Capital punishment: How Washington's physical play finally wore down the Penguins

Craig Custance

ESPN Senior Writer

http://www.espn.com/nhl/

May 9, 2017

Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates against Matt Niskanen #2 of the Washington Capitals in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG PAINTS Arena on May 8, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

PITTSBURGH -- For the second time during the Washington Capitals' Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Capitals didn't immediately open their dressing room after a game. The first delay came after Game 2, which Washington lost 6-2 at home -- when a tense, players-only meeting that lasted a good 10 minutes kept the doors closed. The Capitals weren't too eager to open up about what happened during that meeting, only to say that center Nicklas Backstrom led the discussion and said what needed to be said.

After Washington's 5-2 victory in a must-win Game 6, there was another short delay. Except this time the media assembled outside the dressing room could hear hollering and good-natured yelling through the walls. The Capitals were having a good time.

What exactly was going on in there?

"[There] was no music," Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov said. "Something [was wrong with] with the speaker."

He immediately sensed the skepticism.

"I swear," he said.

The postgame sound system might have been out of sync, but the Capitals themselves didn't skip a beat. And who could blame them for celebrating? After falling into a 3-1 series hole, they had finally evened the series at 3-3 and forced a winner-take-all Game 7 on Wednesday in Washington, D.C.

The sense of doom that had hovered over the team earlier in the series was replaced with a renewed sense of purpose and confidence.

It was a dramatic change. It was also the payoff for the Capitals' doubling down on physical play, tightening up defensively and imposing their brand of tough hockey on a Penguins team that still hasn't been able to control play for an entire game in this series.

"[The Capitals are] not a fast team, but they're a possession team, a physical team -- the weight is starting to get a little heavy for Pittsburgh," said a coach of another NHL team during a phone conversation after Game 6. "The one thing Washington did better [in Game 6] than any other game they played is that they played on the right side of it. They played on the right side of Pittsburgh all night long. [The Penguins] never had a chance to get it going with any speed."

Starting with its first-round matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh has played back-to-back series against teams that use physicality as a weapon to wear down opponents over the course of several games. Columbus couldn't keep its series against the Penguins going long enough to cash in on any payoff for that physicality. But, with the third-period turnaround in Game 5, the Capitals suddenly reaped the rewards.

All that tough defense earlier in the series, all those hits, all those blocked shots -- they're starting to add up for the Penguins.

Pittsburgh is already without No. 1 defenseman Kris Letang, who underwent surgery for a herniated disk in his neck last month, and the Penguins also desperately missed veteran Trevor Daley (out with a lower-body injury) in Game 6. It's likely we'll learn that the Penguins forwards also are playing through a litany of injuries once their season eventually ends. Winger Bryan Rust was the latest Pittsburgh player to get up slowly after blocking a shot in Game 6 -- and was clearly in pain on the bench afterward. Right wing Patric Hornqvist is a medical marvel, given the number of times it looked like he would have to leave the game after taking a puck or a hit -- but instead kept on trucking and did so with a seemingly endless supply of energy.

"He's a warrior," Penguins forward Tom Kuhnhackl said of Hornqvist. "He's very physical; he's very intense. He's a guy who never backs down; he always gets up. He always has juice in his tank."

We'll find out in Game 7 whether the Penguins still have the same reserve of energy in their tank. The Capitals' plan all along was to stick to their heavy game and hope it came with a payoff as the series crawled to its end. They've done an admirable job of sticking to it, even when it looked at times like the series was getting away from them.

Now Washington is optimistic that its biggest payoff is imminent.

"We hope so," Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen said. "We don't know. It feels like our overall game has been pretty good for a majority of a lot of the games. Early on in the series, a few breakdowns hurt us, and they capitalized on them. I think we're finishing a little better."

The Capitals have been finishing so well, that part needed a clarification -- finishing scoring chances or finishing checks?

"I meant finishing scoring chances," Niskanen said. "But finishing checks is part of who we are."

A big part of the Penguins' success last spring was their ability to consistently use their speed to keep opposing teams on their heels. Whether it's because of injuries or fatigue -- or both -- that hasn't happened consistently this postseason for Pittsburgh. The Penguins have also typically been businesslike throughout games, never allowing the opposing teams to provoke any sign of frustration.

That didn't appear to be the case in Game 6. The Capitals continued their physical play on Crosby, and there were lots of battles back and forth. Kuznetsov appeared to get under Penguins center Evgeni Malkin's skin after a slash that brought out a retaliation.

Pittsburgh's collective frustration was evident.

"It's our goal to frustrate them," Backstrom said.

When asked whether Crosby was the Capitals' main target, Washington defenseman John Carlson said that every Penguin was.

