Capitals Pound Penguins 7-1

Posted on November 16, 2016 by Jon Sorensen

tj-oshie-jay-beagle-washington-capitals

The Washington Capitals thumped the Pittsburgh Penguins 7-1 Wednesday night at Verizon Center.  The win improved the Capitals record to 10-4-2. The Caps next host the Detroit Red Wings Friday night at Verizon Center. Puck-drop is 7:00 PM.

penguins-at-capitalsBraden Holtby got the start between the pipes for the Capitals. Matt Murray got the start for the Penguins.

Taylor Chorney and Daniel Winnik were the healthy scratches for the Capitals.

Coach Trotz returned to more conventional lines for this game with Lars Eller moving to center the 4th line and Jay Beagle moving up to center the 3rd line. Evgeny Kuznetsov centered the second line with Alex Ovechkin and Andre Burakovsky.

FIRST PERIOD
A feisty first five minutes to the contest, with fast-paced end-to-end action. The Capitals being whistled for the game’s first penalty when Brett Connolly cross-checked Sidney Crosby. However, once again the Capitals penalty kill would come up big, this time TJ Oshie would notch a short-handed goal at the 7:32 mark of the opening frame.

Nicklas Backstrom would stretch the Capitals lead to 2-0 on a nasty wrister from the top of the left circle at 17:30 of the opening frame.

TJ Oshie would notch his second goal of the game, this time a power play goal with 8 seconds left in the period to give the Capitals a 3-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

The Capitals led in shots on goal 16-12 for the first frame. Marc Andre-Fleury replaced Matt Murray due to injury, late in the period and would remain in the game.

SECOND PERIOD
The Penguins returned to the power play just 1:32 into the period, but once again it would be the Capitals with the scoring chances. Tom Wilson snagged a puck in the neutral zone and created a break-away opportunity, feeding Lars Eller for a quality scoring chance that was denied by Murray. Dmitry Orlov would increase the Capitals lead to 4-0 on a nice feed from Nicklas Backstrom at 5:19 of the middle frame.

The Capitals would return to the power play on a slashing call on Sidney Crosby at 6:07 of the second period, but would be unable to convert. The Penguins had just one shot on goal through the first ten minutes of the middle frame. The period would end with the Capitals leading 4-0. The Capitals led in shots on goal 13-6 for the period and 29-18 through the first two periods.

THIRD PERIOD
The Capitals came out and stepped up the offensive zone pressure to start the third period. Justin Williams would increase the Capitals lead to 5-0 on a power play goal at 5:37 of the final frame.

Alex Ovechkin would stretch the Capitals lead to 6-0 at the 10:26 mark of the final frame on a nice deke and shovel in front of the net.

The Penguins would add a late goal to make it 6-1, but Nicklas Backstrom would add another goal for the Capitals to make the final 7-1, Capitals.

By Jon Sorensen

SCENES FROM VERIZON CENTER

About Jon Sorensen

Jon has been a Caps fan since day one, attending his first game at the Capital Centre in 1974. His interest in the Caps has grown over the decades and included time as a season ticket holder. He has been a journalist covering the team for 10+ years, primarily focusing on analysis, analytics and prospect development.
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2 Responses to Capitals Pound Penguins 7-1

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