Penguins suffer 4th consecutive loss to Capitals

A veteran of 14 seasons, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Brian Boyle is well versed in the traverses and obstacles that are encountered over the course of an NHL campaign.

The route from Game 1 to 82 (and beyond) is far from linear.

“Every team that I’ve been on has hit a rough patch during the season,” Boyle said. “You learn a lot from it. You learn a lot about yourself and your team.”

Based on that precept, the Penguins appear to have put in plenty of course work toward obtaining a doctorate thanks to their losing ways over recent weeks.

And Saturday’s 6-3 defeat by the Washington Capitals at PPG Paints Arena might allow them to graduate summa cum laude.

Getting outshot 45-32, the Penguins were competitive — by the admission of a few of their players — for roughly two periods and lost their fourth consecutive game, matching a season-worst.

With nine games remaining in their regular season, the Penguins are only 2-6-1 in their past nine contests.

“You’ve got to be honest with yourself as a player, honest with each other as teammates and get back to the fundamental way your team is built and what gives you success,” Boyle said. “We need to focus on details.”

One detail they might want to brush up on is that most NHL games involve three periods. With the score tied 3-3 after 40 minutes, they were outscored 3-0 and outshot 19-7 in the final frame.

“We played really well the first two periods, then we kind of let it slip away in the third,” Penguins defenseman John Marino said. “We played a little loose, and then the puck is in the back of the net. At some point, you’ve got to play a full 60-minute game.”

On Saturday, the Penguins appeared to master the first minute of the game as they opened the scoring only 45 seconds into the first period thanks to forward Bryan Rust’s 24th goal of the season. After a defensive zone turnover by Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin, Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin worked the puck from the right circle to behind the cage and slipped a pass to the right of the crease for Penguins forward Jake Guentzel who jabbed a quick forehand shot goaltender Ilya Samsonov kicked out. The rebound slid to the left circle where Rust cleaned it up with a forehand shot past Samsonov’s blocker on the near side for his 24th goal this season. Guentzel and Malkin had assists.

The Capitals responded 16 seconds later. After Malkin lost the puck in his own left corner, Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov settled it on the left half wall and rimmed it along the boards to Capitals forward T.J. Oshie behind the cage. Shielding the puck, Oshie forced a pass to the crease that was intercepted by Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin who inadvertently directed the puck to the right of the crease where on-rushing Capitals forward Marcus Johansson shuffled a forehand shot over goaltender Tristan Jarry’s glove for his seventh goal. There were no assists.

In recent weeks, the Penguins have regularly yielded goals on the first shift following their own scores.

“It’s not any one thing,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said of the chronic malady. “It’s a lot of things. At the end of the day, it just boils down to attention to detail and buying into the gameplan.”

Orlov supplied the Capitals with their first lead at 7:24 of the first period. Off a cross-ice pass by Capitals forward Johan Larsson, Orlov hustled into the offensive zone on the left wing and chopped a pedestrian half-slapper from the left circle that charred Jarry’s glove on the far side for his 11th goal. Larsson and linemate Nic Dowd netted assists.

Another defensive zone miscue knotted the game, 2-2, at 18:34 of the opening frame. Taking the puck behind his own net to shed forechecking Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen, Capitals forward Anthony Mantha flicked an errant drop pass to no one in particular. Penguins forward Evan Rodrigues jumped on the loose puck, drove it to the net and had his forehand shot denied by Samsonov. The ensuing rebound slid below the left circle where Penguins forward Jeff Carter claimed it and pushed a backhander that found an avenue between Samsonov’s right leg and the near post for Carter’s 17th goal. Rodrigues registered the only assist.

Boyle’s 10th goal gave his team a 3-2 lead late in the first period at the 19:34 mark. Settling a puck at the right point of the offensive zone, Penguins defenseman Kris Letang zipped a pass down low to the right of the cage. With Samsonov hugging the near post, Boyle lifted a wrister that glanced off the left side of the goaltenders’ mask and deflected into the cage. Letang and forward Teddy Blueger tallied assists.

A power-play goal at 4:49 pulled the score even, 3-3. After the Penguins took three consecutive penalties, Ovechkin collected his 44th goal on a five-on-three sequence. After Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom beat Rodrigues on a draw in the Penguins’ left circle, Ovechkin settled the puck at the left point and fed a pass to right point for Capital defenseman John Carlson. Allowing a shooting lane to open up, Carlson fed the puck to the top of the left circle where Ovechkin boomed a one-timer past Jarry’s blocker on the near side. Carlson and Backstrom registered assists.

The Capitals took a lead for good at 11:35 of the third period thanks to forward Tom Wilson’s 22nd goal. Tipping a puck past Penguins defenseman Chad Ruhwedel at the center red line, Wilson generated a two-on-one rush with Ovechkin against Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson. Electing to shoot from the left circle, Wilson sniped a far-side wrister past Jarry’s glove to put his team in front. There were no assists.

Following the score, Penguins forward Jason Zucker and Capitals defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk got into a fight that was little more than a wrestling match. Each player received fighting majors.

A short-handed empty net goal by Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov, his 23rd, secured victory at 18:19 of the third period. There were no assists.

Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary added an even-strength empty net score, his seventh, at the 19:33 mark. Wilson and Carlson collected assists.

Jarry made 39 saves on 43 shots as his record fell to 33-18-6.

As for the Penguins, they’re falling at a far too frequent rate as of late with the postseason looming in roughly three weeks.

“This is tough,” Boyle said. “We weren’t good enough. That’s not OK. Come playoff time, I don’t care how we play. We’ve got to get wins. All that matters is winning.”

Notes:

• The Penguins previously lost four consecutive games between Jan. 27 and Feb. 1, albeit with a handful of points in the standings after recording losses beyond regulation (0-1-3). Their current losing streak has involved strictly regulation losses (0-4-0).

• The 45 shots the Penguins allowed matched a season-high/worst. They previously allowed 45 shots in a 6-2 road loss to the Kings on Jan. 13 and a 4-2 road win against the Bruins on Feb. 8.

• Zucker returned to the lineup after missing three games having aggravated a previous core muscle injury. His ice time was somewhat limited at 9:20 on 12 shifts. He did not record a shot attempt and logged one blocked shot.

• Penguins forward Sidney Crosby and Marino returned to the lineup after missing Thursday’s 3-0 road loss to the New York Rangers due to undisclosed illnesses.

• Malkin recorded his 700th career assist.

• After participating in warmups, Penguins forward Filip Hallander was officially assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL). He had been recalled on Thursday under emergency conditions.

• Penguins forwards Anthony Angello and Radim Zohorna were scratched.

• The Capitals scratched ex-Penguins forward Conor Sheary due to an undisclosed illness.

• Prior to the game, a moment of silence was held in recognition of Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins who died on Saturday morning in Florida.

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