Washington Capitals Fade After Dominant Start In 4-1 Loss To Pittsburgh Penguins; Eller Records 400th Career Point


Photo: @Capitals

The Washington Capitals fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins by a score of 4-1 at Capital One Arena on Thursday night in right-wing Tom Wilson’s first game back from his suspension. The loss dropped their record to 36-29-10 (.547 points percentage) this season. Goaltender Charlie Lindgren made 20 saves in the loss.

Washington’s Lines

Alex Ovechkin — Connor McMichael — Wilson
Ivan Miroshnichenko — Dylan Strome — Aliaksei Protas
Max Pacioretty — Hendrix Lapierre — Sonny Milano
Beck Malenstyn — Nic Dowd — Michael Sgarbossa

Martin Fehervary — John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin — Nick Jensen
Alexander Alexeyev — Trevor Van Riemsdyk

Lindgren
Darcy Kuemper

Scratched: RW Nicolas Aube-Kubel, D Vinny Iorio

Out: D Ethan Bear (NHLPA players assistance program), C Nicklas Backstrom (hip), RW T.J. Oshie (undisclosed)

Pittsburgh’s Lines

Reilly Smith — Sidney Crosby — Bryan Rust
Michael Bunting — Evgeni Malkin — Rickard Rakell
Drew O’Connor — Lars Eller — Valtteri Puustinen
Jesse Puljujarvi — Jeff Carter — Emil Bemstrom

Pierre-Olivier Joseph — Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson — Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea — Jack St. Ivany

Alex Nedeljkovic
Tristan Jarry

Scratched: LW Samuel Poulin, G Joel Blomqvist

Out: LW Matt Nieto (knee), C Jansen Harkins (hand), C Noel Acciari (lower-body), D Ryan Graves (concussion), D John Ludvig (illness)

FIRST PERIOD

Scoring

1:49, 1-0 Pittsburgh: Shea wristed one from the point that beat Lindgren through traffic and past the right pad after Smith curled back in the offensive zone and fed him.

11:03, 2-0: Joseph’s slapper from the point deflected off of the skate of Jensen, who was tied up with Crosby in the slot, over the glove of Lindgren after Letang fed Joseph from the opposite point.

Shots: 9-6 Washington

Other Notable Stats: 22-13 Washington in hits, 5-5 in blocked shots, 64% Pittsburgh on faceoffs, Washington got one power play

Screenshots: Natural StatTrick

SECOND PERIOD

Scoring

9:08, 3-0: Bunting flew down the left wing and drilled a slapper under the blocker of Lindgren after getting a stretch feed by Puustinen from the defensive zone.

Shots: 16-13 Pittsburgh, including 10-4 in the second

Other Notable Stats: 14-10 Washington in blocked shots, 36-26 Washington in hits

THIRD PERIOD

Scoring

6:02, 3-1 (PPG): Ovechkin tucked in a cross-ice feed from Milano, who was at the right post, under the pad of Nedeljkovic after Sandin set Milano up down low from the slot in the waning seconds of the man advantage. In three games against Pittsburgh this season, Milano has tallied three points (one goal). Ovechkin’s 19 goals since January 27 are tied for the fourth-most in the NHL. The tally marked Ovechkin’s team-leading 13th on the power play. Lapierre has recorded an assist in back-to-back games and in four of his last five games overall.

17:23, 4-1: After Smith ripped off McMichael and chipped it up the boards, Eller raced down and carried to puck into the open net. The former Capital earned his 400th career NHL point with the goal.

Shots: 31-24 Washington, including 17-8 in the third

Other Notable Stats: 54-39 Washington in hits, 18-8 Pittsburgh in blocked shots, Washington went one-for-four on the power play and Pittsburgh 0-for-two

Standings

Washington remained a point behind the Philadelphia Flyers (with a game in hand) for third place in the Metropolitan Division. In the Eastern Conference wild card race, they stayed tied with the Detroit Red Wings (with both teams down to seven games left), one in front of Pittsburgh (one), five clear of the Buffalo Sabres (one), and six safe of the New Jersey Devils (one) but fell one behind the New York Islanders (one).

Next game: Friday at Carolina Hurricanes (7 PM ET, Monumental Sports Network in-market, ESPN+ out-of-market)

By Harrison Brown

About Harrison Brown

Harrison is a diehard Caps fan and a hockey fanatic with a passion for sports writing. He attended his first game at age 8 and has been a season ticket holder since the 2010-2011 season. His fondest Caps memory was watching the Capitals hoist the Stanley Cup in Las Vegas. In his spare time, he enjoys travel, photography, and hanging out with his two dogs. Follow Harrison on Twitter @HarrisonB927077





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