Caps 6, Penguins 3
Okay, so the stakes were low. Neither the Caps nor Pittsburgh Penguins have much to play for at this point in the NHL season. Both will be in the playoffs next week. Both will have a high seed and home-ice advantage in the first round. But that doesn’t make games between the two teams any less entertaining. Five different Caps scored and – playing their second game in as many nights and a defenseman short for most of it – they held off a Pittsburgh rally in the third period.
Washington (53-15-12, 118 points) won all four games against the Penguins (45-27-7, 97 points) this season, including two that went beyond regulation, and swept the season series from Pittsburgh for the first time. That does little to erase the haunting memories that linger at Mellon Arena for the Caps, where they have an all-time record of 42-67-7-1 – including three season-ending Stanley Cup playoff losses. But it was a nice little bonus in case it was the last game they will play there. The Penguins open a new arena in the fall.
Alex Semin set a career high with his 39th goal of the season. Mike Knuble (28) and Tomas Fleischmann (23) also scored. Washington added a goal from its fourth line late in the second period when Matt Bradley (10) tipped home a pass from teammate Quintin Laing.
Star forward Sidney Crosby and defenseman Jordan Leopold both scored for the Penguins. For a time, Crosby extended his goals lead over Caps forward Alex Ovechkin with an NHL-best 48th. Leopold scored twice, including a tally just 49 seconds into the third period to cut Washington lead to 4-3.
The Caps chased Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury in the second period – the final straw an easy goal for Fleischmann at 6:42 of the second. Pittsburgh fought back, however. Leopold’s second goal brought his team to within 4-3 with plenty of time left. But just 1:48 later Ovechkin scored on the power play after a faceoff win by teammate Nicklas Backstrom. That was Ovechkin’s 47th of the year and restored Washington’s advantage to two. He later added an empty-netter with .2 left to tie Crosby. That was a hilarious sequence, where Ovechkin is clearly fighting for the loose puck along the boards to get a scoring chance and the Penguins are having none of it. Would have loved to hear the chatter between the benches after Ovechkin scored that one. Didn’t hear too many boos so I think most patrons were on the way out at that point.
Ovechkin and Crosby both have 48 goals now. Tampa Bay rookie Steven Stamkos scored in his game against Carolina and has 47. Ovechkin also tied Vancouver’s Henrik Sedin for the overall points lead with 106 – though the Canucks were playing at home against Colorado late last night.
Caps Notes
» Caps defenseman John Erskine played just four shifts – 3 minutes, 52 seconds total – leaving Washington a man down on its blueline most of the night. The other five defensemen all played over 20 minutes. They all get a well-deserved day off Wednesday.
» For second game in a row Caps coach Bruce Boudreau scratched D Mike Green. Pittsburgh F Evgeni Malkin (illness) also did not play.
» Washington G Semyon Varlamov stopped 26 of 29 shots. Pittsburgh backup G Brent Johnson, a former Cap, made 13 saves on 15 shots in relief of starter Marc-Andre Fleury, who was angry when coach Dan Bylsma pulled him.
» Weird lineup for the Caps. Eric Belanger was scratched. Possible injury, but won’t know for sure until Thursday’s practice. Tomas Fleischmann moved back to center and had a goal. He also lost 10 of 13 faceoffs. So that experiment will be shelved once more, I’d guess. Jay Beagle played center, too. The Hershey call-up actually won 7 of 10 faceoffs in 9:47 of ice time.
» Have to give credit to defenseman Jeff Schultz, who managed to post an obscene +5 number against the Penguins. No other Caps player did better than a +2. Double Nickel also had the audacity to jump Ovechkin for the NHL’s +/- lead. He’s at a cool +44. Also posted two assists and has a career high 22 points ( 3 G, 19 A).
» Caps have now scored 305 goals and have two games left to go. Won’t beat any franchise records. But they still have an outside shot at catching the 2005-06 Ottawa Senators for most goals since the lockout (314).
» Caps F Nicklas Backstrom registered three assists. That’s six points in two games. He has 98 for the season and a great chance at his first 100-point season. Since the Olympic break Backstrom has 5 goals and 17 assists. That’s 22 points in 18 games. Overall numbers: 31 G, 67 A.
» Playoff update: Both the Canadiens and Flyers won their games on Tuesday night. Montreal (39-32-9, 87 points) is in the No. 6 seed with two games left. Philadelphia (40-34-6, 86 points) is at No. 7 with two games left. Boston (36-30-13, 85 points) – who the Caps saw Monday and play again on Sunday afternoon – is at No. 8 with three games left. The New York Rangers (36-33-10, 82 points) are in trouble after closing out a six-game road trip with a loss at Buffalo. New York still has a chance. In fact, the Rangers still control their own destiny with a game Wednesday against Toronto and then two against the Flyers this weekend. Meanwhile, Atlanta was eliminated from playoff contention with a loss at home to New Jersey.
