Penguins had been playing better and getting results. They had an opportunity to pick up two points in the division last night against a team who is worse than their record. They failed. It was a bad result. They lost 4-3 to the Washington Capitals after spotting them a 4-0 lead.
The Capitals are ahead of the Penguins in the standings, but they are a team ripe for regression. They have the sixth worst xGF% in the league at 46.60. Their PDO is average. They hadn’t scored more than three goals in nine games. This is the kind of game you have to go and take. Pittsburgh did the opposite and gave it away.
Tristan Jarry gave up three goals and was pulled before the end of the first period. He gave up three goals on seven shots. Alex Nedeljkovic came in and stopped 14 out of 15 shots to give the team a fighting chance as he’s done all year.
Seeing as though it was a Penguins Capitals game the spotlight is always going to find its way to Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin and they both delivered, as is tradition. Each player had a power play goal while Crosby added an assist. They both got their power play goal doing what they do best. For Ovechkin it was shooting from distance and Crosby was down low at the goal mouth
It's the first time Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby have scored in the same regular season game since November 2018. ðŸ¤
— NHL (@NHL) January 3, 2024
Just like old times... pic.twitter.com/KMrIdKPFYw
Ovechkin usually doesn’t find himself on the right point on the power play. His bread and butter is the one-timer from the left circle. His wrister from the blue line still hums and when you have a screen and a lane he can still make things look so easy from so far away.
Sidney Crosby was great last night and it includes his power play goal. The power play actually looked functional last night and it is because they let the puck do the work and they had guys down low willing to put in the work. I maintain the Penguins power play is at its best when Sid is not up high and can do the work horse like things he is capable of down near the net. There is a brute elegance to what he can accomplish from there.
With this goal, Sidney Crosby ties Joe Thornton for 12th place on the @NHL all-time points list with 1,539 🙌 pic.twitter.com/io9CPu528V
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 3, 2024
What separates Sid from so many other stars is his ability to do the basic things that are expected from all players and do them better and do them more consistently. He is robotic in his ability to execute the basic fundamentals of the sport. His role as F1 on the forecheck last night was done to perfection.
Point No. 1️⃣5ï¸âƒ£4ï¸âƒ£0ï¸âƒ£ https://t.co/5HLpiqVB0O pic.twitter.com/wCRuKR9jkz
— NHL (@NHL) January 3, 2024
Not only bodies the Capitals defenseman, but does so in such a technically sound way he gets the puck cleanly and on his forehand while the player crumbles in his wake. Then he lets is playmaking take over immediately. Textbook play by the most textbook player, perhaps ever.
One positive is that since coming back from injury Rickard Rakell has seven points in his last seven games. Three of those points have been goals and everybody knows how many he had before the injury. I think playing with Crosby has been a really good thing for him. Rakell can get his confidence back after the goal drought and start stringing together solid performances. With Bryan Rust just returning from injury it should lend itself to more of Rakell and Sid. It is likely Rust will find his way back to Crosby because that’s how things usually go, but at least Rakell would have had some success before he is bumped off the line.
Valtteri Puusinen continues to lead all Penguins forwards in xGF% at 59.72. He continues to be a net positive for the team on a very cheap contract. Something that’s been on the endangered species list for the Penguins for some time.
It is time for Ryan Graves to not play with Erik Karlsson or Kris Letang. It hasn’t gone well for the star right defensemen on the team. The contract sucks and needs to be dealt with as far as big picture goes. Small picture Graves needs to have his minutes limited and his negative impact minimized. He’s showing no signs of figuring it out. Things get more difficult on Thursday as the Penguins will travel to Boston to face the conference best Bruins.
Thanks for reading!