"We try to make it hard on everybody," Carlson said. "No one is going to shy away. The more and more you can impose on people, make it hard, that's the goal."

The Capitals have the Penguins on the ropes, but the fourth win is always the toughest. It's even harder when the fourth win has to come against the defending Stanley Cup champs. The tide has turned in this series, but those who know the Penguins stars well expect them to find another gear for Game 7.

"It's your game against their game. Right now, Washington has played [its] game better than Pittsburgh has played [its]," the NHL coach said. "But you're going to get a good performance [in Game 7] out of Malkin and Crosby. You've got some guys who understand what digging deep is all about."

Penguins shot goes missing

By Kevin Gorman

http://triblive.com/sports/

May 8, 2017

Bryan Rust #17 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates against T.J. Oshie #77 of the Washington Capitals in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG PAINTS Arena on May 8, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Something was missing Monday night at PPG Paints Arena, and it wasn't just the desired desperation needed by the Penguins to clinch this Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Nor was it merely the marquee matchup of the NHL's premier players of the past decade as the Sidney Crosby-Alex Ovechkin storyline has failed to meet its billing.

The Penguins simply didn't get enough scoring chances in the 5-2 loss to the Washington Capitals in Game 6, whether in even strength or on a power play in which they didn't register shots with the man-advantage in the first two periods.

Mostly, the Penguins are really, really missing Kris Letang.

They masked the absence of their best defenseman late in the regular season by taxing the ice time of other blue-liners thanks to the depth trades for Ron Hainsey and Mark Streit and the call-up of Chad Ruhwedel.

Mike Sullivan looked like a mastermind in the postseason with a game plan that required his defenders to absorb hits, block shots and clear the crease for goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.

But that strategy has taken its toll on those defensemen and, as a result, the breakout. That's where Letang separated himself, in starting the offensive rush.

So a Penguins team that boasts four of the top six scorers in the Stanley Cup playoffs suddenly couldn't muster any semblance of an offense with a chance to clinch. Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel and Jake Guentzel combined for a total of six shots.

That the Capitals outshot the Penguins (26-18) was no surprise. It's been that way all series, if not more lopsided. But the Penguins mustered only three shots in the first period and nine through two periods. Where Sullivan is fond of saying, “Just play,” Penguins fans were crying, “Just shoot.”

“We have to do a better job of hanging onto pucks coming out of our end zone, making good decisions through the neutral zone,” Sullivan said. “But when we do put the puck in, we've got to do a better job of where we put it. We've got to go in cooperatively so we can hang onto the puck.”

The Penguins had yet to register a shot on goal when Capitals winger T.J. Oshie scored on the power play for a 1-0 lead at 12 minutes, 41 seconds of the first period, a tic-tac-toe goal assisted by Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom.

It was the first of five Capitals goals, none involving their superstar winger. Not only has Ovechkin been relatively quiet with two goals and five points in six games, but Crosby has been only slightly better, with three goals and seven points in five games.

Of course, the defining moment and, perhaps, turning point of this series involved Crosby's concussion on a first-period cross-check by Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen. It caused Crosby to miss the remainder of Game 3 and all of Game 4 before returning.

Crosby got another scare late in the first period when he was knocked off his skates and crashed head-first into the end boards. Crosby was slow to get to his knees but remained in the game. However, he registered only two attempts and one shot on goal.

Problem was, the Penguins had almost triple the turnovers (11) the Capitals (four) had, and that disrupted their discipline at both ends of the ice.

“We turned the puck over and started chasing the game,” Crosby said. “We were trying to climb back into the game and started taking chances. We were probably guilty of making a few mistakes early on and then probably chasing our mistakes after that.”

Now, after twice losing with the chance to clinch, Sullivan must solve the scoring drought for Game 7 at Washington, which is one win away from overcoming its postseason curse against the Penguins.

Never before have the Capitals beaten the Penguins in three consecutive games in the playoffs. This is the Capitals' chance, as Barry Trotz has been saying all series, to go where they've never gone.

And this is the Penguins' shot to go back to what they do best, but only if rediscover how to score.

Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at kgorman@tribweb.comor via Twitter @KGorman_Trib.

Plus-Minus: Not enough shots, too many penalties doomed Penguins in Game 6

By Brian Metzer

http://www.timesonline.com/sports/

May 8, 2017

Justin Williams #14 of the Washington Capitals skates against Ron Hainsey #65 of the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG PAINTS Arena on May 8, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

MINUS – Can’t score if you don’t shoot

The Penguins averaged 33.6 shots per game during the regular season, which ranked first overall. Unfortunately, they would pick up only nine shots through two periods and 18 overall on Monday against the Capitals. They didn’t get their first shot on Braden Holtby until the 12:17 mark of the opening period when defenseman Brian Dumoulin’s clearing attempt from 136 feet away was caught by the Capitals’ goaltender. That said, the Penguins were still trailing only 2-0 entering the third period, but didn’t get any sustained pressure until the Capitals opened up a 5-0 lead.

