The Caps lose to the Penguins 4-3 in a shootout

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It’s been far too long – nearly a calendar year – since the Washington Capitals have spent a day visiting their best friends, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Both teams are still a little rusty, as can be seen from Sunday morning.

The Penguins were the first on the scoreboard as Evan Rodrigues hijacked an armored pass from Brian Dumoulin. The Caps responded with fat from the fourth row, then took the lead thanks to Alex Ovechkin’s first goal of the season.

This lead was erased in the second half when Ilya Samsonov made a bad play behind the net. This error was temporarily offset by a clean streak from Kuznetsov at Backström on the power play, but Marcus Petterson’s goal tied it up, making it 3-3 in the third period.

The third gave us heartburn but no goals, so we tried and failed to decide the game in overtime. Instead, I bring you the return of the shooting bullets.

  • Letang didn’t put the cookie in the basket.
  • Oshie didn’t put the cookie in the basket.
  • Crosby didn’t put the cookie in the basket.
  • Backstrom did not put the cookie in the basket.
  • Malkin didn’t put the cookie in the basket.
  • Kuznetsov did not put the cookie in the basket.
  • Guentzel put the cookie in the basket.
  • Ovechkin didn’t put the cookie in the basket.

The caps lose.

  • Peter Laviolette has talked about increasing Washington’s offensive production this season. This is not happening yet. The Caps put three (3) shots on goal in the second period; none in its last nine minutes.
  • The Caps paid for this inaction. Chara and Dillon both had significant shooting blocks, bruises that they could feed on for a while.
  • Maybe he got the wrong information from his teammates, but the goalkeeper Ilya Samsonov played the puck badly behind the net in the second period. Instead of popping the puck on the ice, he allowed Coulton Sceviour a layout. (This layout took several minutes of video review, but it was a good goal.) Beyond that, I wasn’t too concerned with Samsonov’s performance. He had problems with the film shots and the close-up deviations, but so did everyone.
  • Despite the departure of head coach Todd Reirden, it now seems confirmed that the Caps are still throwing a slingshot pass – at least sometimes – on the power play.
  • The Caps penalty is still not over. They took five in that outing, several in the attacking zone, most when the score was tied.
  • But as I have said a few times, I am not yet drawing definitive conclusions. We’ve only seen three games, including two against the Sabers, without a preseason, without a lot of training camp either. There will be experiences, evaluations and adjustments (hopefully) as the season progresses.
  • And in the meantime, Alex ovechkin is finally out of the schneid, registering his first goal of the season by grabbing a loose puck in the slot machine after clever work from linemates Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson, who both had good games. Kuznetsov’s help on Backstrom’s goal was surgery. Then again, Kuznetsov and Wilson were both perps in the Caps’ ongoing penalty issues.
  • Ovi should of had two goals. Double-ping here:
  • Daniel leapCaps’s debut was a disappointment. In the third period, Laviolette had seen enough. he did not skate In the third. (I thought he was fine.)
  • It was a strange three-on-three overtime. The teams seemed to be pushing each other, feeling bad, but reluctant to attack. As exhausting as the Caps’ previous OTs were exhilarating.

No Joe B today, so you’ll have to settle for this:

Not a ton to like from Washington here. After the first period, their even-handed game kind of fell apart. They have committed too many sanctions and generated too little offense. But their goalie only made one big mistake and they made enough smart plays to earn a point in the standings. And they were on the verge of winning despite their faults.

Either way, we’ll see a rematch on Tuesday night. See you later.

RMNB coverage of caps at Penguins

Screenshot provided by NBC Sports



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