I came up with my title for today’s rendition of your morning numbers as it is the G-rated version of what I was saying to myself while watching the Caps self-sabotage themselves over and over again in this game. So, the Caps dropped another to the Pens. This time before the shootout in overtime by a score of 5-4.

The Pens outshot the Caps 30 to 26 and out-attempted them at five-on-five 43 to 41.

• The Pens were bad in this game overall, got bad goaltending, and had severe injury issues midgame to their defense, but still came out on top. I think that’s the main reason why I and so many of you were thoroughly, entirely pissed off at this result. It was completely self-inflicted and obviously avoidable. Well, at least it should have been for a professional hockey team. Yes, the Caps were actually great five-on-five in this game statistically, but this is one of those rare times that I think we throw our shot attempts, scoring chances, and the such out of a window and just go over some examples of pure ineptitude.
• Why are you literally ever, ever, ever dumping the puck in on a five-on-three advantage? That alone is asinine and then you need to add the fact that Evgeny Kuznetsov dumped it in straight to the goaltender which led to an embarrassing shorthanded goal against. One of which in that particular situation happens once every ~4,000 NHL games and has happened only 12 times since the year 2000.
• Carl Hagelin has to put away that three on none attack. Straight up.
• TJ Oshie cannot be looking for retaliation in that manner and costing his team as he did with that unnecessary, dangerous blindside hit on Marcus Pettersson. Putting Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, and Kris Letang on a power play just because you are angry…while down a goal is not what we want to see.
• Why is Lars Eller floating in a soft wrister from the point in three-on-three overtime right as the Caps get their first and only possession of the puck in that period? Getting an offensive zone draw while playing in this format of overtime is not close to as beneficial as it would be four-on-four or five-on-five. You need to recycle that puck and get a change, especially when you consider the Caps got murdered in the faceoff dot (what is new?) in this game.

With two goals in the first period, Tom Wilson has now recorded his seventh career multi-goal game and his first since Nov. 7, 2019 at Florida.

— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) January 20, 2021

• I tend to be very hard on Kuznetsov and he did severely mess up by dumping that puck in up two men, but I need to give him props for his overall game. I thought he was the best Caps skater (yes, better than Tom) and it’s criminal that he wasn’t given one of the two shifts in overtime where he is the Caps player best suited to thrive. If you’re worried about his faceoff ability, throw him out there with another center. You have four of them. This will probably be the only positive bullet in this post so praise should also go to Richard Panik as he was yet again fantastic I thought and really the entire second line.
• Tom Wilson scored two goals and he individually has been awesome to start the season, but the Caps top-six just cannot seem to all play well on the same day. That first line was downright terrible at even strength and got bailed out by some poor Pens finishing and the rookie netminder in the Caps net. They ended the game with an expected goals percentage below 20-percent and seemingly went missing the entire third period. I am usually full of hot takes and lineup ideas but I really have nothing in terms of the top-six so I’m definitely not envious of Peter Laviolette figuring that mess out.
• Vitek Vanecek made some big saves in key spots but overall I wasn’t pleased with his outing. He should have the puck frozen on both the Colton Sceviour goal and Crosby’s goal to end the game.
• I lied about the no more positivity. The Caps have grabbed six out of the eight available points to them so far this season. They’re tied for first in the Metro as of me writing this. They have not played a complete hockey game yet and have looked absolutely sloppy for long stretches of play, but it’s still early and they’re not in a hole standings wise.

Numbers thanks to Hockey-reference.com and NaturalStatTrick.com.

RMNB Coverage of Caps at Penguins

Screenshot courtesy of NBC Sports Washington