WASHINGTON, D.C. — The comeback has been as impressive as improbable. The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena 4-1 Thursday. It was the Penguins third-straight win and lengthened their points streak to seven games (5-0-2).
Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin didn’t have shots on goal, but both were impactful. Drew O’Connor was outstanding, especially on the penalty kill, and lots of readers want to talk about the newly configured defense.
Without Ryan Graves in the lineup, Ryan Shea and Jack St. Ivany have formed the third pair. Their chemistry and simple games haven’t hurt the Penguins.
Nor has a sea change in net where Alex Nedeljkovic has started the last seven games.
Uncharacteristically, the Penguins scored a couple of fluky goals in the first period. Ryan Shea and P.O. Joseph scored from the point when the puck deflected off the Capitals’ defenders.
PHN’s Dan Kingerski breaks down the win and explains why it was different, both tactically and emotionally.
Kingerski, as has become tradition, also opened the video to questions from Twitter. Several dealt with the blue line and goaltending. Kingerski’s breakdown outlined the Penguins’ adjustments and tactical initiatives, the playoff race (3:05), what coach Mike Sullivan should do with the blue line when Graves is healthy (4:32), will Alex Nedeljkovic make the rest of the starts (7:05), a potential playoff battle between the Islanders and Penguins in the last game of the season (8:30), which goalie would start in a playoff series and Jarry’s playoff heroics in New York (9:30), how the Penguins are scoring more goals (12:00), and playoff projections (14:10).
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