The Capitals fell 3-1 to the Penguins. Here's a full play-play
WASHINGTON — Things didn't go according to plan for the Washington Capitals on Thursday, as their biggest game of the season turned sour quickly and ultimately culminated in a 4-1 loss.
Here's a full play-by-play recap.
Third Period
0:00 — Lars Eller's late empty-netter seals a 4-1 loss.
11:10 — Capitals keep the Penguins off the board.
13:10 — Nic Dowd takes a penalty for cross-checking Sidney Crosby. Capitals to the PK.
13:58 — At the end of a 5-on-3 and 5-on-4 opportunity, Alex Ovechkin buries a feed from Sonny Milano to make it 3-1.
15:58 — Capitals to a 5-on-3.
16:02 — Capitals to a power play.
20:00 — Third period's underway.
Second Period
0:00 — After 40, Capitals trail Penguins 3-0. Pittsburgh up 16-43 in SOG.
5:00 — Spencer Carbery is tweaking the lines. Alex Ovechkin and Dylan Strome have been reunited, while Ivan Miroshnichenko's moved to work with Max Pacioretty and Hendrix Lapierre.
7:52 — Capitals with a successful kill. Still 3-0.
9:52 — Tom Wilson take a slashing penalty and Capitals head to the PK.
10:52 — Michael Bunting giving a lot of time and space, and his slapshot goes off of Trevor van Riemsdyk's stick and over the shoulder of Charlie Lindgren. It's 3-0 Penguins.
12:25 — Capitals are now 0-for-2. Couldn't get anything going.
14:25 — Capitals back on the power play.
20:00 — Back for the second.
First Period
0:00 — After 20, Capitals trail 2-0 after goals from Ryan Shea and Pierre-Olivier Joseph. Washington leads 9-6 in SOG.
4:46 — Power play lacks urgency and top-quality chances, and D.C. is back at even strength and 0-for-1 on the night.
6:46 — Hendrix Lapierre draws a tripping penalty on Jesse Puljujarvi. Capitals to the power play.
8:37 — Charlie Lindgren gets his first save of the game and shuts down Michael Bunting on a breakaway.
8:57 — Pierre-Olivier Joseph's point shot goes off of Nick Jensen in front and past Lindgren, and Pittsburgh is up 2-0.
10:04 — The Capitals are dominating 6-1 in shots nearly halfway through the first, but puck luck not on their side at the moment. Still trailing 1-0.
13:48 — Connor McMichael's shot nearly crosses the goal line but it's just kept out. Still 1-0 Penguins.
18:11 — Pittsburgh makes it 1-0 as Ryan Shea's point shot makes it through traffic and past Charlie Lindgren.
20:00 — The puck is dropped. Capitals-Penguins is underway.
Pregame
6:36 p.m. ET — Here are the Capitals line combinations:
Alex Ovechkin-Connor McMichael-Tom Wilson
Aliaksei Protas-Dylan Strome-Ivan Miroshnichenko
Max Pacioretty-Hendrix Lapierre-Sonny Milano
Beck Malenstyn-Nic Dowd-Mike Sgarbossa
Martin Fehervary-John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin-Nick Jensen
Alex Alexeyev-Trevor van Riemsdyk
Charlie Lindgren
Darcy Kuemper
6:30 p.m. ET — Warmups are underway at Capital One Arena. Darcy Kuemper, who was banged up in Wednesday's optional practice, is on the ice and will back up Charlie Lindgren. Hunter Shepard is up with the team for precautionary reasons.
T.J. Oshie is not playing and will miss the next two games with an upper-body injury.
6:23 p.m. ET — The Capitals are in for a big game with heavy playoff implications.
The Capitals have 82 points and own the tiebreaker with Detroit for the second Wild Card spot. If they win, they will move ahead of the Red Wings and pass the Philadelphia Flyers for third in the Metropolitan Division.
Detroit and Philadelphia are both in action on Friday, so with help from the out-of-town scoreboard, D.C. could be in a decent spot if it can collect points in the next 48 hours, especially in Carolina.
If Pittsburgh wins, the Penguins move within one point of a Wild Card spot and the Capitals remain in a sticky situation, with the chance to be knocked out of contention on Friday if Detroit wins and they lose.
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