Manufacturing The Winner -When Oshie scored the game-winning goal, only 74 seconds remained in regulation and overtime seemed to be in the offing. It took a couple of icings on the part of the Pens, a couple of good plays, a perfect pass and a perfect shot, and some maneuvering from behind the bench to create the difference in the game.
Frequently this season, Caps coach Todd Reirden has deployed a forward trio of Alex Ovechkin and Oshie flanking Nicklas Backstrom, but he has done so only for the last shift of periods, seeking to make a difference in the game before the two teams head off for intermission. In Wednesday's game, the gambit paid off, but with Evgeny Kuznetsov on the ice instead of Backstrom. Oshie had just returned to action after passing his concussion protocol; he scored the game-winner on his second shift after coming back.
"As a coach," says Reirden, "there are certain opportunities you get in the game where you can get a match-up that you feel is strongly to your advantage, especially at home. We were fortunate to get an icing call; we forced them to ice the puck. We had their third [defensive] pairing on the ice. Lars [Eller's] line was on, and then I went right with Kuznetsov's line [with Ovechkin and Dmitrij Jaskin], and I had Jaskin there on the one side because we were running a face-off play that was particular to the right dot.
"And then [the Pens] iced it again, and then I was able to put Oshie out there [in place of Jaskin]. I was going back and forth on that one, because I needed to have T.J. play the last 45 seconds I thought against [Sidney Crosby's] line. But I went with a gut call on that one, and it was able to work out. It was a great play by John and T.J.; it was just fitting that it ended like that."
Ovechkin drew some attention in front, leaving a little space on the weak side for Oshie to slip into.
"I was kind of looking around the short side," says Pens goalie Casey DeSmith, "because Ovechkin was in front tied up with somebody. I was a little flat-footed there, so I didn't get a good read and a good pushover. I definitely could have gotten a little closer to that one if I had made a better read, I think."
"I just saw Osh busting his tail around the pile there," says Carlson. "[The Pens] had some duplication or didn't really check off. That's our goal in the offensive zone, is to - if it's a man-on-man team - make them have that indecision, because it's easier sometimes to pass off. But I feel like the tendency when you're man-on-man is to run into each other almost, and that's kind of what they did. They gave me some extra time and Osh saw some open ice and he made a great shot."
As Maatta battled Ovechkin at the top of the paint, Pittsburgh defenseman Jamie Oleksiak advanced toward Carlson, ready to block a shot if needed. Meanwhile Oshie slipped below all three Pittsburgh forwards and toward the far post.
"It was a play going on down the wall there," says Oshie. "I saw Kuzy coming up the wall, and I kind of flashed back to the last game [against Edmonton] with Backy coming up the wall. I kind of struck through the middle there, and [Kuznetsov] went up and gave it to Carly, and I just came up and ended up getting lost in the front of the net there, and he made a great pass. I probably didn't have to put it in that high a portion of the net, but [the puck] was kind of on end. I was glad she stayed low enough."
