Game Two was like Game One except better. Early lead? Sure. Make it grow? Lovely. But then the Caps got an extra goal, and even after the Pens got on the scoreboard it did not snowball. You could even argue that maybe, perhaps, just possibly, the Caps got the better whistles in this one. Either way: happy endings for everybody in red.
Alex Ovechkin opened it up after Patric Hornqvist fed him a perfect pass all the way from the other team. Jakub Vrana won a scramble low in the Pens zone to put the Caps up 2-0 heading into the second. Brett Connolly caught a stretch pass to make it 3-0. Kris Letang threaded the needle to snap the shutout during 4-on-4 play in the second period, and Backstrom added an empty netter late in the third. Goals only tell a fraction of this story, but it’s a good story in the end.
Caps beat Penguins 4-1! The series is tied 1-1!
- I liked the first period quite a bit, but let’s not get carried away. The Caps scored twice and didn’t give up any goals. I suspect you’re gonna hear folks in the press tout how the Caps had tons of shots and kept the Penguins to few. Sure, that’s objectively true, but the Penguins had about as many dangerous chances as the Caps in the first period – especially a Sidney Crosby shot and a couple during a rough Beagle/Orpik shift. Puck possession is great, but how it’s used matters, and I don’t find nearly as much confidence in that first period as others might.
- Ovi is still doin’ it.
- Often-scratch Jakub Vrana scored his first ever loffs goal, but some mischief by Brett Connolly nearly got it cancelled for goalie interference. Rule 69 says, well, I’ll just share the part that I think contains the crux of it:
- (Vrana needs to get off the fourth line though. It’s a deathtrap for production, and not just because of deployments.)
- Connolly took a whack at Murray’s pads a few seconds before the goal. That whack did not impair Murray’s ability to defend the goal when the goal was scored. That’s a pretty safe interpretation in my opinion, but stand by for a hotter take below.
- Dominik Simon had some good looks for the Pens in Game One, but his tasty turnover in the second period of Game Two gave Lars Eller the puck to make a sweet stretch pass to Brett Connolly. Quietly, Eller had two primary assists. Quietly is how Eller does most things.
- Dmitry Orlov “fought” Patric Hornqvist in the second period. I have no idea. No defenseman eats up more even-strength minutes than Orlov, but the Caps had to do without him for two minutes, during which Kris Letang scored. Orlov’s partner Niskanen was on ice for the goal, with Christian Djoos taking Orlov’s slot. Dumb penalty.
Dmitry Orlov throwing hands pic.twitter.com/61VoCgJz30
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) April 29, 2018
- Here we go: Brian Dumoulin left the game in the second period after a sandwich hit gone bad from Tom Wilson and Alex Ovechkin. Wilson chased Dumoulin as he turned a corner, heading into Ovechkin’s hit. Dumoulin ducked out of most of Ovechkin’s hit, but then Wilson’s shoulder hit Dumoulin right in the head. This is what I’ve described in the past as a quintessential Tom Wilson hit: devastating and borderline. It’s inarguable that Wilson hit Dumoulin in the head, but Dumoulin’s turning from Ovechkin mitigates blame. Still, Wilson’s size and speed contributed to the hit’s severity, likely injuring Dumoulin (his condition is unknown but he did not return), and Wilson has a recidivistic tendency to get in these kind of situations. Even if his actual-hockey weren’t improving vastly this season, it would be unfortunate to see him doing things like this because of their actual human cost: brain injuries.
- If you didn’t read that bullet, I just said that it was both a clean hit and that it should be removed from the game. Stuff’s complex, but Wilson won’t be suspended for it; take it to the bank.
- The Caps penalty kill has been flawless since Game Two of the first round and remains so after Game Two. They are my perfect beautiful children.
- Man, so much stuff happened in this game. With ten minutes remaining, Patric Hornqvist stuffed the puck past the goal line, except maybe not? The call on the ice was no goal, inexplicably, and video review found no camera angles to change that. For anyone saying it was “obviously” a goal or “clearly” should have counted or something like that, I admire your confidence.
Parallax effect of the afternoon
A lot to chew on here, and only two days to do so. The Caps played much better, but that progress might get lost in the chaos of the game’s back half. We’ve got possible suspensions, injuries, officiating controversy, and at least one vendetta to fight about, but above all, this: The Caps didn’t repeat history. They did not blow a two-goal lead to lose in tragic fashion. They did not go down 2-0 on home ice. They’re alive and dangerous, and that’s all that matters for right now.
Headline photo: Patrick Smith
