The Washington Capitals four-game losing skid has been vanquished. The Caps laid a smackdown of fantastic even-strength play on their rival Pittsburgh Penguins and came away with a 3-1 victory.
The Caps outshot the Pens 42 to 27 and out-attempted them at five-on-five 37 to 34.
- So without the Justin Schultz whoopsie there late in the third period, I think that’s about as perfect a game a team can play in the Peter Laviolette system. High shot total for the Caps and they didn’t give up a single high danger chance to the Pens at five-on-five. Not just in one period. In all three of them. Have things finally clicked? Are the dudes that were out for weeks on weeks finally back in top game mode? Let’s hope both are true for the sake of all our sanities.
- Good golly was that Caps third line flying immediately from puck drop or what? With Lars Eller‘s line on the ice at five-on-five, the Caps saw 92.9-percent of the shot attempts, 83.3-percent of the scoring chances, two goals for, and zero shots for the Penguins. That’s utter domination and they did it playing the bulk of their minutes against Sidney Crosby’s and Evgeni Malkin’s lines. Wowee. Conor Sheary looked fantastic for the second game in a row and in seven career games against his former mates, he has five goals. Richard Panik‘s good play all season is finally being rewarded with points.
- Vitek Vanecek needed this one. Without the aforementioned late blunder, Vitek probably secures his first career NHL shutout. The defense in front of him made his life very easy on the way to a 26 save win but at the same time, any win is a confidence booster for a rookie goaltender so that’s dope.
T.J. Oshie and Nicklas Backstrom recorded the assists on Vrana's goal. Since 2015-16, Backstrom (8g-21a-29p) and Oshie (13g-15a-28p) have the most points against Pittsburgh among all NHL skaters.
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) February 17, 2021
- Wanted to give a quick defensive shoutout to the GOAT. Alex Ovechkin broke up a Pens two-on-one rush with a diving poke check as a Caps power play expired and the puck went the other direction leading straight to Jakub Vrana‘s goal. He does it all, folks.
- The Caps received more power plays (five) than an opponent (three). Savor that.
- Nick Jensen has been strong for a handful of games in a row now. His strong boardwork and pinch led directly to the Caps opening goal.
Numbers thanks to Hockey-reference.com and NaturalStatTrick.com.
RMNB Coverage of Caps at Penguins
Screenshot courtesy of NBC Sports Washington
