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Penguins Let Ovechkin Slash On Letang Consume Them |
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The Washington Capitals came away with their third victory in three games against the Pittsburgh Penguins this season.
The Penguins played a decent enough game but let the sequence with Alex Ovechkin and Kris Letang derail them.
I believe Ovechkin was going for the puck. I have seen him whack at loose pucks in that fashion many times in his career. However, much like when players accidently high stick somebody you are still responsible for your stick. That was a textbook slashing penalty and needed to be called.
The lack of call led to a lot of nonsense during the third period. I am upset with the officials not Ovechkin. It was an obvious penalty.
The Penguins emotion to play more physical after that sequence led to the Penguins taking six minor penalties and a few misconducts.
After an unnecessary hit by Kunitz and a slash by Letang it led to Nicklas Backstrom making an amazing pass across the crease for the Capitals game winning goal on the 5 on 3.
This was a game where the Penguins allowed another two power play goals. Not good. The power play also continues to ignore the fact that shot volume is the most important factor in power play success. I broke down their shorthanded/power play struggles
in my last blog.
Penguins have nobody but themselves to blame for the loss. They lost their focus in what otherwise was a well played game by them.
Teams like Chicago play on and focus on playing well. Pittsburgh does not. But hey, they showed some grit, so there's that.
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