The Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins renewed their storied rivalry on Tuesday night. We don’t know just how many Alex Ovechkin-Sidney Crosby matchups we have left so every one is a little more special.
Tom Wilson couldn’t contain his goal-scoring excitement as he was on the board before the first minute was even off the clock. Beck Malenstyn got a lucky bounce to double the Capitals lead and Martin Fehervary made it three not long after. The Great Eight potted his eighth goal of the season to make it four.
Rickard Rakell spoiled the party with just seconds remaining in the first to get Pittsburgh on the board. The Pens would also get the next two, one from Sidney Crosby and another from Jake Guentzel.
Capitals beat Penguins 4-3!
- One shot on goal for the Penguins in the first 15 minutes. That’s some fantastic stuff on the road from the Capitals especially against a team that was very hot coming into this one. I hate the super late period goal against but you’ll take a three-goal lead after twenty minutes every single time.
- Alex Ovechkin and Tom Wilson on the board in the same period in Pittsburgh. You know that had to be infuriating for those fans. And, that should make all of you very happy as it does I. Martin Fehervary as well which should anger Sidney Crosby as Crosby has a strange personal vendetta against Marty.
- Boring, insipid, hot-takey, and borderline strange commentary all night on ESPN. Not a fan. I would rather watch a feed of just the on-ice and crowd noise. I do enjoy PK Subban though.
Jocelyne Larocque casually rocking an @Apple Watch while playing in the first #PWHL game. pic.twitter.com/3q6XLjRqfZ
— Melissa Burgess (@_MelissaBurgess) January 1, 2024
- The Capitals reset all of their hard work done in the first with a lazy, uninspired second. Netfront defense was a huge issue and both special teams units looked like they were playing with blindfolds on. Darcy Kuemper kept them from leaving the period without their lead.
- If I was the Capitals, I would simply give more power play time to the players that are actually playing well at five-on-five. Instead, they seem to keep wanting to jam that square peg into a round hole. That second period power play was atrocious even for them this season.
- I hate how the current forward lines are set up. Dylan Strome has arguably been the team’s best player this season and he’s playing with two rookie wingers. One of those wingers, Hendrix Lapierre is actually a center and the other is Matthew Phillips who is constantly in and out of the lineup. Make it make sense. Strome’s impact on games has been completely muted in favor of giving Evgeny Kuznetsov try number 17,000 on the top line with Ovechkin and Wilson.
- Ethan Bear grabbed his first point as a member of the Capitals on Wilson’s opening goal. I think Bear will be a good addition after he gets more of his game legs under him. You can see the speed and control he plays with.
Andrew Cristall rn pic.twitter.com/MhWTIIkUUd
— KP (@KPnhl) January 2, 2024
- They held on in the third for a huge win in the division. Not the best played game by any stretch but survive and grab two points. That’s the mission on the road in that building against that team. Nice to see Kuemper bounce back from two rough starts as well.
- Four points from the defensemen in this game. Hopefully that is the start of a trend because the blueline has been scoring dry all year.
- Couple big penalty kills late in the game. Wilson punched Crosby in the face on one of them. Never gets old.
- Two huge standings points. Both teams came into the game tied at 40 points apiece with the Capitals holding a game in hand.
Yet another back-to-back for the Capitals as they’ll make the quick trip back home to take on the New Jersey Devils. The Devils will be rested, not playing since it was still 2023.
Headline photo courtesy of @Larchesani/X
