Pens/Caps is always billed as Sid/Ovi, but Evgeni Malkin was the difference tonight
The Penguins took a 2-0 lead against the Washington Capitals, but since they are the Penguins they needed a third period goal from Evgeni Malkin to go back ahead for what ended up being a 4-2 win.
Highlights:
Some thoughts:
—Erik Karlsson is essentially and unbelievably like a 12-year old kid playing in Be A Pro mode in the video games. Karlsson scored three minutes into the game on a nice feed from Evgeni Malkin. Karlsson returned the favor to center a pass for Michael Bunting to chip into the net a few minutes later. That’s awesome. The worm turned when Karlsson was on ice and not looking pretty on the next two goals, both scored by the Capitals. And he took a blatant slashing penalty by raising his stick up in the air as far as it would go and chopping an opponent’s stick in two pieces. There is good, there is bad but there’s never a dull moment.
—Ya gotta credit coach Mike Sullivan when his moves work and he split Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin at the start of the third period and it worked. Crosby and Malkin weren’t on the same page in this game and now that Bryan Rust is back from injury it made it possible to have two viable scoring lines. Sullivan went there after an unimpressive second period and it paid off.
—-Malkin earned the game’s top star and deservedly so with a goal and an assist. All the focus coming into the game was on the two brighter stars, so it’s only fitting he stepped up to shine the brightest tonight.
—Kudos to Joel Blomqvist for making a ton of big saves in this game. It might be his last for a while in the NHL but he looked in control and very steady.
—Noel Acciari helped save a goal by sweeping a puck away from the line in the third period, it was only fitting he ended up with an empty netter to seal the game.
The Pens end up 1-1-1 on a three-game divisional road trip, which isn’t the worst thing in the world. And now they get to rest for a couple days before two home games coming up next week, which sounds good right now. But not quite as good as chopping down the Caps on their home ice and asserting all the more dominance over a rival.