Pittsburgh showed that they can play with Washington but by the end of the game the impact of being on the second game of a back to back was too much to overcome. Washington is a great team and they were rested.
Here are the even-strength numbers from the game broken down by period:
Pittsburgh came out guns a blazin' and did fine in the second period when they were still able to generate shot attempts. However, in the third period the Capitals were able to suffocate the Penguins and there was a minimal push the entire period. Pittsburgh struggled even when they had the extra attacker.
There was some dialogue about the Penguins choice to play Fleury against Arizona instead of Washington but at the end of the day the decision turned out to be a moot point. Matt Murray did his part stopping 34 out of the 37 shots he faced from the Capitals. This was the first time in Matt Murray's very short NHL career (5 games) in which he allowed more than two goals. It was however the fifth time out of five career starts in which he posted a quality start. A quality start is having a save percentage (all situations) of .917 or higher or giving up two goals or less with a save percentage of at least .885. The odds are usually very good for a team to win when a goaltender gives a quality start (~75%).
Matt Murray's solid play will keep Jeff Zatkoff off the ice and give Marc-Andre Fleury some much needed rest down the stretch.
A subpar broadcaster made a lot of the "hits" stat last night as a reason for Washington winning, but it was Brooks Orpik chasing a meaningless hit which led to the game's first goal by Evgeni Malkin
Orpik foolishly stepped up in the neutral zone on Hagelin and was burned by Malkin.
Hitzzzzzz
Patric Hornqvist scored his fourth goal in the past two games on a tremendous passing play. Sidney Crosby did his thing in the neutral zone and dished what could only be described as a perfect saucer pass to Olli Maatta to create that sequence. Smooth finish by Hornqvist
Underrated part of that play was Chris Kunitz's back check to eliminate a sure fire two on one. Instead of a grade A scoring chance the puck was pushed back up the other way for a Penguins goal.
Here are some tidbits from
Elliotte Friedman's 30 thoughts from the trade deadline:
As for the East, if he was going to really disrupt his family, we’re talking Washington, the Rangers, possibly Florida and Tampa. (I’m not certain on the Lightning, seemingly a fit.) The Capitals and Rangers were not a factor. One source indicated the Boston talks were never as serious as portrayed to be. Pittsburgh was interested, but I don’t think Hamhuis saw the Penguins or Bruins in the same class as the other Eastern powers. Remember, he took less money to keep an excellent team together. The no-move protection was the trade-off.
Pittsburgh had interest but the feeling wasn't mutual. In the end it was probably a good thing Hamhuis didn't want to come to Pittsburgh because Jim Benning was apparently looking for (and was offered by Dallas) a good chunk in return to the player.
18. Sounds like Pittsburgh also wanted Ladd, but didn’t have what Chicago could offer.
For good reason the team has traded away a ton of their futures in recent years. I don't blame the Penguins for inquiring but I never saw the price being one that the Penguins could afford let alone should afford.
Evgeni Malkin and Olli Maatta were named to their respective teams already. Sidney Crosby will make Canada. Don't hold your breath for Kris Letang when people still think Shea Weber is a top pairing defenseman on Team Canada let alone the Predators.
Thanks to everyone who visited the blog leading up to the trade deadline there were quite a few of you.
Thanks for reading!
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