Capitals Fall To Penguins 4-3

Posted on February 2, 2020 by Jon Sorensen
Photo: @Capitals

The Washington Capitals fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 Sunday afternoon at Capital One Arena. The Capitals would open the scoring with a goal from Lars Eller before the Penguins responded with two goals for a 2-1 lead at the first intermission. The Penguins would add another tally in the middle frame for a 3-1 lead at the end of two periods.The Capitals cut the lead to one with a power play goal from Evgeny Kuznetsov early in the final frame. The Penguins would add a late goal, but Lars Eller would answer with his second goal of the game to make it 4-3, and that would be the final.

GAME STATS

STARTERS

Ilya Samsonov (16-2-0-1, 2.12 GAA, .925 save percentage) got the start in goal for the Capitals. Matt Murray (15-6-04, 2.84 GAA, .900 save percentage) got the start in goal for the visiting Penguins.

Scratches: Travis Boyd.

FIRST PERIOD
The Capitals would open the scoring with a goal from Lars Eller (12) at 10:38 of the first frame. Richard Panik (6) had the lone assist.

The Penguins would answer with a goal from Sam Lafferty (5) at 11:46 of the first frame.

The Penguins would take their first lead of the game just 54 seconds later with a goal from Patric Hornqvist (12) at 12:40 of the first frame.

The period would conclude with the Penguins leading 2-1. The Capitals led in shot attempts 15-11.

SECOND PERIOD
The Penguins would stretch the lead to 3-1 with a goal from Dominik Simone at 11:59 of the middle frame.

That would be all of the scoring for the middle frame.

The Capitals stepped-up the offensive pressure in the middle frame, leading in shot attempts 20-11.

THIRD PERIOD
The Capitals would close the gap to 3-2 with a power play goal from Evgeny Kuznetsov (18) at the 6:00 mark of the final frame. Jakub Vrana (22) and Nick Jensen (4) had the helpers.

The Penguins would restore their two-goal lead with a goal from Brandon Tanev at 17:27 of the final frame.

The Capitals would answer-back with a goal from Lars Eller at 17:42 of the third period, making it 4-3. Carl Hagelin (11) and Radko Gudas (13) had the helpers.

That would be the final.

SHAVINGS

  • Lars Eller gave the Caps a 1-0 lead with his 12th goal this season. Eller is on pace to tie his career high in goals (18) this season, and set a new career high in points (on pace for 47 points).
  • Dmitry Orlov played in his 500th career and his 399th consecutive game today. Only two other players, a former teammate of Orlov’s and a current teammate, have played in more consecutive games with one team within their first 500 games.

SCENES FROM THE DISTRICT

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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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4 Responses to Capitals Fall To Penguins 4-3

  1. Esteban says:
    February 2, 2020 at 3:14 pm

    Before Kuzys goal watching him was PAINFUL !!!!! Shoot the d@#m puck. Willie was a wrecking ball on the ice. Can anyone hold the puck at the point?

    Reply
  2. Anonymous says:
    February 2, 2020 at 6:29 pm

    Why didn’t they show up until the 3rd? Eller was the only one fired up from the start. Lazy passes, turnovers galore, and poor choices on shot opportunities. Sigh….

    Reply

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