MINUS – Caps take advantage of too many Pens penalties

The Penguins killed off seven straight Capitals power plays between Games 4 and 5, but they couldn’t sustain that in Game 6. They went to the penalty box four times on Monday, and the Capitals scored two power play goals. That is something that they will have to clean up heading into Game 7 at Verizon Center. They didn’t have much five-on-five continuity to begin with, and having to spend so much time on the penalty kill broke it up even more.

PLUS --- Guentzel adds to his impressive postseason

The Penguins didn’t have much to be positive about during Game 6, but Jake Guentzel did pick up his ninth goal of the postseason. That leads all players in the playoffs. It was also Guentzel’s 13th point, which ties him with Jaromir Jagr for the franchise record for playoff points by a rookie. He finished the game with the goal, two shots and four hits.

MINUS – Penguins’ blue line is wearing down minus Letang, Daley

The Penguins have done a great job of filling in for Kris Letang throughout the postseason, but playing without Trevor Daley as well was a little too much. Chad Ruhwedel was forced into the lineup and played only 13:14, which forced a heavier load onto the other five defensemen. Ian Cole, Ron Hainsey and Justin Schultz simply looked tired out and taxed, as they combined for no shots on goal. Cole registered a minus-3 rating, while Hainsey had a giveaway in the second period that resulted in Andre Burakovsky’s goal that put the Capitals up 2-0.

First African to Play in the Major Leagues Is a ‘Pinnacle’ for Baseball

By TYLER KEPNER
https://www.nytimes.com/
May 8, 2017


Pittsburgh Pirates' Gift Ngoepe, the first baseball player from the continent of Africa to play in the MLB, hit a single off Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jon Lester in his first at-bat.  (GENE J. PUSKAR / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)  


CINCINNATI — Every promotion to the major leagues is a triumph. The rookie has ascended to the top of his profession, realized his dream, validated his toil and sacrifice. He deserves the support that awaits him.

For a new Pittsburgh Pirate, though, the feelings run deeper. Gift Ngoepe has arrived, and Major League Baseball has never seen anyone like him. As the industry struggles with declining participation by black Americans, here is Ngoepe, a middle infielder and the first big leaguer born in Africa.

“You know how when you see someone you have something in common with, the way you don’t need to speak, you just look at each other and kind of nod and tip your cap?” said Chris Archer, a pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays. “It’s like the ultimate moment for that.”

“You see a black American on another team and you tip your cap; you know there’s only 7 or 8 percent of us here,” he added. “So now, when you see a black African — not a black American, but a black African — it’s the pinnacle of achievement in baseball for the people of that race, of that ethnicity, of that origin. It’s really an unspoken thing.”

Ngoepe, 27, was born in what is now Polokwane, South Africa, and he signed with the Pirates for $15,000 in September 2008. In his first four seasons, he did not rise above Class A. In his next four, he peaked at Class AAA.

But last month, when the Pirates needed a middle infielder, they finally called for Ngoepe, who singled off the Chicago Cubs’ Jon Lester in his first at-bat.

Ngoepe gave his cap to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., but kept his bat, he said, because it still had hits left in it. He followed up with three more in Miami and two in Cincinnati. He was 7 for 24 (.292) through Sunday, while playing the smooth defense at shortstop and second base that has kept the Pirates intrigued for so long.

“I played with a lot of people, saw a lot of shortstops, and he ranks up there at the top with them,” said the Pirates coach Tom Prince, who spent 17 seasons in the majors. “His reads on balls, throwing it accurately across the diamond — he’s an unbelievable defender.”

As an amateur, Ngoepe — pronounced n-GO-pay — twice attended Major League Baseball’s academy in Italy, where he worked with Barry Larkin, the Hall of Fame shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds. Larkin noticed Ngoepe’s athleticism, but also his remarkably advanced baseball instincts.

Ngoepe’s introduction to the game, however, was a twist on the typical American path. Many players in this country learn baseball from their fathers, but Ngoepe never knew his. Instead, he learned baseball because of his mother.

It would be wrong to say she taught him the game — “She had zero idea about baseball,” Ngoepe said — but without her, he might never have known baseball existed: She raised him at a ball field in a suburb of Johannesburg.

