The Washington Capitals needed a full-team effort to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins Tuesday night–and that included more than just the players on the ice. Video coach Emily Engel-Natzke might have saved the game when she called for a coach’s challenge midway through the first period, overturning what would have become the Penguins’ first goal of the night.
After the game, Engel-Natzke’s quick work earned a shout-out in head coach Spencer Carbery’s locker-room speech.
Back in the win column#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/q8L3Rg92Hu
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 3, 2024
“Couple highlights today that I thought were big moments in the game–Em with a big challenge on that offside,” Carbery said.
Engel-Natzke flashed a peace sign while the team cheered her on–Alex Ovechkin could be heard in the video yelling “finally” and calling Engel-Natzke “tough” (as well as something else that perhaps should have been bleeped out).
Washington has seen plenty of video reviews go their opponent’s way this season, most recently losing a likely game-winning goal when Ovechkin’s final-minute tally was overturned on Sunday for goaltender interference. This time, the video review went their way.
The offending play came midway through the first while the Capitals held a 3-0 lead. Defenseman Chad Ruhwedel appeared to get the Penguins on the scoreboard when he sent a one-timer flying past Darcy Kuemper 16:33 into the period.
Sidney Crosby, however, had put his team offsides 16 seconds earlier, making the supposed goal invalid. With help from the video team–which includes both Engel-Natzke and Assistant Coach/Video Coach Brett Leonhardt–Carbery made a successful coach’s challenge to wipe the Pens’ scoreboard clean once again.
After Alex Ovechkin gave the Caps a 4-0 advantage later in the first, Pittsburgh went on to score three legal goals in the next 50 minutes, meaning that the game could have likely gone to overtime were it not for Engel-Natzke’s work.
With the win, the Capitals defeated a divisional rival and stopped a four-game losing skid, holding onto fifth place in the Metropolitan Division. They will attempt to earn a second victory in a row when they face the New Jersey Devils at home on Wednesday.
Screenshot: @Capitals/X
