In its most general form of observation, the Washington Capitals lost a game in which they should have won. Not only should they have won, they should have won by three or four goals. Pittsburgh had absolutely no business winning this game. The Capitals made mistake after mistake and the Penguins took advantage of almost every opportunity.

The Caps had untimely penalties (a recurrent theme this season), T.J. Oshie lost his cool, and Vitek Vanecek turned in a relatively average performance. Both Vanecek and DeSmith were shaky early but but seemed to tighten it up in a heavy third period.

Turning Point of the Game

With a 4-2 lead and a 5 on 3 power play, things were looking optimistic for the Capitals to a take a 5-2 lead. Up until this point the Capitals had in large part dominated the Penguins all game. Instead of converting on the 5 on 3 power play, the Capitals allowed an unthinkable short-handed goal and just like that, the Penguins cut the lead to 4-3. To make things worse, just minutes later T.J Oshie takes an unacceptable frustration penalty. The ice was tilted and it didn’t take the Penguins long to convert on the ensuing power play with a Malkin one-timer. When it was all said and done, the game was tied 4-4 at the end of the second. Washington had every opportunity to put this game away in the second period, but they failed to Capitalize.

Turning Point of the Game – Honorable Mention

The Capitals failed to convert on a 2 on 0 midway through the second period. Just one minute later, the Capitals found themselves down two men as a result of separate minor penalties. Both penalties were pretty weak calls if I am being honest. It took the Penguins toward the back end of the 5 on 3 but they eventually scored after some nifty puck movement on the zone entry. If Carl Hagelin buries that 2 on 0 goal, the Caps are up 4-1 and are in firm control of a game that they have essentially dominated up to that point. Instead, the Capitals don’t score and eventually Pittsburgh does. Score was 3-2. This sequence of events is what really allowed Pittsburgh to generate some real momentum and confidence for the rest of the game. From this point forward, they were noticeably a different team.

The theme here in the second period and really the entire game is “Coulda Shoulda Woulda” for the Capitals.

Three Other Observations:

Quick Responses – Other than the atrocious end to the second period. The Capitals had their way with Casey DeSmith most of the night. Every time it seemed like Pittsburgh scored a momentous goal, the Capitals would respond with a flurry of attacks and goals themselves. After the Penguins tied it 1-1 in the first period, Tom Wilson would strike just six seconds later to take a 2-1 lead. From there, it only took the Capitals another 2:45 to take a 3-1 lead after the Penguins got caught on a bad line change. In the second period, the Penguins scored on a 5 on 3 to make it 3-2. The Capitals would kill off the second penguins power play and score a goal 2:31 later to make it 4-2. If we are trying to pull away anything positive from this game, the Capitals ability to respond quickly after giving up goals is a positive sign.

Tom Wilson – Tom Wilson scored two goals tonight against the arch rival Pittsburgh Penguins. He now leads the Capitals with 6 points (3G-2A) in four games. In addition to leading the team in points, he also leads the Capitals in hits. Wilson has noticeably changed his game the last few years for the better. He has always been a great contributor on offense, it is just nice to see him get off to a nice start this season. Fun fact: The winger with most career points assisted or scored on a play with Alexander Ovechkin is…Tom Wilson. Who would have thought!

Vitek Vanecek – After playing a near perfect game in his NHL debut last week, Vanecek looked pretty average tonight. Between the multiple penalties and the Blueger breakaway, the Capitals left Vanecek out to dry a couple times. Vanecek had a few opportunities to make some timely saves that you typically see some of those Elite goalies across the league make…but he failed to do so. Unfortunately, Vanecek just didn’t have it tonight. I will give Vanecek credit, he did stop a strong Jake Guentzel rebound attempt late in the third period. Without this save, the Capitals don’t even earn a point. I also thought Vanecek gave up a ton of rebounds all night. He needs to do better limiting those chances. The OT goal that Crosby scored should have easily been swallowed up with no rebound. The Capitals have the least experienced goalie tandem in the league and each goalie has already let in 4+ goals in a game. Not an ideal start for the young netminders. My panic meter for our goalie situation on a scale of 1-10 (10 being full panic) is about a 3. Samsonov and Vanecek will look to bounce back on Friday night for the home opener vs Buffalo.

The Capitals earned a point and they are moving on to Buffalo. The Capitals are moving on. I am moving on.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CAPS!

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