Gift Ngoepe #61 of the Pittsburgh Pirates makes his major league debut in the fourth inning against the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park on April 26, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.(Justin K. Aller/Getty Images North America)

Early Promise

Ngoepe’s given name is Mpho Gift Ngoepe, the middle name a translation of the first, which is in Sotho, his native language. His mother, Maureen, was inspired by a conversation she had with a stranger in a church. She was 21, poor and pregnant with her second son, and the baby’s father had left her. The stranger told her that the boy would make her proud, and that his name should be Gift.

“Just thinking about my name and everything that has happened all my life, it was always bigger than me,” Ngoepe said last week, on the bench before a game at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. “God had a purpose and God had a plan for me.”

As a baby, in the waning days of apartheid, Ngoepe lived in a hut in Limpopo, the northernmost province in South Africa. Needing a way to provide for her sons, Maureen left the children with her parents and found work cleaning houses.

She found shelter in Randburg, outside Johannesburg, at the modest home field of an amateur white baseball club called the Mets. The team practiced on Tuesdays and Thursdays and played on Sundays. Maureen ran the clubhouse — cooking and cleaning for players, selling food to spectators — and lived in the small room next to the shower stalls.

Soon, young Gift joined her there, and in 1998 she had a third son, Victor, who is now a Pirates farmhand. The quarters were tight — kitchen on one side, dresser, television and bed on the other. But the home was so filled with joy that the players gave Maureen a nickname: Happy.

Music filled their world, Ngoepe said — South African and also the hits from the United States. A Whitney Houston song, “My Love Is Your Love,” was a favorite of his aunt’s and popular when he was 9 or 10. He made it a tribute to his mother.

“I’d put on that song on purpose so I could make my mom dance with me,” Ngoepe said. “She’d be like, ‘No, no, no!’ But I’d hold her tight and spin her. It was a fun time with all of us. We didn’t have a whole lot of things, but everything that we had, we just made it work.”

The world outside captivated him, too. The Mets taught Ngoepe their sport, and he took to it eagerly, preferring its speed to that of cricket. He reveled in the camaraderie of the team, and developed quick hands by mastering the craggy infields. By his teens he had become a baseball prodigy, and his sessions in Italy taught him the finer points of footwork.

“He was one of the earliest to arrive and one of the last to leave,” Larkin said. “There was certainly a desire to be as good as he possibly could be.”

In his second year at the academy, in 2008, Ngoepe had built on lessons learned the previous summer. Larkin told him that a Pirates scout, Tom Randolph, was interested in signing him. It was part of an ambitious effort by the Pirates, then a perennial loser, to seek out talent where others were not looking at all.

They signed two pitchers from India who did not advance far in the pros. They pursued but could not sign Max Kepler, now a promising Minnesota Twins outfielder from Germany. They also signed a pitcher, Dovydas Neverauskas, who became the first major leaguer from Lithuania during the same April series in which Ngoepe debuted.

“It was a long venture; it wasn’t something we thought we’d jump into and find a big leaguer right away,” said the general manager, Neal Huntington. “To Gift’s credit, he stayed with it.”

Gift Ngoepe #61 of the Pittsburgh Pirates poses for a photograph during MLB spring training photo day on February 19, 2017 at Pirate City in Bradenton, Florida.(Brian Blanco/Getty Images North America)

Painful Progress

The deepest valley in Ngoepe’s journey came four years ago with the Altoona Curve on a road trip to Akron, Ohio. He had finally advanced to Class AA, the proving ground for elite prospects, but felt completely overmatched at the plate. Worse — much worse — was an urgent phone call from home: His mother was in the hospital with pneumonia, and it was serious.

Ngoepe had managed his homesickness before. (“Gift is a conformist,” Larkin said. “He adapts well.”) But this felt different. He took batting practice in a fog, swinging as hard as he could at every pitch. When a teammate asked what was wrong, Ngoepe came undone.

He fled the field for the clubhouse, falling to the bathroom floor in tears. Prince, then a coordinator of instruction, found him there and let him compose himself. Huntington happened to be in town, and clearly, Prince said, they needed to talk.

“I know I’m not doing too good right now, and if you want to release me, go ahead and do it,” Ngoepe said he told his bosses. “But I need to be home. I need to be with my mom. My mom’s not doing too good. I will pick family over what I want in my life.”

There was no need to choose, Huntington said; of course Ngoepe could take all the time he needed at home. Ngoepe spent five torturous days by Maureen’s side until she died, at age 45, a loss that at first seemed to shatter his brothers. He felt a duty to be strong for them.

“Everybody’s crying — should I join them?” Ngoepe said. “But I was like: ‘Well, you have a responsibility now. You have to look after your brothers. They collapsed. They’re down. I have to pull them up.’”

