Empty Thoughts: Penguins 4, Capitals 3

Observations from the Penguins’ 4-3 shootout win against the Capitals:

Things were looking rough for Marcus Pettersson early in Sunday’s game. He kind of got tangled up behind the net and wasn’t in position to properly defend on the first goal the Capitals scored midway through the first period.

A few shifts later, he looked flatfooted in facing the admittedly daunting task of a two-on-one rush between Capitals forwards Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin that resulted in a go-ahead goal.

Those goals weren’t his fault, per se, but it would have been assuring to see a player of his defensive acumen offer a slightly more stout effort in trying to prevent them.

So he found a different way to prevent his team from losing.

He scored.

With his team trailing 3-2 midway through the second, Pettersson came off the bench, took a pass in the slot and sniped a wrister to tie the game.

And he didn’t just rip a wrister hoping the sheer velocity would make it hit twine.

He shot it like he was using Prickskyttegevar 90. There wasn’t much room for error on where he placed it.

Defense will always be what Pettersson is known for. But don’t sleep on his offensive game.

He won’t make anyone forget the great Dick Tarnstrom (who could?) but it’s a component of Pettersson’s bundle of skills that continues to be a growing asset for this team.

It certainly was on Sunday.

“We’ve always felt as though Marcus has an offensive dimension to his game,” coach Mike Sullivan said via video conference. “He sees the ice pretty well. That goal was a perfect example. He has an ability to jump into the windows of opportunity to give himself a chance for those types of opportunities. … It was a bullet. It was well placed.

“Marcus is capable of that. We’ve used him since he’s been here a number of times on the second power-play (unit). Even coming out of our end. He’s not just an off-the-glass-and-out guy. He’s a guy that can make the first pass. He can hang onto a puck and allow a play to develop. He has those instincts. We’re going to try to help him grow in that area. It should be a big boost for his confidence.”

What happened

The Penguins scored only 19 seconds into regulation. Controlling a puck at the right point, Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin faked a slapper then chopped a pass to the right of the cage where forward Evan Rodrigues re-directed it with his right skate through the five hole of goaltender Ilya Samsonov for his first goal of the season. Assists went to Dumoulin and Guentzel.

At 12:04 of the first period, the Capitals tied the game, 1-1. Capitals defenseman Nick Jensen rimmed a puck from the Penguins’ right point along the end boards. Penguins forward Sam Lafferty tried to skate it out of danger away from former Penguins forward Carl Hagelin, but Capitals forward Garnet Hathaway stripped the puck which slid loose above the crease. Capitals forward Nic Dowd jumped on the puck and flicked a backhander on net that trickled through goaltender Casey DeSmith’s gear and into the net for his first goal. There were no assists.

A turnover by the Penguins in their own zone led to the Capitals claiming a 2-1 lead at the 14:24 mark. Penguins forward Sidney Crosby tried to shield the puck at the left point of the Capitals’ zone but lost his stick as Capitals forward Tom Wilson gave chase. Retreating to the neutral zone, Crosby kicked the puck across the ice to the left wing of his own zone for defenseman John Marino. Marino corralled the puck but lost it after being hit into the boards by Wilson. Collecting the loose puck, Wilson dished it to onrushing Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov who dashed to the net off of the left wing. Kuznetsov attempted to center a pass but had it blocked by a kneeling Pettersson. Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin still had enough composure to collect the rebound and roofed a backhander past a scrambling DeSmith for his first goal. Kuznetsov and Wilson collected assists.

The Penguins’ fourth line got in on the act and generated a goal at 2:10 of the second period. Penguins forward Colton Sceviour dumped a puck from the neutral zone behind the Capitals’ net. Samsonov skated out of his crease and backhanded the puck to the left corner but had that pass attempt intercepted by forechecking Penguins forward Teddy Blueger who immediately slid the puck to the front of the crease. Sceviour gained position on Kuznetsov and jabbed the puck into the vacant cage. As the puck struck a white mechanism in the net and bounced directly out, officials ruled a goal but immediately consulted video replay. Following a lengthy review, the call was upheld and Sceviour had his first goal as a member of the Penguins. Blueger had the lone assist.

Washington reclaimed the lead, 3-2, with a four-on-three power-play goal. Controlling the puck in the Penguins’ right circle, Kuznetsov darted a pass past Penguins defenseman Kris Letang to the left of the crease where Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom easily tapped in his second goal of the season past DeSmith’s right skate. Kuznetsov and Ovechkin had assists.

Pettersson’s first goal of the season at 12:57 of the second tied the game once again, 3-3. Circling around the offensive zone, Penguins forward Jason Zucker emerged from behind the net to the right of the cage and fed a pass above the right circle. Pettersson claimed the puck then gripped and ripped a wrister past Samsonov’s glove and under the bar. Zucker and forward Bryan Rust netted assists.

In the shootout, after Letang, Crosby and Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin were stuffed by Samsonov, Guentzel ensured victory but tucking a backhander through Samsonov’s five hole.

DeSmith denied a handful of All-Stars and Olympians in forward T.J. Oshie, Backstrom, Kuznetsov and Ovechkin on all four shots he faced.

Statistically speaking

• The Penguins led in shots, 27-23.

• Ovechkin led the game with six shots.

• Zucker led the Penguins with five shots.

• Letang led the game with 29:10 of ice time on 27 shifts.

• Defenseman John Carlson led the Capitals with 25:59 of ice time on 32 shifts.

• The Penguins controlled faceoffs, 34-30 (53%).

• Crosby was 14 for 26 (54%).

