Capitals Topped By Penguins, 7-6, In Overtime Thriller; Oshie Sparks Washington Comeback Effort With Two Goals in 21 Seconds in the Third

Posted on October 4, 2018 by Harrison Brown
#CapsPensPhoto: @Capitals

The Washington Capitals fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins by the final score of 7-6 in an overtime thriller one night after beating the Boston Bruins 7-0 in their season opener. The Capitals returned to PPG Paints Arena for the first time since they eliminated the reigning two-time defending Stanley Cup Champions in Game 6 on May 7. 

Capitals’ Lines at Penguins

The Capitals made no lineup changes from last night. Goaltender Braden Holtby made back-to-back starts.

First Period

Defenseman Jamie Oleksiak delivered a bomb to strike first 1:49 into the game. He went glove side on Holtby after getting a pass from forward Evgeni Malkin.

Forward Jakub Vrana tied it less than two minutes off of a shot off of the boards. Vrana buried it lower blocker side on Murray.

Defenseman Brooks Orpik made it 2-1 4:18 in with a bomb after the puck bounced to him off of the boards. It was Orpik’s first goal in 182 regular season games.

Forward Jake Guentzel tied it again on the power play 7:26 in with nothing but net to look at. Forward Daniel Sprong’s shot in the slot deflected right to Guentzel in front of Holtby and Guentzel potted in his first of the season.

Alex Ovechkin deflected defenseman Christian Djoos’s shot in front of the net. The puck went through the five-hole of Murray for the third Capitals goal in eight minutes. The goal was Ovechkin’s 609th career goal, which passed Dino Cicerelli for 18th on the all-time goal-scoring list.

The Capitals led 10-5 in shots, 4-3 in blocked shots, and 12-7 in hits after 20. Washington also won 52% of the faceoffs in the first frame. The Capitals only had two giveaways while the Penguins had nine.

The Penguins scored on their lone power play in the first. The Capitals didn’t convert on their only power play in the first period.

Each team had two takeaways.

Second Period

Defenseman Kris Letang tied it at three on a shot from the point 30 seconds into the first period. The puck went off the post and past Holtby’s blocker.

Defenseman John Carlson let it go down the wing from the right circle on an odd-man rush with Vrana. The shot went high glove on Murray 3:54 into the middle frame for his second goal in as many nights.

Holtby extended his leg to deny Guentzel of a layup to keep it 4-3 midway through the second.

Forward Patric Hornqvist tipped in defenseman Justin Schultz’s shot from the high point in front of Holtby to tie the game at four.

Center Derick Brassard tapped in a rebound from forward Dominik Simon’s shot up high with 3:02 left in the second frame to give Pittsburgh the 5-4 lead.

The Capitals led 11-8 in blocked shots and 21-14 in hits through two periods of play. The team only had five giveaways while the Penguins had 11.

Pittsburgh led 28-26 in shots, including 23-16 during the second period, and 4-2 in takeaways after two. The Penguins won 55% of the faceoffs through two. Both teams had two power plays each in the first 40 minutes but Pittsburgh was the only one to take advantage, doing so once.

Third Period

Malkin scored from the left dot on a beautiful passing play 2:45 into the period. Letang fed Malkin from the opposite dot and laid a pin-point pass to set him up.

T.J. Oshie stripped the puck from Malkin in the offensive zone with 6:59 left to go in regulation and sniped it top shelf on Murray to cut the Pittsburgh lead to 6-5.

Oshie tied it up for the Capitals 21 seconds later, deflecting a shot Carlson shot from the point.

The Capitals led 18-12 in blocked shots, 32-21 in hits. The team only had six giveaways while the Penguins had 16. The Capitals went 0-for-2 on the power play.

Pittsburgh led 39-36 in shots, including 11-10 in the third period, and 5-3 in takeaways. The Penguins won 53% of the faceoffs. The Penguins went 1-for-5 on the power play.

Sidney Crosby drew a tripping penalty on Evgeny Kuznetsov on a partial breakaway 19 seconds into overtime.

Letang would score from the point on the power play to win it 7-6 for Pittsburgh 1:20 into overtime.

The Penguins led 2-0 in overtime shots and 41-36 overall.

The Capitals are off until Wednesday when they host the Vegas Golden Knights for the first meeting between the two teams since Washington won the Stanley Cup. Puck drop can be seen on NBC Sports Network starting at 8 PM.

By Harrison Brown

About Harrison Brown

Harrison is a diehard Caps fan and a hockey fanatic with a passion for sports writing. He attended his first game at age 8 and has been a season ticket holder since the 2010-2011 season. His fondest Caps memory was watching the Capitals hoist the Stanley Cup in Las Vegas. In his spare time, he enjoys travel, photography, and hanging out with his two dogs. Follow Harrison on Twitter @HarrisonB927077
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