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Jakub Vrana! Caps beat Pens 6-3!

By Peter Hassett (@peterhassett) on May 5, 2018 | 0 Comment

Monday night will be an elimination game for the Pittsburgh Penguins after the Capitals secured an unlikely win in a dramatic, up-and-down Game Five. There’s a hero here, and if you’ve been paying attention, I promise you’re gonna like where this story is going.

Two minutes into the game, Jamie Oleksiak scored on Braden Holtby’s stick side to give the Penguins a lead, but a late-period flurry from new dad John Carlson and past playoff escape goat Brett Connolly gave the Caps a one-goal lead headed into the second period, which is where bad things happened. Sidney Crosby re-tied the game with a tip-in of Phil Kessel’s shot during an early power play, then Patric Hornqvist won a crease fight to give the Penguins the lead after forty minutes.

Less than one minute into the third period, Evgeny Kuznetsov took a pass from Jakub Vrana and turned it into a thrilling breakaway goal. Vrana doubled down to put the Caps in the lead with less than five minutes remaining. TJ Oshie and Lars Eller added empty-netters, and that was it.

Caps beat the Penguins 6-3! Caps lead the series 3-2!

  • Officiating was once again an ongoing concern. A too-many-men penalty on the Pens was overturned, which seems like the right choice in retrospect. Alex Ovechkin got one very soft penalty in the first period, and Sidney Crosby got a similar one in the second. Then, in the third, penalties ceased to exist. I think we should be very careful not to shift blame to the league for the Caps’ troubles. As frustrating and confusing as the calls have been, the Capitals are ultimately the authors of their own successes or failures.
  • I don’t know how exhausting it was for John Carlson to have a child yesterday. I imagine it was somewhat tougher on his wife Gina, but I bet it was trying for him as well. Still, he scored a thrilling goal that gave me hope in the first period.
  • Devante Smith-Pelly started the game on the first line but did not remain there. He did however get busted for two penalties in the second period, the latter of which gave the Penguins the lead. Jakub Vrana took DSP’s slot on the top line …and immediately turned the puck over to Evgeni Malkin for a scoring chance. That’s not indicative of the pattern of Vrana’s play. We’re going to see many more plays like the jailbreak pass he gave Kuznetsov to tie the game in the third period or the goddamn game-winner. Three points for Jake. It’s his night.

  • Jamie Oleksiak’s game-opening goal was the first Pens goal of the series that Sidney Crosby was not on-ice for. Crosby was on for the two goals after that though.

  • Our friend Shea sent us the video above, from the Hockey Night in Canada feed. It’s neat to be on TV, but, speaking for myself, I don’t like this shirt or stand by the message it represents. I think it minimizes the seriousness of head injuries in the sport. I also think Tom Wilson deserved the three-game suspension he received and that he should change his style of play for the good of himself, his team, his opponents, and the league. That’s what I think and that’s all I have to say about that.
  • Shane Gersich and his fourth line did not have a good night. In overwhelmingly defensive assignments, they got caved in by the eager Penguins – going without a single offensive event until late in the second period and ultimately earning a shot-attempt percentage south of 30 percent.
  • Along with Braden Holtby, who had to look down the throat of all those high-danger chances, Jay Beagle and Brooks Orpik were on the ice for Pittsburgh’s first three goals, two of which came while the Caps were a man down. I don’t know quite what to make of that, but it’s noteworthy at least as trivia. Holtby rules.
  • The second period was very bad for Washington. During 5-on-5, the Caps were outshot 11 to 3, and outpaced in high-danger chances 7 to 1. After forty minutes and at all strengths, the Penguins had twenty high-danger chances to Washington’s 4. I’m not sure what to say about that except that it was an embarrassment, and that I was glad the third period was better.
  • Nick Backstrom left the game in the third period. After a full workload in Game Four, Backstrom took just three faceoffs on Saturday before heading down the tunnel.

Joe B suit of the night, courtesy of Andrew

This isn’t about me or RMNB analysts or stats vs old-school or Barry Trotz. This is about Jakub Vrana getting a shot on the big stage and absolutely crushing it.

The Caps have a chance to do something they have not done in 24 years, and it’s all because their coach trusted a young player and was repaid with success.

I dig hockey for lots of reasons, but here’s one: I got to watch a special kid like Jake become a star on national television after months of doubt as to whether he even deserved a sweater. He got one tonight, and he had his moment. He’s gonna have a lot more, and we get to watch.

Let’s go Caps.

Full Coverage of Game Five

Headline photo: Patrick Smith

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