The feeling was so strong for Ngoepe, Huntington said, that he was not sure he would ever return. Finally Ngoepe did, though, after more than two weeks, convinced that his mother would not want him to quit and believing that her memory could sustain him.

Yet progress was painful. Ngoepe hit .177 in Class AA in 2013, then repeated the level in 2014. After that season, he helped major leaguers run a clinic in South Africa and met Archer, who had no idea that anyone from there played in the pros.

Archer, whose biological father is black, had taken the trip to learn more about his heritage. He was eager to spread baseball to a continent not known for it, but also to interact with people and learn about their life. In Ngoepe he found a native who was grappling with his future in the game.

Archer gave Ngoepe a note with a one-word question: “Why?” Over dinner, Ngoepe shared his doubts and frustration.

“I get it, dude, I get it,” Archer said he had told him. “You’re on a different continent, in a different culture, and there’s no one like you anywhere — in Altoona, Indianapolis, or if you get to the big leagues. But you’re giving hope to more than just yourself.”

Archer insisted that the sacrifices Ngoepe was making — all those seasons away from his brothers, the added pain of leaving them without their mother — would one day make sense. Eventually, Archer promised, there would be a reward. Ngoepe listened and decided to press on.

“His mom named him Gift for a reason,” Archer said. “You get that feeling when you’re around him.”

Reaching the Pinnacle

Ngoepe finally reached Class AAA Indianapolis later in the 2015 season. He abandoned switch-hitting, focusing solely on the right side, and held his own for a few weeks. But last season brought more disappointment: a .217 average, with 130 strikeouts in 332 at-bats.

“He was always trying to find himself with the bat in his hand,” said the first-base coach Kimera Bartee, a minor league instructor throughout Ngoepe’s climb. “But when he’s in between the lines and he’s got that glove on? Extremely comfortable. Always has been, always will be.”

Clint Hurdle, the Pirates’ manager, could not shake the allure of that glove. It lit up the screen when he surveyed the team’s prospects on video. Hurdle would pester the minor league coaches: What about the bat? Do we have a player? But Ngoepe was often his own worst enemy at the plate, too impatient to work deep counts or commit to a consistent technique.

Then, this spring training, things changed: Ngoepe hit .429 with a .500 on-base percentage. He stopped chasing bad pitches, working the counts in his favor and capitalizing. The Pirates ignored his sluggish start in Class AAA because at last, they had seen what they wanted to see. The major league game does not overwhelm him.

“I’m really interested to see how this works out for him,” Hurdle said, “because if the bat starts to play a little bit, he’s a legit major league player.”

Ngoepe is popular with his teammates, his enthusiasm infectious — important for a clubhouse rocked by the drug suspension of the All-Star outfielder Starling Marte and the legal troubles that have kept third baseman Jung Ho Kang in South Korea all season.

Center fielder Andrew McCutchen, the team’s centerpiece, said he was thrilled to witness Ngoepe’s trajectory. He may even visit his teammate in South Africa, where Ngoepe returns for two months or so every winter.

“He’s invited me,” McCutchen said. “I’ve got to take him up on the offer; it’d be kind of cool. I told him already: ‘I want to plan a trip.’ I try to be a man of my word.”

Ngoepe, who has a tattoo of Africa on his left shoulder, knows life will be different when he returns home. Typically he starts in Johannesburg and then spends time with his family in Limpopo, where the sports minister has already promised a rousing welcome-home party. That is fine, Ngoepe said, but really he is most comfortable relaxing, and burrowing his way back in time.

Maureen is gone, and others in Randburg now run the clubhouse. But his older brother, Christopher, still lives at the field, and Ngoepe joins him when he visits, though he could afford something much bigger now.

“Yeah, but I grew up there and all my memories are there,” he said. “I do love being there, knowing that I can practice and work on my baseball stuff on that same field I grew up on.”

When he was a boy, Ngoepe said, he would plead with his mother not to watch him bat. He never seemed to hit when she did, but he knew deep down that she could always peek out a window and see.

“Nice hit, my son,” she would tell him. All these years later, it is not so different. When Ngoepe reached base after that first single in the majors, Bartee wrapped him in an embrace.

“It was hard to hold back those tears,” Bartee said. “I didn’t know what to say. I just told him: ‘Hey, Mom’s here. Mom was right there with you. She’s smiling.’”

Ngoepe had made it, completing a quest unlike any other in the history of the game. Somewhere, perhaps, the former clubhouse manager of the Randburg Mets was dancing again. My love is your love.

