The Washington Capitals were never going to go away easy and they didn't. While Pittsburgh was able to generate a tad more offensive chances than they've been they were unable to claim victory.
Washington's best two players gave the team performances that will allow them to continue their season.
Alexander Ovechkin scored on an absolute rocket on the power play and a second bomb from the left side also directly led to a rebound goal. I mean just look at this shot. I'll let you pick any goaltender in the history of the game and that goes in.
Braden Holtby was terrific and his night was highlighted by back to back electrifying saves on Patric Hornqvist and Justin Schultz.
Matt Murray didn't have a bad game but he also didn't match the play of Holtby. Braden Holtby stopped 30 of the 31 shots he faced while Murray was only 16 of 19. One thing I'll add to this is that there is no goalie controversy for Pittsburgh. I don't know how anybody could logically think that Fleury would have somehow do better than Murray has at this point. There isn't anything in his playoff track record that speaks to him being a sure fire bet to play excellent. Fleury hasn't played since March 31st and there would be more question marks than answers in bringing him in at this point.
Here is a breakdown of the two goalies with their save percentages broken down by shot location
The key to closing this series out will be for Pittsburgh to generate some more of those Hornqvist/Schultz chances. Washington has been stingy on that front in the postseason
At 5v5 Washington is leading Pittsburgh in high danger scoring chances by a total of 51-37. They also lead Pittsburgh 270-249 in regular shot attempts at even-strength. Pittsburgh has to start generating more push against the Capitals. They have shown in the past and at times in this series that they can but it hasn't been to the level you would expect from the #2 possession team in the league (Mike Sullivan sample size).
In a bit of a surprise move Patric Hornqvist found himself benched.
There are certainly things I don't think Hornqvist does well (controlled cycle plays, skating with the puck, playing with the puck on his stick) but I'm not sure benching him makes the team better regardless of how he was playing. I certainly don't expect any significant line changes because of the "benching".
Sometimes it is best to not over think a sequence in the game that had a big impact. The Brian Dumoulin turnover was a big moment in the game but it doesn't change how I feel about him as a player and I certainly don't want him to stop looking for controlled outlets. On this occasion Jason Chimera made a good stick check which killed the pass' velocity and it went right to a Justin Williams in the slot. Here is one take on the situation from Conor Sheary and Matt Murray:
If you are a skill/speed team you have to stay the course and part of that is not overreacting to puck management errors. Let the guys continue to do what they do.
I love Washington's power play. They get it. Nicklas Backstrom runs that half wall better than Crosby or Malkin. He is willing to use the entire zone. A prime example of this was on display last night. He looked off the Carlson and Ovechkin lanes twice to give the puck to the low goal line forward. The low guy looks to make a play on the second pass but didn't force anything. He did just enough to draw penalty killers lower and it went back to Backstrom on half wall. Backstrom knows everybody has been sucked down lower and he gets a lane up top that he wants. He is patient and calculating. Just like that you get an Ovechkin bomb that leads to a goal. Pittsburgh should be doing these things to get Geno the same looks but they just don't do it.
The best way to avoid the Capitals power play is to not do what Ian Cole did. Cole felt the need to engage with Tom Wilson and was goaded into a bad penalty. Let Tom Wilson be. He isn't going to do anything of substance on the ice unless it is injuring somebody or drawing a penalty.
Matt Cullen has been a great signing for the Penguins and he is a big part of why the Penguins can roll "four scoring lines", but I think the coach may need to ease back on the kind of deployment he has been given.
Mike Sullivan has given Cullen and Kuhnhackl no favors with their zone starts. The players have an offensive zone starting percentage of 7.4% and 10.6% respectively. Against the Ovechkin line they are conceding 80% of the shot attempts at even-strength. I would try to avoid that matchup if possible. Some of the other forward lines are going to have to pick up that slack or if the team does stick with the Cullen/Ovechkin matchup the other lines will have to produce some offense with their more favorable matchups. All I know is that conceding 80% of the shot volume with the best shooter in the world on that line is a recipe for bad things.
The teams don't play in Pittsburgh until Tuesday night. Should make for some interesting theatre.
Thanks for reading!
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