Penguins Hold Off the Capitals for a 4-2 Win – The Hockey Writers NHL News Latest News, Analysis & More

In the 70th regular season matchup between Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals played a back-and-forth game. The Penguins pulled out a 4-2 win, moving to 6-8-2. At the same time, the Capitals fell to a 9-4-0 record.

Game Recap

The Penguins’ offense got going early in the game after only scoring once in their Nov. 7 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. They scored twice in the first 10 minutes of the game, thanks to a goal off the stick of Erik Karlsson. Karlsson found himself open in the slot, and Evgeni Malkin made a smooth pass to the defenseman, who beat Capitals’ netminder Charlie Lindgren. Karlsson once again found himself involved in the scoring less than five minutes later, returning the favor of a top-notch pass. After jumping into the rush offensively, he found Michael Bunting back door for a one-handed goal to put the Penguins up 2-0 early on. As good as he was offensively, Karlsson’s defensive play cost the Penguins their two-goal lead after finding himself in a compromised spot trying to make a play on Rasmus Sandin. He failed to make a play, leading to Sandin reducing the score to 2-1. That is where the score stood going into the second period.

The Capitals came out with a bit more energy in the second period, and it showed, with them earning a ton of chances throughout the period. Finally, they were rewarded when Jakub Vrana found Andrew Mangiapane on a rush of their own for a backdoor goal on Penguins rookie netminder Joel Blomqvist (who made 32 saves on the night). Even with the momentum and extra chances, the game headed to the third period tied at two.

The third period saw both teams get quality chances on the opposing netminder, with Lindgren making several big saves to keep the game tied. But, the Penguins finally cashed in with just under 10 minutes left in the period after Malkin crashed the net for a rebound goal after Bryan Rust took advantage of Connor McMichael being the acting defenseman on a rush into the zone, driving hard to the net for the original shot. The Penguins added an empty net goal courtesy of Noel Acciari for what was the final score of 4-2.

In the loss, Ovechkin’s five-game goal streak was snapped, and he will look to start a new one when he and the Capitals return to the ice on Nov. 9 when they hit the road against the St. Louis Blues. The Penguins will look to turn the win into a streak of their own when they return home on Nov. 11 against the Dallas Stars.