Penguins' series with Capitals turning into matchup fans had hoped for

By Mark Madden

http://www.timesonline.com/sports

May 7, 2017

Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Pittsburgh Penguins makes the save as Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals looks for the rebound during the first period in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Verizon Center on May 6, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Now the pucker is on the other, uh, foot.

The Penguins still control their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series with Washington. But Monday's Game 6 at PPG Paints Arena seems a de facto Game 7 for the hosts, who responded well to an identical situation last year. The Penguins don't want to go back to Washington for a rubber match, and need to play their best game of the series.

It's fair to say that the Penguins have been largely outplayed for the balance of this matchup, but lead thanks to savage opportunism, superior intelligence honed by more positive playoff experience, and the goaltending of Marc-Andre Fleury. The Penguins have been outshot in every game, and by a total margin of 174-115 over the five games.

When you get more shots and enjoy more zone time, luck eventually smiles. That's what happened in Game 5 when two shots blocked by the Penguins rebounded right to Capitals' sticks for quick put-backs behind Fleury.

It's been an odd series from many perspectives.

Game 3 went to overtime. The Capitals won, but the Penguins easily could have. The Penguins took a 2-1 lead into the third period of Game 5.

Yet, if not for Fleury, the Capitals could have long since deleted the Penguins.

The Capitals and Penguins had the NHL's best regular-season records, and some bemoan a flawed playoff format that forced them to meet "too early."

But the latest they could have met is one round further. It would have been absolutely inevitable. The Penguins and Capitals are in a class by themselves. So, what's the difference?

Regardless of when, this series has been chock-full of storylines and incredibly compelling.

Now it's just down to who wins.

The most promising thing for the Capitals is goaltender Braden Holtby rallying to post his best effort of the series in Game 5. Holtby, who too often makes every save but the one he has to, started Game 5 inauspiciously when Carl Hagelin put a shot through him to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead in the first period.

But Holtby buckled down after that. Although the Penguins had just 22 shots, Holtby had to make a number of challenging stops, including a few that would have allowed the Penguins to extend their lead beyond one goal.

Washington's physicality is wearing down the Penguins.

In Game 5, the Capitals out-hit the Penguins 38-15. The Penguins can't close that gap appreciably, and shouldn't try. Not their style. But the Capitals are dominating traffic and, unlike Columbus, don't appear to be tiring themselves out via playing the body. They had far more energy than the Penguins in Saturday's third period.

The Penguins shouldn't panic, and undoubtedly won't.

If one problem looms for Monday, the clock has struck midnight on a defensive corps that is finally playing at an ordinary level in the absence of injured Kris Letang. Lack of Letang's one-man breakout skills applied over his usual 30 minutes of ice time is the primary reason the Capitals are penning in the Penguins. Blocking shots is fine, but helps transition not one iota.

That headache can't be cured. But the Penguins need to stop making mistakes at their own blue line. Bad clears have plagued the Penguins all series, and a whiff by Hagelin wound up in Fleury's net for Saturday's game-losing goal.

On the positive side, returns from injury have returned the Penguins to their full complement of depth and speed up front.

The superstars are producing at their pay grade: Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel and Evgeni Malkin have combined for seven goals and nine assists on the series. Crosby had just one assist in Game 5, but appeared to be suffering no ill effects from the concussion he sustained in Game 3.

This is, approximately, how the series was supposed to go. A sweep or five-game win was never in the cards for either team. This series is, in effect, the Stanley Cup Finals.

Can Fleury and his .929 save percentage in these playoffs keep working miracles? Can Holtby keep up? Will it ever boil down to a duel between Crosby and Alex Ovechkin? (Each notched hat tricks in Game 2 of the 2009 playoff matchup between the teams.) What will prevail, the Capitals' brawn or the Penguins' speed?

Three things are certain:

*Monday is the Penguins' best chance to win the series.

*Until the Capitals advance past the second round in the Ovechkin era, they haven't.

*This matchup is everything it was cracked up to be.

Mark Madden hosts a radio show 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WXDX-FM (105.9).

Capitals rally to escape elimination

By Kevin Gorman

http://triblive.com/sports/

May 7, 2017

Evgeny Kuznetsov #92 of the Washington Capitals celebrates with his teammates after scoring a third period goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Verizon Center on May 6, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON

The setting was storybook for an elimination game, from the surprising return of Sidney Crosby to spark the Penguins to the stunning shakeup of the stars to shock the Capitals.

Where Crosby and Conor Sheary came back from concussions to solidify a Penguins lineup that survived their one-game absence, Capitals coach Barry Trotz pulled a head-scratcher by demoting captain Alex Ovechkin to the third line for Game 5 of this Eastern Conference semifinal.

