Pittsburgh Penguins Drop Game One in Overtime

The Pittsburgh Penguins took the game to overtime, but a TJ Oshie hat trick led the Washington Capitals to a win, putting the Pens down 0-1 in the series.

The puck dropped in Verizon Center on the first game of the Pittsburgh Penguins – Washington Capitals series, and the Pens went flying out of the gate. Just a minute into the game the visitors almost got one past Vezina Trophy nominee Braden Holtby only to be stymied by the goalpost.

The Pens sustained pressure in the Washington zone, putting shot after shot on Holtby. However, Washington brought the physical game that we knew they would: Justin Williams cross-checked Kris Letang hard behind the net and the defenseman was really laboring to get off the ice.

Former Penguin Daniel Winnik also made a cheap shot on Sidney Crosby, lumberjack-chopping the Pittsburgh captain in the midsection with no repercussions.

Matt Murray, who remains the Penguins’ starting goaltender with Marc-Andre Fleury out, made a great save on Alex Ovechkin as he zoomed in on the net. Trevor Daley attempted to shut down the “great eight” as he went in, but Murray made sure the Caps couldn’t pick up a lead this early.

Matt Cullen took the first penalty of the series, for “tripping” Evgeny Kuznetsov. I’m not saying he was totally innocent, but out of all the more egregious penalties that should have been called up to this point… the refs picked that?

Okay. Whatever.

For a team that recognized ahead of time how lethal the Capitals’ powerplay could be, the Penguins didn’t do a very effective job shutting it down. Ovechkin quarterbacked the powerplay from the blue line and was open to take slapshots on Murray almost constantly.

The Penguins killed the penalty off, but the Caps absolutely dominated it. It’s easy to see that if we take too many penalties in this series, we’re going to lose games – no matter how good our PK has been, their PP will be better when it gets enough chances.

Evgeni Malkin turned the puck over in the Capitals’ zone which led to an eventual goal on the other end of the ice. The Caps rushed up the ice and, after Murray allowed a rebound, Andre Burakovsky lifted the puck up over his pad. Murray ended up in the net too, but the goal was good.

Burakovsky soon took a penalty of his own for boarding Cullen. The Pens got a few good looks again but Holtby and his defense shut them down. Crosby and John Carlson got into a minor altercation during the powerplay but the refs quickly broke it up.

Despite the Pens’ strong start, it was all Caps as the first period progressed. Malkin made another couple of questionable plays and turnovers, but the Penguins were all-around a step behind Washington.

The Pens came out swinging again in the second, though. Despite the good chances they had, they just could not manage to put the puck in the net. The second period saw the game really move back and forth, from end to end – as soon as one rush was finished, everyone would head back the other way.

Kris Letang took a penalty and gave the Caps’ PP another chance. The Caps seemed pretty lackluster this time around, even allowing a good shorthanded chance for Tom Kuhnhackl – the forward who is, of course, the Pens’ shorthanded goal-scoring whiz.

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Bryan Rust started to throw his weight around during the kill as did Eric Fehr, who barrel-rolled into TJ Oshie and artfully knocked him down. We saw some instances in the first round where the Penguins really got their game going during penalty kills, and that was the case here again.

The aggressiveness of the Pens’ PK has been one of their greatest strengths in the latter half of the season.

The Caps were really good in the transition game and entering the offensive zone while that was something the Penguins really struggled with this game. The long change in the second period makes things a little harder, but the Pittsburgh play between the two blue lines leaves a bit to be desired.

Nick Bonino and Ben Lovejoy – two rather unusual names on the scoresheet – worked together to tie the game up just over halfway through the game. Bonino shot point-blank on Holtby, who allowed a juicy rebound that went straight to Lovejoy.

Evgeni Malkin atoned for his earlier mistakes less than a minute later: he gave the Pens the lead with a backhand toss top shelf. The two goals were scored only 57 seconds apart, and the dominant second period Penguins were back.

That didn’t last too long, unfortunately. Olli Maatta turned the puck over directly to Oshie, who zipped up ice alone and roofed the puck over Murray’s glove. The game was again tied thanks to three quick goals – Oshie’s was only 33 seconds after Malkin’s.

Geno then threw a big hit on Tom Wilson, who bear-hugged Malkin’s leg while he was down, and the two awkwardly tussled. Malkin took a penalty for embellishment while Wilson was called for cross-checking and they both took a seat in the penalty box. Both of them deserved penalties, but those weren’t necessarily the things I would have called either one on.

The game got even weirder as Letang’s stick somehow got wedged up in Jay Beagle‘s mask. The Capital skated off to the bench looking far more like a unicorn than a beagle.

The period ended with the teams knotted at two, somewhere between reeling from the rapidfire goals and making the most of their momentum.

Oshie maintained most of that power, though; Oshie gave the Capitals the lead a couple minutes into the third period. Tensions rose from that point, as Wilson threw another dirty hit on Conor Sheary, who looked like his knee may have bent oddly.

A scuffle around the net gave the Penguins a powerplay, as Kuznetsov went to the box for hooking. That didn’t last long, as Beagle’s absurd stick-magnetism continued. Phil Kessel‘s stick got lodged in Beagle’s skate; Beagle went down and Kessel went to the box in disbelief.

Is Beagle covered in glue? Does he just attract Penguin sticks? I don’t understand.

Nick Bonino made a major contribution again, this time tying the game up of his own accord. Kessel tied up Brooks Orpik in the corner, allowing Bonino to shoot on Holtby from the slot. The puck may have bounced off Washington defenseman Nate Schmidt, but a goal’s a goal.

Burakovsky drew a penalty against Lovejoy for tripping (again, refs, really???). The Caps thought they got one on the powerplay but Murray and his defenders made an astounding effort to keep the puck out. Murray continued to make ridiculous saves throughout the third, trying to make up for the second Oshie goal that he should have stopped.

Neither team could break the stalemate in regulation and the game went to overtime. With such evenly matched teams, could we really have expected any less from the start?

Not a chance.

Very early in the extra stanza the Caps had a great chance, but a combination of luck and Murray’s skill kept them in it. Chris Kunitz got nailed with the puck on the bench and had to head off to the locker room for repairs, bleeding profusely.

This was the Pens’ first overtime of this postseason. Though the players themselves didn’t look too tired, their middling play of the night continued. Haphazard puck movement along with weak transition play and lagging defense carried over to the bonus time.

The game ended in a ridiculously close call. Murray came close to keeping it out and from most camera angles, it did look like the puck was kept out. Unfortunately for the Pens, a final camera shot showed that the puck was conclusively over the line, and Oshie got his hat trick.

The Pens dropped game one with a final score of 4-3, and though it wasn’t a complete loss there were definitely factors of their game that could be improved on. It was a heartbreaking way to lose, but there’s an entire series ahead of us to get it back.

Both teams played sloppily, neither goalie was superb, and neither team’s captain brought the kind of play expected of them. This is going to be a long series between two even teams – that much is for sure.