Drive to the Net: How to neutralize a 'unique' power play taken in Washington (Penguins)

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Cody Ceci, Evgeny Kuznetsov in Tuesday's game in Washington

WASHINGTON -- The Capitals entered Tuesday's game with the top power play in the league, operating at a 33.33 percent conversion rate.

"Washington has a unique power play," Mike Sullivan said after Monday's practice before the team traveled to Washington. "One of the reasons is because they have arguably one of the best goal-scorers of his generation, if not all-time, in (Alex) Ovechkin on that back side flank. He's so dangerous in that area of the rink, and it certainly forces teams to pay attention to him. But what makes that power play I think unique is he's not the only threat in that group. They have multiple threats. ... It's hard to key in on any one aspect, and that's what I think makes it as challenging as it is to defend."

The Penguins took two penalties, both in the first period, in Tuesday's game against the Capitals.

The Capitals not only didn't score on either attempt, they didn't even get a shot off on the man advantage.

What did the Penguins do so well that neutralized the multiple threats on Washington's power play?

The Capitals never really got a chance to even get set up because they couldn't get clean zone entries. On the first draw on the first Capitals power play, the Penguins won the faceoff and cleared the puck. On the ensuing attempt at an entry, John Marino, Brandon Tanev, and Teddy Blueger collapsed around Nicklas Backstrom, forcing him to dump the puck in. Blueger and Marcus Pettersson won the battle along the boards and cleared the puck right back out of the zone:

The Penguins swapped personnel while the Capitals prepared for another breakout attempt, and again prevented the Capitals from setting up in the offensive zone. Mark Jankowski broke up a pass attempt with his stick then along with Zach Aston-Reese and Cody Ceci collapsed around Backstrom and the puck and cleared the puck out of the zone:

On the third breakout attempt in the first Capitals power play, they were again forced to dump the puck in. Kris Letang tied up the forward on the right side, and Jankowski was again able to quickly clear the puck:

The clear allowed the Penguins to again swap personnel, and it was the same formula on the Capitals' next two attempts: Pressure on the zone entries, clear the puck before they get a chance to set up:

In the final seconds of the first power play, the Capitals were finally able to carry the puck into the zone long enough to attempt one shot, a Dmitry Orlov attempt that missed the net:

"I thought our forecheck was great," Blueger said. "I don't think they really got set up for very long on either of their power plays. We were able to disrupt their entries and make it difficult for them to enter the zone and get set up. That was the key. Keep clearing pucks, keep getting fresh guys on the ice, and keep the rotation going."

On the second Capitals power play, the Penguins won the faceoff again and quickly cleared the puck. When they tried to carry the puck back up ice, they didn't even make it out of the neutral zone:

"I thought it started for us just shutting down their breakout," Aston-Reese said. "I thought we did a good job just clogging up the middle. And having good chemistry between the two forwards, it's something that's taken quite a bit, but it's starting to come together for us."

Justin Schultz fired a shot that could have been dangerous shortly after, but a Tom Wilson tip sent it wide of the net:

The next time the Capitals carried the puck through the neutral zone, Tristan Jarry recovered the dump-in behind the net, slowing down the play and allowing the Penguins' penalty killers to move in on that corner and apply pressure, forcing a turnover so they could clear the puck again:

The time on the power play was winding down as the Capitals carried the puck into the offensive zone for the final time. Just as time was about to expire on the man advantage, the Capitals for the first time got the puck to Ovechkin in his office in the left circle where he's so dangerous, and he whiffed on the shot:

A good way to neutralize Ovechkin's shots from his spot on the power play is to make sure he can't even get there in the first place. That's what made the Penguins' penalty kill so successful on Tuesday.

"We made the entries difficult," Sullivan said. "We made possession difficult. I think that's when our kill's at its best. I give the penalty killers a lot of credit, they were working extremely hard, making good decisions, there was collective effort. It's a lot harder to beat cooperative pressure than it is to beat isolated pressure with just one guy. I thought they were working collectively as a group out there to apply pressure at the right areas of the rink to give us an opportunity to keep that power play under heavy pressure. But that's a dangerous power play, certainly we have a lot of respect for how talented they are and the weapons they have. I think our discipline moving forward is critical."

As easy as the penalty killers made it look against Washington, they're not underestimating what the Capitals' power play is capable of in Thursday's rematch.

"It was obviously a good night for us, but they're No. 1 in the league for a reason," Blueger said. "They have the power to make us pay for penalties. (Thursday) is going to be a good challenge for us again.

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