Maybe you’re like me and you were worried that the Caps winning the Cup might have dulled the relationship between them and the Penguins. If that’s the case, then you, like me, were dead wrong. Wednesday night’s date between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals was a riotous affair from the first minute to the last. I just didn’t like how it ended.
After a scoreless (but not uneventful) first period, Lars Eller netted a pretty goal assisted by Tom Wilson but made possible by a great Matt Niskanen hit at the Caps blue line. The Penguins got on the board with a power-play goal off Sidney Crosby’s stick, deflecting Evgeni Malkin’s pass. Before the period was up, Bryan Rust got an extra greasy goal in the paint to give the Pens a 2-1 leading heading into the third. The Caps put up a ferocious effort in the final frame, but they couldn’t come back, snuffing their win streak at five games.
Caps lose 2-1.
- The game was not a minute old before a fight broke out. It will not surprise you to hear the fight involved Tom Wilson — partially because that’s Wilson’s reputation, but also because you probably watched the game and already know what happened and mostly skip over this section so you can just be mean to me in comments sooner. The fight was initiated by Jamie Oleksiak, and he probably regrets it now. Wilson knocked Oleksiak out, and Oleksiak did not return to the game. He played one shift. It lasted nine seconds.
- The fight itself was ostensibly a “punishment” for Wilson breaking Zach Aston-Reese’s jaw last spring, which underlines how silly and ineffectual supposed on-ice deterrents are in this sport. Slightly related, a fun tweet from the Pittsburgh media zone:
Why is Tom Wilson still not suspended? pic.twitter.com/9SiEdcI1b6
— Bob Pompeani (@KDPomp) December 20, 2018
- Though I’m bewildered by his thought process, I appreciate Bob’s passion. He wasn’t alone in feeling amped up after the fight. At one point, Alex Ovechkin challenged Sidney Crosby to a fight. Can you even imagine?
- Lars Eller hadn’t scored a goal since his big one against Montreal on November 19, so he must be very relieved to have ended that slump. Tom Wilson fed him a great pass, but Matt Niskanen‘s big hit on Jake Guentzel to start the play was the real driver. Huge game by Nisky overall, and I really like how his season is progressing.
- Washington’s power play was not good in this one. There’s something to be said for bad luck and pucks just not going in, but the bigger problem was in coordinating breakouts and clean zone entries. There just weren’t enough opportunities, and Pittsburgh somehow was rewarded for isolating Ovechkin without having to shadow him.
- But the bounces. Yech. Rust’s goal was a dirty one from the paint whereas Vrana rang a post on lovely drive, Ovechkin duffed a great chance, and Kuznetsov was denied on a diving stick save by a Pens defender. Just not the Caps’ night, I guess. Matt Murray recorded 31 saves.
No Joe B tonight, so here’s a handsome otter from the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
That’s a good otter. That’s all I gotta say.
And so ends Washington’s five-game win streak. The Caps played fine in broad strokes, but the power play was sloppy, discipline was a bit lacking, and puck luck was absent entirely. I’d be gloomy, but 12 wins in the last 15 games ain’t so bad.
The Caps have back-to-backs this weekend before the holiday break. I’ll be away from home for the holiday for the first time in my life, so let me know offer my warmest wishes to you and yours. 2019 will be a great year, or I swear to god I will turn this car around.
Full RMNB Coverage of Caps vs Penguins
Headline photo: Patrick Smith
