#CapsPens Postgame Notebook: No Leads

Thursday's Game 4 of the Caps' second-round series with the Penguins marks the first game of the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs in which Washington did not own a lead at any point. Pittsburgh scored the game's first goal midway through the second and never trailed en route to a series-tying 3-1 win over the Capitals.

The first two games of this series were more wide-open, back-and-forth affairs with both sides trading chances and using speed to create offensive opportunities. But both teams tightened up considerably in their own end of the ice in the two games in Pittsburgh this week. There wasn't much room to be had in either attack zone in the last two games.

Jake Guentzel scored twice for the Penguins in Game 4, starting the scoring at even strength in the second period and sealing the win with a last-minute empty-netter. Each team scored on the power play in the second period, and Evgeni Malkin's extra-man marker late in the middle frame proved to be the game-winner.

Time and space were difficult to come by for both sides at even strength.

"I think there [were] not a lot of chances both teams have tonight," said Caps center Evgeny Kuznetsov after Washington's Game 4 loss. "It's a tight game. But I feel like they scored that power-play goal - we didn't like that goal - but it doesn't matter, we had a lot of time to get that goal back. We didn't and we've got to focus on the next game."

Kuznetsov scored the first goal of this series a mere 17 seconds into Game 1, but he was held without a point until he picked up a secondary helper on Washington's lone goal of Game 4, a T.J. Oshie power-play goal midway through the middle period. Kuznetsov accounted for five of Washington's 21 shots on goal in Thursday's loss.

"I think it's a typical playoff game," says Kuznetsov." When everything is tight, you just have to execute those little plays and be patient."

Thursday's game marked the first time in 10 games in the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs that Washington was limited to a single goal, and the first time the Caps weren't able to score at even strength in a game.

"That's just the way they play in this rink, I think," says caps goalie Braden Holtby of the Penguins. "They try and frustrate you with it, flip pucks and everything. I think we've done a better job of learning how to play against that, and you can see the games are closer and closer in this rink.

"Throughout the years, obviously a lot of teams have had trouble with that style because it is frustrating at times when it seems like there is no flow. But they know what they're doing, and I think we're figuring out the right way to play and obviously you can see we're inches away from pulling two games out here [in Pittsburgh]. That's our goal all year, is to just keep getting better at those type of things and just learning from our mistakes. The next step is just moving to Game 5, analyzing this game, seeing what we can do better, and playing even better in Game 5."

Four Score -Oshie's goal was his fourth of the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs, and all four of them have come on the power play. He leads the NHL in power-play goals this spring.

It only took 10 games for Oshie to score those four power-play goals this spring. Entering the 2018 postseason, he had five power-play goals in 55 career postseason contests.

New Blood -With Washington winger Tom Wilson sitting out the first game of a three-game suspension handed down from the league, rookie Caps forward Shane Gersich got into the lineup and saw the first Stanley Cup playoff action of his NHL career on Thursday.

Skating on Washington's fourth line with veterans Jay Beagle and Alex Chiasson, Gersich skated nine shifts totaling 5:48 on the night. The 21-year-old speedster had a shot on goal, laid a hit and blocked a shot in Game 4.

Gersich's shot on net came midway through the first period when he managed to find some space on the left side of the ice and skate in on a semi-breakaway. Pens goalie Matt Murray turned aside Gersich's shot.

While Gersich was fine in limited duty, the Caps certainly missed Wilson in Game 4.

"I think any time 43 is out of the lineup, you see a loss," says Oshie. "He has an impact every shift whether he is making hits or not because guys have to be aware that he is out there. He is a very big part of our team this year. He made such a big step in his career this season. He stepped into a very big role for us and he has done a great job, and we miss him. But we're going to have to do a job here without him."

Lost Opportunity -In winning Game 3 in Pittsburgh, the Caps took back the home ice advantage in the series and took a 2-1 lead over the Penguins in the best-of-seven set. It was the latest in these three consecutive Washington-Pittsburgh playoff series that the Caps have been in front in the series, and it gave them a chance to push Pittsburgh down two games in the series in Thursday's Game 4, something no opponent has been able to do to the Penguins during their two consecutive Stanley Cup runs.

The Caps were only a goal away from the lead or being even for virtually the whole net, but they were never really put Pittsburgh under any pressure in that regard, and they certainly didn't test beleaguered Pens goalie Matt Murray.

"We'll have to look at it," says Caps coach Barry Trotz. "[The Pens] defended really well. I thought we could have hung on to a couple of pucks. We passed up a couple of pucks, trying to get a little too fine. We'll just have to make it harder. We're going to study the tape and see if we can make a few adjustments. It's those slight adjustments you can make that might make a difference for us."

By The Numbers -John Carlson led the Caps with 25:52 in ice time and with six shot attempts … Oshie led the Caps with eight hits … Matt Niskanen led the Caps with four blocked shots … Lars Eller won six of eight draws (75%) … Washington outhit the Pens 43-25 on the night, and only fourth-liners Beagle and Chiasson were not credited with at least one hit among Washington's 18 skaters.