October 11, 2017
Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Conor Sheary (43) celebrates his goal with right wing Patric Hornqvist (72), of Sweden, during the third period of an NHL hockey game as Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby, sits on the ice, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017, in Washington. The Penguins won 3-2. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Following the Capitals’ morning skate, coach Barry Trotz described his team’s lack of postseason success against the Pittsburgh Penguins as “inching” closer each year.
In 2016, the Capitals suffered an overtime loss in Game 6. Last season, they were eliminated in seven games. Both times, the Penguins went on to win the Stanley Cup.
“It doesn’t feel very good, but you have to give them credit,” Trotz said.
But before the Capitals can even think of beating the Penguins in the postseason, they will need to work through the new problems they’ve demonstrated this season.
The Penguins beat the Capitals 3-2 Wednesday and took advantage of Washington’s carelessness in committing penalties. In the first meeting between the teams this season, Pittsburgh scored three power play goals on six chances.
“The first four games, I said to the guys, ‘Let’s be real, we’ve got to get our penalties down,’ ” Trotz said. “Our 5-on-5, we’re outscoring teams. So that’s a real good process for us. We’re getting good goaltending. But today they got three power play goals.”
Entering Wednesday, Washington (2-1-1) had 14 penalties in three games. The frequency was concerning, though the Capitals’ penalty kill was among the top five best in the NHL — fighting off nearly 93 percent of all chances.
Facing a quality team in Pittsburgh, though, resulted in a different outcome. The Penguins routinely used the extra attacker to crowd the net, blocking goaltender Braden Holtby’s sight and deflecting in goals.
The latter is how the Penguins first got on the board. In the first period, Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang scored on a rebound with a wide open net as Holtby was turned in the opposite direction, blocking multiple shot attempts.
On Pittsburgh’s second goal, forward Patric Hornqvist scored 8:20 into the second period, again crowding Holtby.
“The goals [were] in tight that I would like to play better, especially the first two to give myself a better chance,” Holtby said. “They do a good job of screening up top and screen passes to the net, trying to create stuff. That’s something we’ll have to work on.”
Name a type of penalty, and there’s a good chance the Capitals committed it.
Washington were called for two tripping penalties, slashing, holding, interference and even a rare delay of game call. In the first period, Holtby rushed far past the net, almost to the blue line, to stop a puck with his glove.
In the offseason, the NHL announced they were cracking down on slashing and face-off violations. During the preseason, the whole league saw a rise in calls made, but most figured they would ease up in the regular season. For the Capitals, that hasn’t happened.
“It’s probably on us to be a little more disciplined,” defenseman Brooks Orpik said.
Trotz said, in general, he was pleased with the team’s penalty kill, pointing out Penguins often scored late in the power play. He said he would look at the tape closer to see if the Penguins were exploiting an area around the net.
Still, Wednesday’s game was winnable for Washington.
The Capitals had moments of their own success. Defenseman Christian Djoos, making his NHL debut, scored with 52.9 seconds left in the second period on a well-timed slapshot that sailed past Penguins goaltender Matt Murray to make it 2-1.
After Pittsburgh added another goal on the power play to begin the third, Capitals star Alex Ovechkin scored his eighth goal of season to narrow the gap to 3-2.
Ovechkin’s goal gave Djoos another point after he was credited for the assist.
“First game in NHL, you get a goal and an assist, that wasn’t like my plan when I showed up to the rink,” said Djoos, who saw 13:20 in ice time.
The final six minutes echoed a similar pattern from the playoffs: the Capitals chasing and the Penguins hanging on.
“I thought from our standpoint, [the penalties] didn’t allow our players to get going,” Trotz said. “We started going in the third and maybe getting a little more ice time, but every time we started getting any rhythm, we’d get a penalty.”
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