The Pittsburgh Penguins stifled the Washington Capitals to end their losing streak.
The long wait is over for the Pittsburgh Penguins. A 4-1 victory in the nation's capital ended the longest Penguins losing streak since 2006, and a few key factors played into the victory.
Penalty Kill Shifting Momentum
There is no debate that the Penguins penalty kill unit has been the team's most consistent issue this season. However, in the last two outings that unit has turned things around.
That unit provided a major shift in the game in the Penguins direction. Alex Ovechkin ran over Jan Rutta behind the Penguins net, a play that would eventually lead to Rutta missing the remainder of the game. Rutta took a retaliatory penalty leading to a Capitals power play.
The Penguins not only killed that penalty but did so in emphatic fashion. That unit allowed only one shot on goal and got onto the scoreboard themselves as Brock McGinn squeaked the eventual game-winning-goal passed Darcy Kuemper. That goal put the Penguins up 2-0. Shortly after the time expired on the Rutta penalty, Jeff Petry beat Kuemper to give the Penguins the commanding 3-0 lead.
This sequence by the much maligned Penguins penalty kill unit turned the tides and potentially the entire season.
Penguins Puck Luck
No team wins in this league without getting some puck luck from time to time. However, when teams force the issue in the offensive zone, they normally create their own puck luck. Streaks often end in the NHL with a few games in which the team begins going in the opposite direction but see's similar results.
For the Penguins losing streak, you could feel the tides turn on Saturday when they outplayed the Seattle Kraken but still fell 3-2 on home ice. They started getting back to the habits that led to their 4-0-1 start. It paid off against the Capitals.
On both of the Penguin's first two goals, the goal scorers received a tremendous amount of puck luck. Jason Zucker's opening goal was a harmless shot on the net from the lower corner of the offensive zone. Kuemper kicked the puck three times before it slowly crossed the Capitals goal line. Similarly, McGinn's shot squeaked through Kuemper's pads and barely crossed the goal line.
The Penguins received the brunt of the puck luck on Wednesday night, which they earned through steady and consistent play through the beginning of the game.
Team Defense Stepped up in the Third
Everyone knew ending the losing streak wasn't going to be easy. The Penguins entered the third period with a 3-0 lead on the Capitals but were already down two defensemen as P.O. Joseph and Rutta left the game in the second period. Jeff Petry also missed a few shifts after awkwardly making contact on a hip check.
It got to the point that the Penguins coaching staff was asking their forwards if any of them had played defense before.
The team rallied around their zone and even pushed the pace in the offensive zone. It was a stark difference from the third period effort they displayed in the previous three games. Except for a breakdown on the Capitals lone goal, the Penguins protected the front of the net, and Casey DeSmith limited the rebound opportunities.
According to Natural Stat Trick, the Penguins allowed two high-danger chances in the final frame. The best shift came from the Sidney Crosby line with three minutes left. Holding a 3-1 lead, Crosby, Jake Guentzel, and Rickard Rakell controlled the puck for over 40 seconds deep in the Capitals zone.
They forced the Capitals scorers, including Ovechkin, to waste energy defending instead of pressuring DeSmith on the other end. A true masterclass of puck control that also led to a scoring opportunity that was shuttled away by Kuemper.
Not every issue was solved for the Penguins, but it was an impressive victory against one of their most heated rivals. The losing streak is over.
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