WASHINGTON -- If the Penguins are going to make a deep run in the playoffs, there's a good chance that they'll run into the Capitals along the way.
The standings in the East Division remain tight and seeding will be determined over the next week. But after the Penguins' productive week in Washington -- an overtime victory Thursday, then a 3-0 shutout in this game Saturday -- they now have a two-point lead over the Capitals for first place, with the Capitals having a game in hand.
If the Penguins and Capitals remain the top two seeds entering the playoffs, they wouldn't meet in the first round of the playoffs, but would meet in the second round if both teams make it there.
These two games provided an early preview of a potential playoff matchup, and the Penguins came out on the better side of both games.
"We set a blueprint for ourselves, how we've got to play to beat this team," Bryan Rust said. "Things we have to do in the defensive zone, in the offensive zone. I think that's important moving forward."
I don't know if that playoff blueprint will necessarily include back-to-back breakaway goals from Rust himself, but somewhere in the blueprint will surely include how to capitalize on opponents' mistakes the way Rust did.
Garnet Hathaway tripped over the Penguins' blue line early in the first period when he was trying to get to a pass from Justin Schultz. Rust raced to the loose puck and shot once he got to the left circle, putting the puck just under the arm of Ilya Samsonov:
"The team that capitalized won the game," Peter Laviolette said after the game.
Just 26 seconds into the second period, Dmitry Orlov took a shot off a faceoff that was blocked by Rust. Rust outraced Orlov to the loose puck to get a partial breakaway, and went to his backhand then back to his forehand before tucking the puck past Samsonov:
"Those things still matter," Rust said. "Blocking shots, taking hits, doing the little things."
Through the first 30 minutes or so of the game, the heat map showing unblocked shot attempts looked a lot like it did a week ago against Boston. You could draw a semi-circle several feet out from Tristan Jarry's crease where it looked like there was a force field, with the Penguins allowing no unblocked shot attempts from those high-danger areas close to the net. That started to change, though, in the second half of the middle frame, and Jarry started having to face much more high-quality shots. But he was solid.
"He was awesome for us tonight," Cody Ceci said of Jarry. "We got a little loose toward the end of the second period, a couple of long shifts, couldn't get off the ice. But he made some big saves and shut the door there. We tried to help him out in the third a little better."
"I thought he made some huge saves in the second half of the second period," Mike Sullivan said. "I thought our game got away from us a little bit. Give Washington credit, they pushed hard there and they had momentum in that second half of the second period. Tristan made some real big saves to keep the score where it was."
Jarry faced a total of 19 shots through the first two periods, and then the Penguins limited the Capitals to just five shots in the third despite the Capitals' push to get back into the game. Jarry stopped all of them for a 24-save shutout.
"He was fantastic," Rust said of Jarry. "There was a whole lot of chances that we gave up there in the second period, and he was unbelievable, diving around making great saves. You can see it, he's just calm, cool and confident in there right now. I think that just kind of flows through the lineup anytime your goalie's making saves like that and he's feeling confident. It starts from the back and goes through the lineup."
The shutout was Jarry's second in four games, after previously shutting out the Bruins a week ago.
"He's been so solid," Sullivan said of Jarry. "He's tracking the puck so well, his rebound control has been terrific. I thought his handles tonight on some of the rims, especially on the penalty kill, he got to some pucks and helped us get 200-foot clears. That's a dimension of his game where he can be so good for us, whether it be five-on-five with our breakouts or on the penalty kill when teams dump the puck in. I just think he's on top of his game right now."
He's on top of his game at just the right time, too.
"It helps a lot being able to get into that game mode and just keep rolling," Jarry said. "Last year we had quite a bit of a break and we weren't able to get those games before the bubble. So I think this will help a lot. It'll keep us rolling and it'll help come playoff time."
The regular season is nearing an end, with a two-game series against the Flyers on the road and then a series against the Sabres at home. The Penguins will look to cement their hold on the No. 1 seed in this last stretch.
"Anytime you get to the end of the year heading into the postseason, every game is important," Rust said. "Every game is huge. You have to build that playoff mindset, that playoff game that's going to help you succeed in the postseason. That's our focus here down the stretch going into these last four games. We've got to build that playoff game."
"We're playing for the home ice advantage going into playoffs," Ceci said. "I think that'll be huge, especially in a year like this. We have four games left, we're going to make a push for that."
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Jeff Carter scored midway through the third period to extend the lead. He won a faceoff and got the puck back to Kris Letang. Letang's shot from the left circle went off of Carter's foot and in.
• Sullivan didn't have an update on Mike Matheson after the game. Matheson left late in the second period after Jarry's clearing attempt appeared to strike him high in the side of his face. He skated off under his own power, holding a towel around his cheek area. Video of the incident can be found here.
• Rust's second goal was the 100th of his career.
"It's not that easy to score in this league," he said. "To be able to get 100 in this league is pretty cool of a milestone and something that I'm definitely going to look back on and cherish in the future. Hopefully there's a lot more to come."
"I'm proud of him," Sullivan said of Rust's milestone. "We were together in the American League in Wilkes-Barre. I've seen his game at the American League level grow into what it is now, and I couldn't be happier for him or more proud of him. He's really turned himself into a real impact player. He understands how to play to his strengths. He's developed his offensive game I think as good as any young player that I've been around as a coach in 20-something years coaching in this league. I can't say enough about Rusty and what he brings to this team and the person that he is. ... He's one hell of a hockey player."
THE ESSENTIALS
THE THREE STARS
As selected at Capital One Arena
1. Tristan Jarry, Penguins
2. Bryan Rust, Penguins
3. Jeff Carter, Penguins
THE INJURIES
• Forward Evgeni Malkin has resumed practicing with contact after sustaining a lower-body injury on March 16. He's expected to return before the end of the regular seasons.
• Forward Brandon Tanev has resumed practicing, albeit without contact, after suffering an upper-body injury on April 3. He's not expected to return before the end of the regular season.
• Forward Evan Rodrigues is day-to-day with a lower-body injury sustained Thursday when he took a shot somewhere in the lower leg.
• Defenseman Mike Matheson left this game after taking a puck to the face and is still being evaluated.
THE LINEUPS
Sullivan’s lines and pairings:
Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Jared McCann-Jeff Carter-Kasperi Kapanen
Zach Aston-Reese-Teddy Blueger-Jason Zucker
Colton Sceviour-Freddy Gaudreau-Sam Lafferty
Brian Dumoulin-Kris Letang
Mike Matheson-Cody Ceci
Marcus Pettersson-John Marino
And for Laviolette's Capitals:
Daniel Sprong-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Tom Wilson
Conor Sheary-Nicklas Backstrom-Anthony Mantha
Michael Raffl-Lars Eller-T.J. Oshie
Carl Hagelin-Nic Dowd-Garnet Hathaway
Dmitry Orlov-Justin Schultz
Brendan Dillon-Trevor van Riemsdyk
Zdeno Chara-Nick Jensen
THE SCHEDULE
Sunday will be a travel day, then the Penguins will play the Flyers on Monday and Tuesday.
THE CONTENT
Visit our team page for everything.