The Capitals got behind the eight-ball early and struggled offensively in a 4-1 loss.
WASHINGTON — In the biggest game of the season against the rival Pittsburgh Penguins, things didn't go as planned for the Washington Capitals by any means. And with D.C. in a must-win situation, things fell apart, and it was too much to overcome in a tough loss.
Washington found itself on the wrong side of bounces, and ultimately, it was a lack of puck luck and urgency, as well as a too little, too late comeback attempt, that led to a 4-1 loss to the Penguins in a critical game that puts D.C. in a tough spot with seven games left on the regular season circuit.
Here are the takeaways from the defeat, which marks the Capitals' fourth straight loss and puts the team back out of the playoffs as the New York Islanders secured a win.
Capitals On Wrong Side Of Bounces & Sink Early
Washington got off to a decent enough start against the Penguins, dominating in zone time and generating a flurry of chances. However, they failed to solve Alex Nedeljkovic, and at the other end, some strange bounces and goals proved costly.
Ryan Shea's first NHL came off an odd play, as his point shot made it through traffic and past Charlie Lindgren to make it a 1-0 game.
Minutes later, the Penguins struck again on a similar play, as Pierre-Olivier Joseph's shot from the point went off Nick Jensen and past Lindgren to put D.C. in a 2-0 hole.
Despite that, the Capitals had a decent first, but things would fall apart in the second.
Pittsburgh dominated the second, leading 10-5 in shots, and Michael Bunting would make it 3-0 as he was given a good amount of time and space and saw his slapshot from close range go off Trevor van Riemsdyk's stick and beat Lindgren stick side to put things a bit out of reach going into the third.
Lindgren ultimately stopped 20 of 23 shots in the defeat.
Offense Struggles & Lacks Urgency To Start As Capitals Shuffle Lines, Things Turn Around In Third But Comeback Effort Too Late
After a flurry of chances early, Washington's offense failed to get much going and took a step back through the first 40 minutes.
The Capitals failed to get a lot of pucks on net and at times, overpassed rather than shoot. Pittsburgh also did a good job containing D.C.
To try and ignite any kind of spark, head coach Spencer Carbery ran the lines through the blender, placing Ovechkin back with Dylan Strome and Tom Wilson, while the rest of the combinations also tweaked.
Here were the new lines:
Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Tom Wilson
Aliaksei Protas-Connor McMichael-Sonny Milano
Max Pacioretty-Hendrix Lapierre-Mike Sgarbossa
Beck Malenstyn-Nic Dowd-Ivan Miroshnichneko
Martin Fehervary-John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin-Nick Jensen
Alex Alexeyev-Trevor van Riemsdyk
Charlie Lindgren
Darcy Kuemper
In the end, it paid off, as the Capitals were able to tilt the ice once again in the third and find some life to try to get back into things.
A 5-on-3 power play opportunity would aid in that quest, as, after a number of opportunities, Alex Ovechkin picked up his 27th of the season after burying a backdoor feed from Sonny Milano just as Kris Letang's penalty expired.
While Washington outshot Pittsburgh 13-7 in the third, the comeback effort was too little, too late, and Lars Eller iced things with an empty netter late.
Power Play Comes Up Empty, But Ovechkin Scores
The power play ultimately went 0-for-4 though with Ovechkin's goal coming after all was said and done. It would have been beneficial if it could have converted earlier, as D.C. has had the best power-play percentage in the league since Feb. 8
While Washington outshot Pittsburgh 17-8 in the third, the comeback effort was too little, too late.
Ovechkin's goal was his team-leading 27th of the season and the 849th of his career. He also led the team with eight shots (tied with John Carlson).
Top Shelf Takes
- Tom Wilson had five hits, two penalty minutes and a plus/minus of minus-2 through 20:08 minutes in his return to play after serving a six-game suspension.
- Martin Fehervary led the team with six hits. Alex Ovechkin also had five hits.
- Hendrix Lapierre picked up an assist and has points in four of his last five games.