Alex Nedeljkovic, Penguins improve playoff hopes by beating Capitals
Meetings between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals typically carry significant ramifications.
Thursday’s entanglement between the longtime rivals – the 247th regular season game all-time between the two outfits – was no different.
Fortified by goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, the Penguins claimed a 4-1 victory at Capital One Arena in Washington and inched closer to a playoff spot, a notion that was seemingly inconceivable less than a week ago.
Making his seventh consecutive start in lieu of top goaltender Tristan Jarry, Nedeljkovic stopped 30 of 31 shots to boost his record to 15-6-6.
“(Nedeljkovic) is making the timely save for us,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said to the Associated Press in Washington. “I can’t say enough about his compete level and his composure. He’s got a certain demeanor back there. He’s got a quiet confidence about him and I think that rubs off on the group.”
While the New York Islanders (34-27-15, 83 points) surpassed each combatant in the nation’s capital with a 4-2 road win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday and jumped into the final wild-card position of the Eastern Conference, the Penguins (35-30-11, 81 points) moved within a single point of the Capitals (36-29-10, 82 points). The Detroit Red Wings (37-30-8, 82 points) are sandwiched between the Capitals and Penguins.
Additionally, the Penguins pulled within the gravitational pull of the Metropolitan Division’s third-place occupant, the Philadelphia Flyers (36-29-11, 83 points).
“You see where we’re at,” Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson said in Cranberry on March 27. “We look at every game as we’ve got to win the next game in front of us. You never know what will happen.”
The opening goal happened through unlikely circumstances 109 seconds into regulation, considering it was recorded by Penguins defenseman Ryan Shea.
That’s to say it was the first-year NHLer’s first career goal.
After Penguins forward Lars Eller beat Capitals forward Nic Dowd on a faceoff in Washington’s left circle, Penguins forward Reilly Smith slid the puck back to the left point for Shea. Considering his options for a moment, Shea chucked a wrister through a phalanx of arms, legs, hips, sticks and the glove of right-catching goaltender Charlie Lindgren on the near side. Smith and Eller had assists.
Pittsburgh goal!
Scored by Ryan Shea with 18:11 remaining in the 1st period.
Assisted by Reilly Smith and Lars Eller.
Washington: 0
Pittsburgh: 1#PITvsWSH #ALLCAPS #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/4Lya2SdOVf— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 4, 2024
At 11:03 of the first period, Penguins defenseman P.O Joseph doubled the lead via his second goal of the season.
Winning a puck battle on the end boards of the Capitals’ zone, Penguins forward Sidney Crosby fed a pass to the left circle for linemate Drew O’Connor, who then offloaded the puck to the left point for Joseph. After exchanging passes with defensive partner Kris Letang on the opposite point, Joseph chopped a half-slapper toward the slot. Per replays, the puck appeared to glance off the right skate of Capitals defenseman Nick Jensen and deflect by the right leg of Lindgren, who was sliding to his left in reaction to Joseph’s initial release. Letang and O’Connor logged assists.
Two shots on goal for the Penguins = two goals for the black and gold! pic.twitter.com/vK2PUE1v7B
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 4, 2024
Penguins forward Michael Bunting’s 17th goal put his team ahead by a field goal 9:08 into the second period.
Recovering a puck in his own right circle, Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson swooped behind his own net to gain some room against forechecking Capitals forward Tom Wilson then dealt a pass to the near blue line in front of the home bench for rookie forward Valtteri Puustinen. From there, Puustinen fed a cross-ice pass to Bunting hustling up the left wing into the Capitals’ zone. Reaching forward with his stick to deaden the puck and create an entry, Bunting chased it down and whacked a fairly pedestrian slapper that toasted Lindgren’s blocker on the far side. Assists went to Puustinen and Karlsson.
Pittsburgh goal!
Scored by Michael Bunting with 10:52 remaining in the 2nd period.
Assisted by Valtteri Puustinen and Erik Karlsson.
Washington: 0
Pittsburgh: 3#PITvsWSH #ALLCAPS #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/Y10hAsTXAl— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 5, 2024
Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin got his team on the scoreboard at 6:02 of the third period with his 27th goal of the season during a power-play sequence.
Just as a two-man advantage expired, Capitals defenseman Rasmus Sandin accepted a pass in the high slot of the offensive zone and then slid back to the right circle for rookie forward Hendrix Lapierre, who immediately swatted a forehand shot toward the cage. Stationed to the right of the net, Capitals forward Sonny Milano tried to deflect the puck on net but wound up stopping the puck. Recovering his own rebound, Milano alertly slipped a pass across the crease for Ovechkin, who buried an easy forehand shot by Nedeljkovic’s right skate. Milano and Lapierre had assists.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) April 5, 2024
Eller capped the scoring with his 15th goal of the season — and his 400th career point — on an empty net at 17:23 of the final frame. Smith and Letang claimed assists.
Empty net goal for Pittsburgh!
Scored by Lars Eller with 02:37 remaining in the 3rd period.
Assisted by Reilly Smith.
Washington: 1
Pittsburgh: 4#PITvsWSH #ALLCAPS #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/SSOZIG52PZ— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 5, 2024
“We have belief and confidence in each other and just take one game at a time and keep trying to stay alive,” Eller said to the AP. “We have bad games once in a while, but there’s no quit.”
Since supplanting Jarry, who missed the previous two games due to an unspecified illness, Nedeljkovic has a 5-0-2 record, a 2.31 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage.
“That’s a characteristic of a really good team,” Nedeljkovic said to the AP. “Everybody finds a way to step up. Everybody finds a way to chip in.”
Notes:
• Shea became the 569th player in franchise history to score a regular season goal.
• Nedeljkovic (15-6-6) surpassed Garth Snow (14-15-4) for 31st place on the franchise’s career goaltending wins list.
• Jarry dressed as the backup after being scratched the previous two games due to an unspecified illness.
• Penguins rookie forward Sam Poulin was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League Thursday morning and was a healthy scratch for the contest.
• Penguins rookie defenseman John Ludvig was scratched for the third consecutive game due to an illness, according to the league’s Web site.
• Penguins veteran defenseman Ryan Graves was scratched for the fourth consecutive game due to a concussion.
• Ovechkin now has 75 points (42 goals, 33 assists) in 76 career games against the Penguins.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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