Hello All,

The Washington Capitals escaped Pittsburgh with a rare OT win on Tuesday night. The Caps lost their first SEVEN OT gams of the season but have since then won three straight. Weird. The Caps were largely outplayed for most of the game, but they found a way to stick around and get this game to OT and eventually get the win.


Here are the stats from the game:

Shots on Goal:
WSH – 32
PIT – 47

Shots on Goal (5v5):
WSH – 20
PIT – 31

Corsi For %:
WSH – 39.69%
PIT – 60.31%

Corsi For % (5v5):
WSH – 36.63%
PIT – 63.37%

Power Play:
WSH – 1/2
PIT – 3/5

Hits:
WSH – 28
PIT – 20

Blocks:
WSH – 17
PIT - 12

Scoring Chances For:
WSH – 26
PIT - 37

Scoring Chances For (5v5):
WSH – 14
PIT - 23

High Danger Chances For:
WSH – 12
PIT – 19

High Danger Chances For: (5v5):
WSH – 8
PIT – 9

Here are my takeaways:

The Stats –Every statistical category favored Pittsburgh this game and yes, Pittsburgh deserved to win last night. To the Caps credit, they found a way to stick around and really put forth a strong effort in the third. According to naturalstattrick.com, the CorsiFor% was actually deadlocked at 50-50 for the third period. This is much better compared to the 72.3% to 27.7% in favor of the Penguins in the second period. For the game, the Caps were outshot, out chanced, and gave up 19 high danger chances against. In addition, the Pens went 3/5 on the PP. It is a miracle the Caps were able to get this game to OT and even crazier they found a way to win it. Hockey isn’t perfect and sometimes the best team on paper doesn’t win. Fortunately for the Caps, they did enough to get the win even though they were statistically outplayed in almost every facet of the game. The Caps have certainly been on the flip side before so ill take it.

Penalty Kill – The PK continues to struggle. I thought February would be a new month and a new energy, but it was a lot of the same. To Pittsburgh's credit on their PP, they looked confident with the puck and moved it very well in all parts of the offensive zone. The Caps PK was ranked 20th in the league for the month of January with a 78.1% kill rate. That is quite the dip from once being ranked top 10 in the league before the start of January. I am not sure what needs to change, if anything. I just hope they figure it out. It is better to get these struggles over with now early in the year as compared to the month leading up to the playoffs.

Ilya Samsonov – In relief of the injured Vitek Vanecek, Ilya Samsonov came in and played extraordinary. Samsonov stopped 43 of 45 shots. He was 33 for 33 at even strength and 10 for 12 on the PK. Samsonov stopped 13 of 15 high danger chances, 8 of 8 medium danger, and 18 of 18 high danger chances. In essence, the two goals that Samsonov let up with high danger chances on the Pittsburgh PP. In addition, Samsonov didn’t even start the game! He was just thrown into action after the Vanecek injury. Impressive performance for Samsonov who has been pretty average as of late. The Capitals goalie roller coaster continues! More to come on the Vanecek injury soon.

Honorable Mention – The Caps scored on the PP. Orlov scored a PP goal AND scored the GWG in OT. What a game, what a guy.

Next up, the Capitals return home tonight to face the Edmonton Oilers before they take off for the All-Star break.

Thanks for reading and Go Caps!

Join the Discussion: » 1 Comments » Post New Comment

» Ovechkin Breaks Gordie Howe's Record for Most Goals with One Team

» WSH 1, DET 3 - Ovechkin Ties Howe in Detroit

» WSH 0, DAL 2 - Caps Blanked by Oettinger and Stars

» WSH 6, NJD 3 - Washington Capitalizes on Blackwood's Off Night

» WSH 4, LAK 3 - Caps Mount Another Third Period Comeback