Playing in the building where he was drafted a dozen years ago and skating with a heavy heart, Tom Wilson got the Caps started both before the game and during the game, and Washington went out and opened up a six-pack – including four goals in the second period – in a 6-0 shutout victory over the Penguins at Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena on Thursday night.
Charlie Lindgren – stepping in after scheduled starter Darcy Kuemper became ill overnight – stopped all 40 shots he faced to record his fourth shutout of the season, and he established a career best with his 14th victory of the season. Six different Caps scored in support of Lindgren, including Ivan Miroshnichenko, who netted his first career NHL goal late in the second period.
Wilson revealed after the game that his grandfather had passed away earlier in the day in Toronto; the Washington winger took a day to pay a last visit to his beloved “Grampie” in Toronto last week. Prior to the game, Wilson fired up his teammates with a rousing speech, then he started the scoring onslaught early in the first while Washington was shorthanded.
“I knew where his grandfather was at; I didn’t know he had passed today,” says Lindgren of Wilson. “Obviously, rest in peace. That’s not easy; he’s got to be damn proud about the grandson he has. Before the game, right before we went out, he talked to everyone and said, ‘Hey, we’re still in this fight. We’ve got to believe that we can still make the playoffs.’
“That’s great leadership out of Tom there, and then obviously him setting the tone early with that first goal.”
The Caps went shorthanded just a dozen seconds into this game. But Washington quickly brewed some lemonade from the lemons, taking a 1-0 lead on the ninth shorthanded goal of Wilson’s career at 1:51 of the first. Beck Malenstyn set up the goal, feeding Wilson on a 2-on-1 rush, and Wilson did the rest, following up his first shot – which hit the post – with a precise return shot from a tough angle along the goal line to give the Caps an early lead, and one that would never be threatened.
“This one actually meant a lot to me personally, because my grandfather passed away this afternoon,” said a somber Wilson – sporting a fresh set of stitches on his left cheek – after the game. “And I know this is the building where I got my start at the draft, and I know he was up there, pulling for the Caps. This one is for my family, and for Grampie.
“That’s life; he had an amazing life and I’m happy to get this one for him. Our whole family is in Toronto back home, watching together tonight. I know that probably brought a smile to their face.
Pittsburgh pushed back a bit, but Lindgren had the answers. He thwarted Rickard Rakell – playing in his 700th career game – from the slot soon after the Wilson goal, and he denied Valtteri Puustinen from virtually the same spot on a broken play in the final minute of the first.
In the second, the Caps erupted for their fourth four-goal period of the season, and their second one in this building. As was the case in the first frame, the scoring started early.
Half a minute into the middle frame, Caps’ captain Alex Ovechkin scored on a carryover power play, notching his 18th of the season and the 840th of his NHL career.
Less than three minutes after the Ovechkin goal, Nick Jensen netted his first of the season on what ended up as a highly modified give-and-go. After stalling a Pittsburgh entry at the Washington line, Jensen carried up the right side, pushing the puck ahead to Malenstyn, and then making a beeline to the net. Malentsyn took a shot, which was stopped. But Jensen hammered at the rebound, which was also stopped. The third time was the charm; the Caps’ defenseman chipped a shot past beleaguered Pens’ goalie Tristan Jarry to make it 3-0 at 3:16.
Hendrix Lapierre joined the party at 8:50 of the second, taking a feed from Trevor van Riemsdyk behind the Pittsburgh cage and scoring off a spin shot from just above the paint to make it a 4-0 game. Lapierre’s goal – his fourth in five games – chased Jarry to the showers and brought Alex Nejdelkovic to the Pittsburgh crease.
Later in the second, Miroshnichenko made a nifty defensive play to force an Erik Karlsson turnover in neutral ice. The Washington winger gained the zone and took a shot that was blocked, and then sent out of play. Twenty seconds after the ensuing offensive zone draw, Miroshnichecnko had his first NHL goal.Dylan Strome – celebrating his 27th birthday in style – picked up the second of his three helpers on the night, dishing a feed to the front from behind the Pens’ net. Miroshnichenko tucked it behind Nejdelkovic for the first of hopefully many goals in his NHL career.
After the game, Miroshnichenko described the feeling, with teammate Aliaksei Protas translating.
“I was kind of shocked when I scored,” he says. “It’s been a long wait for me, and I finally got it in. Hopefully, it’s not my last one.”
Sonny Milano stayed hot and extended the scoring spree to six early in the third, taking a sublime feed from Alex Alexeyev, who cut to the middle, drew coverage and then dished to Milano for the Caps’ sixth goal of the game. Milano has now scored in four straight games, and he has five goals and seven points in his last seven contests.
Thursday’s win buoyed the Capitals, who were coming off a rare dismal performance in a 5-2 loss against Arizona on Sunday. In the three days since, they’ve had to bid farewell to a pair of teammates, winger Anthony Mantha and blueliner Joel Edmundson. Mantha was traded to Vegas on Tuesday, and Edmundson was shipped to Toronto hours before Thursday’s game in Pittsburgh.
“Overall, just a huge response from Sunday’s Arizona game,” says Caps’ coach Spencer Carbery. “Being able to come in here on the road – and we lost some players this week, some guys that we consider part of the family – and even today with Kuemps being sick and Chucky gets called into action. Just another example of these guys pulling together in a difficult situation, losing some players, goaltender steps up and an incredible performance tonight from our entire group.”
