The Penguins earned a 6-2 win against the Washington Capitals in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series Saturday at Verizon Center in Washington. Here are some initial impressions from the victory, which gives them a 2-0 series lead.
It was over when: Winger Jake Guentzel kept the puck on a 2-on-1 rush and ripped a shot past Washington goalie Braden Holtby. Winger Phil Kessel had scored a couple minutes earlier to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead, but the Capitals’ possession dominance to that point made the lead feel tenuous, at best. Guentzel’s tally gave the Penguins a 3-1 vice grip on the game and was the one that really changed the momentum. (Guentzel added an empty-netter later.)
Heroes: Captain Sidney Crosby, who set up Guentzel’s goal with a blocked shot and nice pass ahead on the rush. He also made a gorgeous pass to Kessel that set up the Penguins’ second goal earlier in the second period. He’s been huge in the series, with two goals and two assists so far.
Kessel, who scored the second and fourth goals — the latter coming on the power play — and added an assist when center Evgeni Malkin tipped Kessel’s shot into the net for the fifth goal. The veteran winger is rounding into the big threat who led the Penguins to a Stanley Cup last season, with four goals so far in the postseason
Center Matt Cullen scored a shorthanded goal that got the Penguins on the board. It didn’t change the early momentum that favored Washington, as the Capitals scored on the same power play moments later, but it was a gritty individual effort that helped keep the Penguins in the game.
Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who also kept the Penguins in the game amid relentless Washington pressure in the first and early second periods. If he wasn’t on top of his game, this one easily could have gotten out of hand. But for a second consecutive night to start this series, he dug deep and buried his road demons this season to help lift his team to a 2-0 series lead heading back to Pittsburgh. He made saves on 34 of the 36 shots he faced.
Goats: Holtby’s team put him in some tough spots, allowing breakaways and odd-man Penguins rushes that led to goals. But he really hasn’t faced much pressure in this series, and Washington needs him to make saves in those spots. His coach, clearly, was unimpressed, as Barry Trotz benched Holtby for the third period after he gave up three goals on 14 shots in the first two frames.
First period blues: Looks like the Penguins didn’t leave their bad starts in the Columbus series after all. The Capitals dominated the first period, outshooting the Penguins, 16-5, and winning 15 of 20 faceoffs. This after the Penguins were quite competitive in the first period of Game 1. The good news was Washington failed to score, but this is starting to become a trend that seems unsustainable over the long-term for a bonafide Stanley Cup contender.
Too many penalties: It was a parade to the box for the Penguins in the first and second periods. They took five total penalties in the game. Some of them were necessary to break up prime scoring chances. Nevertheless, playing so many minutes shorthanded exacerbated the offensive woes at even strength. Funny how the offense broke loose after things got cleaned up after the midway point.
Penalty kill great: They penalty killers did leave the Capitals’ Matt Niskanen all alone in front of the net, leading to an easy shot and score that got Washington on the board in the second period. But that was offset by Cullen’s goal scored shorthanded moments earlier, and the Capitals otherwise looked disheveled with the man advantage. At times, they looked more ragged on the power play than they did at even strength. Niskanen’s goal was their only score in five attempts on the power play.
Breakout thrives: The Penguins failed miserably to control the puck and get any kind of offense cycling in the Capitals’ zone throughout most of the game. They made up for that by making the rushes they could generate count. Cullen got that party started, shaking vaunted Washington defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk to beat Holtby on a breakaway. Crosby’s presence loomed even larger, as he fed the puck ahead quickly to Guentzel on the third goal after making that great pass to Kessel while entering the zone with three men covering him to set up the second.
But possession a problem: That said, the Penguins have been badly outshot in both games of the series. It feels like they’re playing with fire by allowing the Capitals to put so much pressure on Fleury. Until they can get control for longer stretches, Washington will always feel like it’s in striking distance in this series, even down two games to none.
Hornqvist injured: The Penguins didn’t leave Washington completely unscathed despite their 2-0 series lead. Winger Patric Hornqvist left late in the first period after blocking a shot with his skate. He did not return. The Penguins will not want to be without his net-front presence for very long.
Blocked shots: The Penguins got in front of a ton of them in this game. It may have cost them Hornqvist, but it set up the Guentzel goal and really took some of the bite out of the Capitals’ pressure. Obviously the easier way to do that is to control possession, but the Penguins have been pretty good at blocking shots all year, and they’ve really used that skill to their advantage so far.
What’s next: The series shifts to PPG Paints Arena for Game 3. Faceoff is at 7:30 p.m.
First Published: April 30, 2017, 3:10 a.m.