Then there's the curse.

The President's Trophy winners as the NHL's best regular-season team two years in a row, the Capitals have lost eight of nine playoff series to the Penguins and failed to advance past the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs since Ovechkin's arrival in 2004.

That cloud hung over Verizon Center on Saturday and grew darker as the Penguins took a one-goal lead into the second intermission.

The Penguins had won all six games in these Stanley Cup playoffs in which they had led going into the third period, which meant 20 minutes separated the Capitals from another early ouster.

“You're going into the third period going, ‘Let's get this done.' There was pretty good conviction in our room,” Trotz said. “I would say there's a lot of resiliency, and the leadership did all the right things for us. They really did.”

The Capitals' leadership — and, no, that's not an oxymoron — delivered in the third period of their 4-2 victory over the Penguins.

Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Ovechkin scored goals to make this a 3-2 series that returns Monday to PPG Paints Arena.

“Ideally, you close it out,” said Crosby, who assisted on Phil Kessel's second-period, power-play goal.

“You've got the lead going into the third. That's what you want to do. But it didn't happen. You've got to learn from it. We've got an opportunity going back home. You've got to learn from situations like this.”

The Penguins had a chance to put the Capitals away, especially when they appeared to be in disarray.

Instead, they left the door open for a comeback. And the Capitals have won Game 6 in four of their last five series when trailing 3-2. That includes a 5-4 overtime win over the Penguins in the 2009 Eastern Conference semifinal at Civic Arena.

The one exception was the Penguins' 4-3 overtime victory in Game 6 against the Capitals last year, courtesy of a Nick Bonino goal.

“I think (when) you play the best team in the league, you don't expect to sweep them or win in five. You expect a long, hard series,” Bonino said. “That's what our mindset's been, no matter what.”

Ironically, Bonino played a part in the Capitals' comeback. After Backstrom tied the score at 2-2 at 2:49 of the third period, Bonino had his best scoring chance with a shot from the slot. But Capitals goalie Braden Holtby, who made 12 of his 20 saves in the third period, blocked it with his glove and leg pad.

For the first time in this series, Holtby outplayed Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. As we've learned in the playoffs, the team with the best goalie tends to win.

Holtby made back-to-back, point-blank saves on Sheary and Bryan Rust, then stoned the top goal-scorer of the playoffs, Jake Guentzel.

“We gave them life,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “Give them credit. They've got good players. They scored a couple of key goals to get them back in the game. But I thought a lot of third period, we had some pushback. We had a lot of high-quality chances we didn't convert.”

The Penguins' best chance to win came down to the same tactic they employed in Game 3: pulling Fleury and hoping to score two goals in the final two minutes. Only this time it didn't work.

“It's always the most challenging game,” Crosby said of elimination games. “I think we had the right mindset coming in, and I think we went into the third with the right mentality and just weren't able to grab that momentum back when they tied it. We'll learn from it and go back home.”

There is still a shot at a storybook ending, but the Penguins have to make sure that it's not about the Capitals lifting their curse.

Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at kgorman@tribweb.com or via Twitter @KGorman_Trib.

MORE PENGUINS/NHL

Capitals rally to beat Penguins, extend series to sixth game 

Crosby's presence helps Pens power play but can't deliver clinching win 

Plus-Minus: Penguins vs. Capitals, Game 5 

Penguins notebook: Crosby linemates try to adopt same approach

Penguins' Crosby in lineup for Game 5 

Plus-Minus: Penguins watch Game 5 slip away over span of 4:58 in third period, Daley leaves injured

By Brian Metzer

http://www.timesonline.com/sports/

May 6, 2017

Tom Wilson #43 of the Washington Capitals hits Trevor Daley #6 of the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first period in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Verizon Center on May 6, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

MINUS – Third-period breakdown costs Pens

The Penguins entered the third period with a 2-1 lead and came close to adding to it when forward Tom Kuhnhackl produced a great scoring chance just over two minutes in. Braden Holtby made the save on the German-born forward, which allowed the Washington Capitals to convert three goals over a span of 4:58 to go up 4-2. Taking the lead – their first on home ice in the series – gave them a chance to play a bit looser, and the Penguins weren’t able to come back. Evegni Malkin and Carl Hagelin were victimized for two of the goals. Being beaten by Nicklas Backstrom on the first (Capitals second goal) and then failing to clear the puck at the blue line that eventually turned into the go-ahead goal for Evgeny Kuznetsov.

