PITTSBURGH _ The Penguins have a major problem, and it's not figuring out who starts in goal. Because if this problem persists, it probably won't matter which one is in there.
Over the first three months of the season, the Penguins were among the NHL's stingiest teams when it came to limiting odd-man rushes for their opponents.
That was something coach Mike Sullivan, still irked about the meltdown against the New York Islanders last postseason, harped on during training camp.
But since the calendar turned to 2020 and even more so after the All-Star break in late January, the Penguins have fallen into old habits, allowing too many of those dangerous chances against their dueling goalies. Matt Murray fought off a few of them in Thursday's win in Buffalo, earning himself a third straight start.
Murray didn't bail them out this time around as the Penguins lost, 5-2, to the Washington Capitals at PPG Paints Arena. They couldn't climb their way out of the canyon they dug for themselves during an atrocious first period, one of their worst of the season, when the Capitals twice scored on odd-man rushes.
The Penguins had a breakdown in their zone, leaving Nic Dowd alone in front for the first goal of the game just 1:52 in. They hardly threatened on a 5-on-3 power play that lasted for 85 seconds. And ill-timed pinches by Penguins defensemen at the offensive blue line led to odd-man breaks and a couple of goals.
Nicklas Backstrom made it 2-0 with 3:45 left in the first after Kris Letang tried to hold the blue line and got flat-footed. The Penguins had all three forwards below the dots on that play. Evgeni Malkin tried to get back to break up the 2-on-1, but he had too much ground to cover and not enough gas in the tank.
Not long after that, Justin Schultz stepped up to contest a clearing attempt and crashed into Sidney Crosby, leading to another 2-on-1. Conor Sheary hustled back to even the numbers but nobody picked up the third man. Nick Jensen went back door to Richard Panik, who slid a shot under a sprawling Matt Murray.
The Capitals cashed in on one more 2-on-1 early in the third, with the Penguins on the power play and still trailing by three goals. Jared McCann lost a puck battle to Carl Hagelin then Hagelin and Dowd were off. Three patient passes later, Letang and Murray were pulled out of position and Dowd hit the open net.
Murray, who won his two previous starts, made 23 saves in the loss. Tristan Jarry figures to get the nod Sunday in the second half of their back-to-back.
The longtime rivals got feisty during the second period, leading to six penalties between the two teams and several other collisions the officials ignored.
Late in the second, the Penguins got chances to make it a game, because the Capitals played carefree hockey, too. But Brandon Holtby stuffed Jared McCann, who hasn't scored in 20 games now, on a breakaway then again on the ensuing penalty shot. Moments later, he kicked out Crosby's point-blank try.
Crosby got a shot past Holtby in the third period, after Sheary made a nice play to steal the puck behind the net and hit Crosby with a centering pass. Then Malkin scored on a power play, notching his seventh point in the past three games.
But T.J. Oshie answered right back to silence the crowd and seal a win.
The Penguins are 1-2 against the Capitals. They beat them Feb. 2 in Washington but lost to them twice in the past two weeks by a combined score of 10-5.
Saturday's game was the first in a critical stretch of 10 straight for the Penguins against Metropolitan Division foes. Sunday at PPG Paints Arena, they will host the struggling Carolina Hurricanes, who played the Islanders Saturday.
