Game Recap – 12/19/2018 – Pittsburgh Penguins v. Washington Capitals

Pittsburgh Penguins (15-12-6 36pts) v. Washington Capitals (20-9-3 43pts)

 

Game Recap:

The Washington Capitals fall short against their rivals the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Capitals were lackluster with all five of their powerplay opportunities and the Penguins were able to make one count in four chances on the powerplay. The Capitals also were bit hard with some bad puck luck that saw one opportunity hit the post and another two getting on the goal line, but not cross the line. The Capitals now have to refocus and get back on track when they host the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night.

 

Lineups:

Pittsburgh Penguins:

Jake Guentzel — Sidney Crosby — Bryan Rust

Zach Aston-Reese — Evgeni Malkin — Phil Kessel

Tanner Pearson — Derick Brassard — Patric Hornqvist

Riley Sheahan — Matt Cullen — Garrett Wilson

Brian Dumoulin — Kris Letang

Olli Maatta — Jamie Oleksiak

Marcus Pettersson — Jack Johnson

Matt Murray

Casey DeSmith

Scratched: Chad Ruhwedel, Derek Grant

Injured: Justin Schultz (fractured left leg), Dominik Simon (lower body)

 

Washington Capitals:

Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie

Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson

Brett Connolly — Lars Eller — Devante Smith-Pelly

Dmitrij Jaskin — Nic Dowd — Travis Boyd

Michal Kempny — John Carlson

Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

Jonas Siegenthaler — Madison Bowey

Braden Holtby

Pheonix Copley

Scratched: Andre Burakovsky, Chandler Stephenson, Tyler Lewington

Injured: Christian Djoos (leg), Brooks Orpik (knee)

 

First Period:

Capitals Penalty – :55 – Tom Wilson 5 minute major for Fighting

Penguins Penalty – :55 – Jamie Oleksiak 5 minute major for Fighting

Capitals Penalty – 4:05 – Alex Ovechkin 2 minutes for Roughing

Penguins Penalty – 4:05 – Kris Letang 2 minutes for Roughing

Capitals Penalty – 6:54 – Jonas Siegenthaler 2 minutes for Holding

Capitals Penalty – 14:10 – Michal Kempny 2 minutes for Cross Checking

 

End of 1st – PIT – 0       WAS – 0

Shots              09                08

Faceoffs         09                06

Hits               07                  06

PP                 0/2                 0/0

 

End of 1st – PIT – 0       WAS – 0

Shots              09                08

Faceoffs         09                06

Hits               07                  06

PP                 0/2                 0/0

 

Analysis:

A really fast paced and penalty filled start of the game for the Capitals and Penguins. Both team’s goalies have come up big, and have both generated some really good scoring chances.

 

Need to Do:

The Capitals need to stay out of the box and continue forcing the play in the Penguins zone. Keep the legs moving and draw some penalties on the Penguins so they can give their powerplay a chance to make a difference.

 

Second Period:

Penguins Penalty – :48 – Bryan Rust 2 minutes for Holding

Penguins Penalty – 2:58 – Marcus Pettersson 2 minutes High Sticking

Capitals Goal – 6:38 – Lars Eller (5) from Tom Wilson (7)

Capitals Penalty – 8:06 – Michal Kempny 2 minutes for Tripping

Penguins PPG – 9:15 – Sidney Crosby (16) from Evgeni Malkin (26) and Kris Letang (20)

Penguins Penalty – 12:12 – Jake Guentzel 2 minutes for Holding

Penguins Goal – 18:58 –  Bryan Rust (7) from Jake Guentzel (16) and Sidney Crosby (22)

Penguins Penalty – 20:00 – Brian Dumoulin 2 minutes for Holding

 

End of 2nd – PIT – 2        WAS – 1

Shots               21                 18

Faceoffs          19                 16

Hits                 16                  17

PP                   1/3                  0/3

 

Analysis:

This has been a good game for the Capitals, but their powerplay has just been putrid this game. The Capitals have been good at even strength but their special teams needs improvement.

 

Need to Do:

The Capitals have the luxury of starting the 3rd period with a full 2 minute powerplay, but they need to mix it up and take away the predictability. The Capitals are still in this, but they need to play smart and clean up their play in their own zone as well.

 

Third Period:

Capitals Penalty – 4:13 – Matt Niskanen 2 minutes for Tripping

Penguins Penalty – 5:16 – Phil Kessel 2 minutes for Tripping

 

End of 3rd – PIT – 2         WAS – 1

Shots              30                   32

Faceoffs        34                    22

Hits               23                     24

PP                 1/4                    0/5

 

Analysis:

A hard fought game from both teams, but the Capitals inability to capitalize on the powerplay opportunities, plus not having the puck luck on their side really hurt the Capitals in this game.

 

Next Up:

Washington (20-10-3 43pts) v. Buffalo (20-10-5 45pts)

Pittsburgh (16-12-6 38pts) v. Minnesota (17-14-2 36pts)