Short-handed Penguins let Capitals hang on in race
The Penguins had the opportunity to play spoiler -- or at least help play spoiler -- to the Capitals here at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday.
Had the Capitals lost in regulation, a Flyers win over the Jets on Saturday evening would have been enough to eliminate the Capitals from playoff contention. But a shorthanded Penguins lineup, with seven of their better players sitting out with bumps and bruises ahead of the playoffs, fell 6-3 in a lopsided loss.
The Penguins' intention in holding out Sidney Crosby, Ben Kindel, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, Parker Wotherspoon, Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang was two-fold. "Rest" wouldn't be an entirely accurate word -- they are genuinely banged up, and so sitting out for a game (or more) gives them more time to get closer to 100% for the playoffs. But at the same time, the Penguins know that if they make a run, they won't do it with the same lineup the whole way. Players will get injured. And so as the playoffs near, it benefits them to have Rutger McGroarty, Ville Koivunen, Joona Koppanen, Kevin Hayes, Jack St. Ivany, Ilya Solovyov and Ryan Graves get some minutes during this opportunity.
"If you go two, three, four rounds, you're gonna need a lot of bodies," Connor Clifton said. That's how it always is. Guys go down. Some guys have been sitting out months, they've been in Wilkes, whatever it is. I think it's about getting game reps up here and building that. Obviously, we wish we were a little better tonight. But we got a lot to watch."
The Capitals, playing for their lives, outplayed the hodgepodge Penguins lineup of regulars, recalls and recent healthy scratches. The Penguins were outshot, 31-12. The Capitals had clear shots at high-danger opportunities because the Penguins defense corps of primarily brand-new pairings struggled to protect the net-front. Anthony Mantha beat Logan Thompson first with a shot that went in off of a Capitals defenseman early in the second period. Noel Acciari scored off a rebound midway through the same frame. Then toward the end of the second, Arturs Silovs robbed Alex Ovechkin's one-timer on the power play, setting the stage for Kevin Hayes to score on a breakaway out of the penalty box.
But giving the Capitals too many clear looks at the net was too much to overcome, and Alex Ovechkin capped off the win with an empty-netter that put a rally out of reach.
"They've got a good team over there," Shea said. "I think anytime you put this jersey on, you've got to play with pride. And I think we do. I think we competed hard. Guys had stepped in after being out for a while, I think everyone did a great job, and the compete was there. Execution was off. But that's going to happen."
As a result, the Capitals are still alive as a potential first-round opponent -- and that makes Sunday's game in Washington that much more important.
The Penguins aren't totally at the point yet where they're glued to the standings and out-of-town scores, learning all the scenarios for their potential first-round matchups. Mantha, admittedly, didn't even fully know the stakes for the Capitals in this game, or tomorrow's game. But he knows that beating this team tomorrow is important.
"Tomorrow's a new day," he said. "We're going to win, fly out there, and do that tomorrow."
"It's a quick turnaround," Dan Muse said. "It's going to be important for us to regroup, be able to look at some things that we can do better."
THE ASYLUM
Short-handed Penguins let Capitals hang on in race
The Penguins had the opportunity to play spoiler -- or at least help play spoiler -- to the Capitals here at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday.
Had the Capitals lost in regulation, a Flyers win over the Jets on Saturday evening would have been enough to eliminate the Capitals from playoff contention. But a shorthanded Penguins lineup, with seven of their better players sitting out with bumps and bruises ahead of the playoffs, fell 6-3 in a lopsided loss.
The Penguins' intention in holding out Sidney Crosby, Ben Kindel, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, Parker Wotherspoon, Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang was two-fold. "Rest" wouldn't be an entirely accurate word -- they are genuinely banged up, and so sitting out for a game (or more) gives them more time to get closer to 100% for the playoffs. But at the same time, the Penguins know that if they make a run, they won't do it with the same lineup the whole way. Players will get injured. And so as the playoffs near, it benefits them to have Rutger McGroarty, Ville Koivunen, Joona Koppanen, Kevin Hayes, Jack St. Ivany, Ilya Solovyov and Ryan Graves get some minutes during this opportunity.
"If you go two, three, four rounds, you're gonna need a lot of bodies," Connor Clifton said. That's how it always is. Guys go down. Some guys have been sitting out months, they've been in Wilkes, whatever it is. I think it's about getting game reps up here and building that. Obviously, we wish we were a little better tonight. But we got a lot to watch."
The Capitals, playing for their lives, outplayed the hodgepodge Penguins lineup of regulars, recalls and recent healthy scratches. The Penguins were outshot, 31-12. The Capitals had clear shots at high-danger opportunities because the Penguins defense corps of primarily brand-new pairings struggled to protect the net-front. Anthony Mantha beat Logan Thompson first with a shot that went in off of a Capitals defenseman early in the second period. Noel Acciari scored off a rebound midway through the same frame. Then toward the end of the second, Arturs Silovs robbed Alex Ovechkin's one-timer on the power play, setting the stage for Kevin Hayes to score on a breakaway out of the penalty box.
But giving the Capitals too many clear looks at the net was too much to overcome, and Alex Ovechkin capped off the win with an empty-netter that put a rally out of reach.
"They've got a good team over there," Shea said. "I think anytime you put this jersey on, you've got to play with pride. And I think we do. I think we competed hard. Guys had stepped in after being out for a while, I think everyone did a great job, and the compete was there. Execution was off. But that's going to happen."
As a result, the Capitals are still alive as a potential first-round opponent -- and that makes Sunday's game in Washington that much more important.
The Penguins aren't totally at the point yet where they're glued to the standings and out-of-town scores, learning all the scenarios for their potential first-round matchups. Mantha, admittedly, didn't even fully know the stakes for the Capitals in this game, or tomorrow's game. But he knows that beating this team tomorrow is important.
"Tomorrow's a new day," he said. "We're going to win, fly out there, and do that tomorrow."
"It's a quick turnaround," Dan Muse said. "It's going to be important for us to regroup, be able to look at some things that we can do better."
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