
SECOND PERIOD
3-0 Capitals – Justin Williams goal
Justin Williams makes it 3-0 in the second. #CapsPens #RockTheRed pic.twitter.com/DbarhtqARh
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 17, 2017
Goal by Justin Williams (15). Assisted by Evgeny Kuznetsov (25) and Marcus Johansson (17).
Hornqvist injures Oshie
The Capitals appeared rattled after TJ Oshie was hit in the face by Patric Hornqvist and there was no call. The Penguins would score five unanswered goals in 8:06 of game-time.
3-1 Capitals – Evgeni Malkin goal
Goal by Evgeni Malkin (19). Assisted by Trevor Daley (10) and Justin Schultz (20).
3-2 Capitals – Conor Sheary goal
Goal by Conor Sheary (4). Assisted by Sidney Crosby (21) and Trevor Daley (11).
3-3 Tie – Nick Bonino goal
Goal by Nick Bonino (7). Assisted by Justin Schultz (21) and Phil Kessel (29).
4-3 Penguins – Bryan Rust goal
Goal by Bryan Rust (11). Assisted by Trevor Daley (12) and Olli Maatta (5).
5-3 Penguins – Evgeni Malkin goal (2)
Goal by Evgeni Malkin (20). Assisted by Jake Guentzel (2) and Justin Schultz (22).
Braden Holtby benched
After giving up five goals on 26 shots, Braden Holtby was pulled in favor of Philipp Grubauer.
5-4 Penguins – Brett Connolly goal
Brett Connolly on a feed from Chorns brought the #Caps within one… #CapsPens #RockTheRed pic.twitter.com/Q6eM2sScAO
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 17, 2017
Goal by Brett Connolly (7). Assisted by Taylor Chorney (2) and Andre Burakovsky (12).
5-5 Tie – Lars Eller goal
Moments later, Eller short-handed tied it at 5. A few more moments later, Pens go back up. 6-5, #Caps trail heading into the 3rd. #CapsPens pic.twitter.com/yGqHM8oMbs
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 17, 2017
Goal by Lars Eller (5). Assisted by Nate Schmidt (11) and TJ Oshie (13).
6-5 Penguins – Evgeni Malkin hat-trick goal (3)
Goal by Evgeni Malkin (21). Assisted by Patric Hornqvist (14) and Sidney Crosby (22).
THIRD PERIOD
7-5 Penguins – Sidney Crosby goal
Goal by Sidney Crosby (27). Assisted by Conor Sheary (15) and Bryan Rust (8).
7-6 Penguins – TJ Oshie goal
Oshie brings the #Caps within one on the power play. Eller ties it minutes later. 7-7 game in the third. #CapsPens #RockTheRed pic.twitter.com/gMqCszcgo3
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 17, 2017
Goal by TJ Oshie (15). Assisted by Alex Ovechkin (18) and Matt Niskanen (17).
7-7 Tie – Lars Eller goal (2)
Lars Eller ties it late in the third with his second of the game! #CapsPens #RockTheRed pic.twitter.com/5JvTAEiaa0
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 17, 2017
Goal by Lars Eller (6). Assisted by Dmitry Orlov (18) and Matt Niskanen (18).
OVERTIME
Crosby trips Ovechkin
In three-on-three overtime, Alex Ovechkin was tripped at the blue line by Sidney Crosby. There’d be no call. The Penguins would score on one of their next rushes down the ice.
8-7 (OT) – Conor Sheary goal (2)
Goal by Conor Sheary (5). Assisted by Sidney Crosby (23) and Justin Shultz (23).
The Penguins’ 8-7 victory would halt the Capitals’ third-longest win streak in franchise history at nine games.
“It was a strange game,” said Barry Trotz.
Let’s call it the Martin Luther King’s Day Classic.
Full Coverage of Caps at Pittsburgh
Headline photo: Joe Sargent
