Thirteen days away from the rigors of the rink did no harm for the Capitals. Back in action for the first time since Feb. 9, the Caps conquered the Penguins in Pittsburgh by an 8-3 count on Saturday afternoon in their first game since the NHL took a break for the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Jakob Chychrun scored twice in a five-goal second period for Washington, which has now earned at least a point in 19 of its last 20 games (13-1-6). Chychrun scored consecutive goals on consecutive Washington shots in the second period, helping the Caps shake off a rough finish to the first period.
“We were getting a lot of looks tonight, so I knew I’d get a couple,” says Chychrun, whose 16 goals rank third among all NHL defensemen. “It was a great game by the boys. It was a lot of fun playing out there tonight, and it was nice to be back with them.”
With the game all even at 2-2 midway through the second period, the Caps erupted for three goals on as many shots on a span of 3 minutes and 47 seconds, chasing Pens starter Alex Nedeljkovic to the bench in the process.
All six Washington defensemen – and nine of its dozen forwards – picked up at least a point on Saturday, and four Caps blueliners skated off with multi-point games. It’s the sixth time in franchise history – and the first time since Nov. 21, 2015 – that all six Washington defenders picked up points.
“I loved our start,” says Caps coach Spencer Carbery. “The first 10 minutes was exactly what we were looking to do; it felt like we got right back in the swing of things. Then we lose momentum with a few shifts, and now we take a few penalties, and now all of a sudden we’re back on our heels for the second half of the first, and then that carried over into the second. We were taking on water for a good chunk of time, and then it just flipped.”
After Caps winger Ethen Frank started the game’s scoring with his fourth goal – in 15 games – of the season at 5:13, the Caps had very little going on offensively for the remainder of the first frame; they were held to a single shot on goal for the remainder of the frame.
With a pair of power plays late in the first period, the Pens had the Caps on their heels, holding Washington without a shot on net for the remainder of the frame after the Frank goal, and pulling even when Kris Letang converted on the second of those power-play opportunities at 18:21. Letang’s goal came on Pittsburgh’s 19th consecutive shot attempt in the back half of the opening frame.
The Caps got started early in the second, regaining the lead when Brandon Duhaime set up Martin Fehervary on a 2-on-1 rush at 1:10 of the second.
Sidney Crosby squared the score at 2-2 when he threaded a backhander through the legs of Caps goalie Logan Thompson at 6:36.
That set the stage for Chychrun’s offensive fireworks. His partner Trevor van Riemsdyk made a nifty play under pressure to begin moving the puck north, and then P-L Dubois held up at the Pittsburgh line before feeding Chychrun on the weak side, near the Washington bench.
From there, Chychrun carved his way closer to the cage, expertly dragged it around Pens defender Vincent Desharnais, and ripped a shot past Nedeljkovic on the short side at 10:38. That goal gave Washington the lead for good.
Minutes later, Chychrun took a feed from Dubois and fired a shot from distance – just above the left circle – to the far corner of the net, making it a 4-2 contest at 14:25.
Just eight seconds later, off the ensuing center ice draw, Aliaksei Protas broke in on a breakaway and scored the Caps’ third goal on as many shots, bringing rookie goaltender Joel Blomqvist off the bench in relief. Protas’ goal was his 100th career point, and his goal and Chychrun’s second goal are tied for the sixth-fastest pair of goals in franchise history.
Nedeljkovic retired for the afternoon at that point after being dented for five goals on 14 shots in 34:25 of work.
With just under two minutes left in the second, Tom Wilson tipped home a Fehervary shot, baptizing Blomqvist and extending the lead to 6-2. Wilson’s goal was his 25th of the season, a career high.
Early in the third, the Caps benefited from a lengthy power play session; they were on the man advantage when Letang was handed a double minor for hi-sticking Dylan Strome. The Caps were on the power play for more than four and a half minutes consecutively, and with a two-man advantage for 87 seconds.
Washington didn’t score, but they pumped half a dozen shots on Blomqvist and teed up several others that missed the mark. Later in the third, Strome scored on the power play to make it 7-2 at 13:11.
Danton Heinen scored on a rebound for the Pens at 14:22, and then Duhaime closed out the scoring with a breakaway goal at 17:19, his seventh of the season.
“We beat ourselves in so many ways,” says Pens coach Mike Sullivan. “When they got their fourth goal, it was a 3-2 game. And it was five minutes and 43 seconds into the second period, and the shots were 19-9 [for the Pens]. We had twice as much offensive zone time as we did in the defensive zone. We felt pretty good about where the game was at, even though we were down a goal. And then we chased offense. And when you chase offense and you don’t have a recognition of risk/reward, you end up giving your opponents easy offense.”
The Caps hustle home after Saturday’s win; they’ve got a Sunday afternoon home game with Edmonton.
“I give our guys a lot of credit tonight, because we didn’t have it,” says Carbery. “And guys were fighting it individually and line chemistry wise, there were some things that were off in that second period. But we were able to – mid-period – flip that thing and get it back on track, with a couple of huge plays Chychy makes.”