PLUS – Special teams shine in loss

The Penguins found themselves in the penalty box three times in the game, twice in the first period, and were able to come up with kills on all three. Defenseman Ron Hainsey and center Matt Cullen played big roles on those kills, but the Penguins had plenty of help from players like Tom Kuhnhackl, Nick Bonino, Olli Maatta and Brian Dumoulin. On the other side of the puck, the power play scored on one of two chances, with Phil Kessel finishing off a sequence that featured multiple quick passes around the offensive zone. He was camped out to the right of Holtby, where Malkin found him for the goal that pushed the game to 2-1.

MINUS – Give it away, give it away, give it away now

Coach Mike Sullivan talks a lot about puck management. It can be the difference between winning and losing hockey games. When you manage the puck well, especially in the offensive zone, you tend to control play for longer stretches, eat the clock and produce more scoring opportunities. On Saturday, the Penguins were credited with 12 giveaways in the game. Many of those resulted in opportunities the other way for the Capitals. It is worth noting that the Capitals were credited with 10 takeaways in the game, pushing that total of pucks that were essentially turned over to 22. The Penguins have to improve when the series shifts back to PPG Paints Arena on Monday.

MINUS – Another injury looms?

Multiple Penguins players looked to take a beating in the game, including Phil Kessel, Jake Guentzel, and Trevor Daley. Kessel and Guentzel were able to finish the game, but Daley played only 11:09 and didn’t take a shift after the 2:32 mark of the third period. There wasn’t a definitive update on his status following the game, but he was one of the players who were victimized by Capitals’ forward Tom Wilson with a hit from behind during the first period. Wilson also took a charging penalty on Guentzel during the same shift, which required the young forward to retire to the locker room for a brief period of time.

Braden Holtby’s flawless third period sparked Capitals comeback

By Nora Princiotti 
http://www.washingtontimes.com/sports
May 6, 2017



Braden Holtby #70 of the Washington Capitals make a the third period save against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Verizon Center on May 6, 2017 in Washington, DC. The Capitals defeated the Penguins 4-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

For the past few days, the Capitals have heard all about how they need to play with desperation, to attack, to be aggressive. That’s a complicated mindset for a goaltender like Braden Holtby. He can’t attack, really. The game has to come to him. 

For the first two periods of Saturday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, it didn’t. The Penguins took only 10 shots but Holtby gave up two goals. When the first, by Carl Hagelin, slipped through his glove, Holtby could hear a strong Pittsburgh contingent in the Verizon Center chanting his name derisively. 

“HOLT-BY. HOLT-BY.” 

Holtby reminded himself not to let his mental game deteriorate. He has been thinking about that a lot throughout this playoff series. 

“Yeah, I mean I felt good all game,” Holtby said. “It was more getting over that mental hump of two goals on not very many shots and getting over that. I like to take a lot of pride in my mental game and that was something I wanted to get better at if it happened again and I did a better job staying in it.”

By the time Holtby was making a much-needed glove save on Nick Bonino early in the third period, he was over the hump. Holtby got the action he wanted in the final period, stopping all 12 shots that came his way, and his performance seemed to spark the Capitals offense, which completed the comeback victory and avoided elimination.

“I thought Holts really stepped it up,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. “We got a lot of energy from those saves that he made.” 

Holtby’s save on Bonino was followed almost immediately by the 27-second stretch in which Evgeny Kuznetsov scored the go-ahead goal and Alex Ovechkin added one on to give the game it’s final score, 4-2.

Up to that point, Saturday’s game had mirrored most of the others in this series, which Pittsburgh still leads 3-2. Excellent goaltending was a major factor in the Capitals regular season success but, so far in the playoffs, Holtby has not been his usual self. He put together a .925 save percentage in the regular season but, entering Game 5, had a .909 save percentage in the playoffs and an .867 save percentage in Games 1-4 against Pittsburgh. 

Through those four games Holtby had faced only 83 shots against but had given up 11 goals. While Holtby said postgame Saturday he felt the Capitals offense had been taking too many low-quality shots, he’d been facing the opposite. 

“It was more the defensive side of things we wanted to just hold on for as long as we can to give our offense some time because we knew they were going to come through in that area,” Holtby said. “It was better, it was a little more work which made it easier for me.” 

Holtby finished the game with a line of two goals allowed on 22 shots. The figures are unspectacular but, when the Capitals were down to their last period, Holtby came through. 

“Our leaders led,” Trotz said. “And I count Holts in that leadership. He’s been a part of our leadership. We don’t get a couple of those saves — this has been a tough series for us. I think a lot of the bounces have gone to Pitt, second goal the other day comes to mind where it goes off our skate and in the net, that’s mentally a little bit of a challenge.”

The Capitals need two more wins to advance, and all Holtby’s third-period performance Saturday guarantees is a little more action. He’ll take as much as he can get.