• Capitals forward Lars Eller was 13 for 23 (57%).

• Letang, Marino, Rust, Kuznetsov, Ovechkin and Capitals defenseman Zdeno Chara (boy, is that strange to type) each led the game with two blocked shots.

Randomly speaking

• With Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson landing on injured reserve due to an undisclosed injury, defenseman Juuso Riikola made his season debut. Opening the contest on the third pair with Chad Ruhwedel, Riikola logged 14:31 of ice time on 21 shifts.

• Roughly midway through the game, the bottom defensive pairings were switched up as Riikola skated with Marino while Ruhwedel was paired with Pettersson.

• He wasn’t perfect but DeSmith was good enough in this game. And that’s what you need a reliable backup goaltender to be.

• That said, it would be a stretch to say DeSmith was under nearly as much duress as Tristan Jarry was in the first two games against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Capitals didn’t have nearly as many opportunities in and around the net as the Flyers.

• Overall, the Penguins played pretty well defensively as they only allowed the Capitals and all their stars only 23 shots. As was the case in their first two games against the Flyers, the Penguins only really allowed five-on-five goals off some defensive miscues in their own zone.

• The Penguins finally generated some five-on-five offense that involved their top two lines. Granted, the likes of Rodrigues and Pettersson aren’t going to be the names usually on the marquee, but their offense was created by elements of the top two lines. It’s a step forward in that regard, albeit a small one.

• Zucker played a pretty strong game and probably would have had his first goal of the season early in the second period but was robbed on a dazzling right skate save by Samsonov. Afterward, he broke his stick on the bench and slammed the door in frustration. He’s been somewhat snakebit this season.

• Malkin did not record a shot until 9:28 of the third period. And even then, it looked like it might have been going wide. Either way, the Penguins clearly need more from him.

• The Penguins controlled play for most of the overtime period as they held onto the puck and established offensive zone time. It was pretty impressive. They devoted a fair amount of their training camp practices to three-on-three situations and it paid some dividends on Sunday.

• Even if it did not score, the third line of Jared McCann, Mark Jankowski and Brandon Tanev was really strong. Anytime they stepped on the ice, the game just felt different. The Penguins have found something in this group.

• The Penguins took another too many men on the ice penalty on Sunday. They have been nabbed for that penalty in all three games so far this season.

• For some reason that has never been made clear, there wasn’t an overhead view available for the review on Sceviour’s goal. It took a long time to review and confirm. It was just strange.

• Covering this game was a strange experience without fans in the building. The seats in the lower bowl were covered by panels, there was some generic fan “noise” that played throughout the contest and you could hear lots of shouts and yells from the benches. There were a handful of family or friends seated midway up the bowl but their presence was difficult to notice.

• Even without fans in the building, the Penguins played their customary video presentation for ex-players who return as a visitor for the first time in recognition of Capitals defenseman Justin Schultz.

Thank you for everything, @6Schultz6! pic.twitter.com/ixdibqTJzY

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 17, 2021

• Former Penguins forward prospect Daniel Sprong made an appearance as he slotted into the lineup for the Capitals in place of another former Penguins forward, Conor Sheary. Sprong was hard to notice as he logged 8:01 of ice time on 12 shifts and attempted one shot.

Historically speaking

• DeSmith recorded his first start and win at the NHL level since a 5-0 road win against the Buffalo Sabres, March 14, 2019. DeSmith made 26 saves in that shutout.

• Sceviour is the 535th player to score a regular season goal for the Penguins.

• Blueger appeared in his 100th career game.

Publicly speaking

• Sullivan was asked about the decision to go with DeSmith over the struggling Jarry:

“We just thought it was the best decision for the group for this game. I’ve had a couple of conversations with Tristan. I think it’s going to give Tristan an opportunity to reset his mindset, get a couple of workouts with (goaltending coach Mike Buckley). That will be good for Tristan. It was, we felt, the best decision for our team today. We’ll take each game as it comes and we’ll try to make those decisions as best we can.”

• Pettersson was frank in talking about how his team started:

“We weren’t happy with the start whatsoever. We weren’t hard to play against. We didn’t hold onto pucks. In the second period, we got some long shifts in their zone and that always helps. Created some energy from there. I think just played harder from the back end, played quicker.”

• DeSmith explained his save on Ovechkin in the shootout:

“I figured he was going to shoot. He’s more of a shooter. Usually in shootouts, he tends to shoot more often than deke. I was just able to get enough and he shot five hole. I saw the puck in my feet and I was ecstatic.”

• Pettersson broke down his goal:

“I actually came right off the bench. Always, when you come off the bench, especially in the second period, it’s tough for their team to pick it up. (Zucker) made a great play. I just tried to find some quiet ice in the middle because you know they’re going to pressure out and play wide. I didn’t call out for it at all. I kind of wanted to sneak in there in the middle. He made a great play there. Heads up. I just tried to shoot it quick.”

• Sullivan went to bat for the second line, specifically Malkin:

“(Malkin’s) line got better as the game went on. They started to use their speed. They had more offensive zone time. They had a number of pretty good scoring chances. I feel as though it will go in the net for those guys if they’re playing the game the right way and they’re playing to their strengths. As the game went on, they got better. … We thought that his line had a real strong training camp. We just want to make sure that they don’t get discouraged just because they’re not on the scoresheet. They’re a good line. (Malkin) is a dominant player. I thought he had the puck an awful lot today. That’s usually a good sign that his game is where it needs to be.”

Visually speaking

• Game summary.

• Event summary.

• Highlights:

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