How good are the Pittsburgh Penguins right now?
Good enough to win their tenth straight game despite missing arguably two of the best players in the league. Last year’s league MVP, Evgeni Malkin, missed his sixth straight game while Kris Letang, the league leader in points among defensemen and Norris Trophy candidate, sat out with a lower body injury suffered on Sunday.
Letang still holds a five point lead over Ryan Suter for top scoring defenseman, but the Penguins still found a way to win with two other defensemen scoring goals. Along with their stellar defensive play and Marc-Andre Fleury’s goaltending performance, the Penguins were able to extend their winning streak to ten with a 2-1 victory over the Washington Capitals.
Both Fleury and Capitals’ goaltender, Braden Holtby, proved to be sharp early in this game.
Holtby stopped all eleven Pittsburgh shots in the first period including a quick pad save on a James Neal wrist shot from the left face off dot. Fleury countered by denying Eric Fehr on a solid scoring chance off a rebound to the left of the net.
The Capitals broke the tie on their second power play with a goal from Alex Ovechkin. Mike Ribeiro skated down the right side along the boards and stopped to setup John Carlson for a one-timer. Carlson’s shot was partially blocked by Matt Niskanen but deflected right to Ovechkin who blasted the puck past Fleury.
Pittsburgh would counter with a power play goal of their own less than three minutes later, oddly enough on a slap shot off a fortunate bounce. Simon Despres’s cross-ice pass was mishandled by Beau Bennett down low and the puck skittered away. But Sidney Crosby quickly gained control and moved the puck to Paul Martin who fired a slap shot from just inside the left point to beat Holtby.
Both teams traded chances for the remainder of the second period and into the third. The Capitals received a golden opportunity to retake the lead with a double minor to Matt Cooke. Cooke was called for boarding then received a 2 minute minor for game misconduct after shooting the puck towards the referee in anger over the initial penalty.
The Capitals were stymied by the Penguins’ suddenly tough penalty kill and received a big glove save from Marc-Andre Fleury. The crowd gave a standing ovation as the final seconds of the Cooke double minor elapsed, then exploded just moments later when the Penguins scored to take a 2-1 lead.
As the penalty expired, Matt Niskanen intercepted a centering pass and quickly moved the puck up to Sidney Crosby. With a 3 on 2 rush, Crosby sent a lateral pass to Matt Cooke who quickly dished the puck to Niskanen, trailing on the play. Niskanen paused before firing a perfect wrist shot past Holtby’s glove hand sending 18,000 fans to their feet.
The Penguins locked down the final eight minutes of the game to secure their tenth straight win and remain atop the Eastern Conference standings.
- This was the 200th regular season game between the Penguins and Capitals; first game was November 16th, 1974.
- The Penguins swept the Capitals in the season series for just the second time in their 39 year history (2006-2007).
- This is the sixth straight game the Penguins have given up two goals or less to their opponent.
Three Stars
- Matt Niskanen
- Marc-Andre Fleury
- Braden Holtby
Photo courtesy of NHL.com
