Hello All,

The Washington Capitals got a HUGE regulation win against the Pittsburgh Penguins last night.

Here are the stats from the game:


Shots on Goal:

WSH – 35

PIT – 28


Faceoff %:

WSH –61.4%

PIT –38.6%


Power Play:

WSH – 1/3

PIT – 0/4


Hits:

WSH – 24

PIT – 21


Blocks:

WSH – 6

PIT – 17



Chances For:

WSH – 66

PIT – 52



Chances For (5v5):

WSH – 55

PIT – 37


Scoring Chances For:

WSH – 34

PIT – 29



Scoring Chances For (5v5):

WSH – 28

PIT – 21


High Danger Chances For:

WSH – 15

PIT – 15


High Danger Chances For: (5v5):

WSH – 12

PIT – 10

Statistically speaking, the Capitals were the better team tonight.

Here are my takeaways from the game:

Power Play Saves the Day – After blowing a 2-goal lead in the third period, it felt for a moment the Capitals might let this one slip away. The Penguins were buzzing mid-way through the third period and they can be one of the most dangerous teams in the league when they have an ice tilt like that. Alas, at 10:53 in the 3rd period the Capitals earned their 3rd power play of the evening after Drew O’connor hooking call. The Penguins have generally killed off the Capitals power plays very well this season. Before that power play, the Penguins had killed off 19 of the 21 Capitals power plays this season to date. That’s a 90.5% penalty kill efficiency. The Capitals would eventually score on the ensuing power play on a textbook goal by Tom Wilson off the feed by John Carlson. This proved to be the GWG with 7:28 left in regulation. The 5-2 score is very misleading. The Capitals scored two empty netters with 1:22 and 0:52 left in the game respectfully.

Tom Wilson…The Good and the Bad – As mentioned above, Tom Wilson scored the GWG on a power play halfway through the third period. It was his 7th goal of the season which is second on the team behind Backstrom with 9. Tom Wilson is having one of his best offensive years ever. His .411 goals/game puts him on pace for what would be 34 goals in a 82-game season (career high.) His .823 points per game also puts him on pace for roughly 68 points in a 82-game season, also a career high. Tom Wilson has evolved into a very important piece to this team’s offensive production. His evolution as a player over time is quite fascinating.

Now for the Bad…Tom Wilson creamed Mark Jankowski with a very late hit in the first period. The hit was through the chest and Tom Wilson did not leave his feet. HOWEVER, the hit was hella late and I think he will certainly be getting a call from the league. I have no idea what the exact definition of a suspendable hit is but with Tom Wilson’s history for illegal hits and suspensions, I would imagine he gets served some form of suspension this game. As a Caps fan, I think Wilson should be punished for these types of hits. I am in favor of a suspension. Tom Wilson has really evolved his game since his 20-game (reduced to 14-game) Suspension from the hit on St. Louis Blues Oskar Sundqvist. I thought the suspension time helped him settle down. He has played marvelous hockey since that big suspension in 2018 and he has showed us just how amazing of a hockey player he can consistently be for this team. So yea, a few games wouldn’t hurt Tom Wilson for the long-term in my opinion. He needs to settle back down and throw these types of hits out of his playbook.

Nick Jensen’s Strong Game – Jensen was on of the Capitals best players on the ice last night. He had a beautiful feed to Backstrom to open the scoring in the game. When Jensen was on the ice, the Capitals had a 9-2 shot advantage over the Penguins at 5v5, and 11-4 for all-strengths. His 68% “Corsi For” percentage was 2nd best of the entire team last night.

Overall, this was an incredible bounce back win for the Capitals. To get a regulation win against the Penguins was huge. The two teams will not meet again until April 29th and May 1st. The Capitals are now 2-1-3 against the Penguins in six games this season. The Capitals earned 7 points in six games, the Penguins earned 8 points in six games.

Next up the Capitals head to Prudential Center to face the New Jersey Devils for a Saturday game at 1pm ET. We will see if the Capitals decide they want to play or not, they usually look flat for these day games.

That is all, thanks for reading and GO CAPS

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