PITTSBURGH — After scoring the game-winning, overtime goal, Sidney Crosby skated to the corner of the rink and waited for the bench to clear … at least the ones who were healthy enough.
The Penguins trailed by two goals in the second period and found themselves down to just four healthy defensemen by the third period. But with special teams as the spark and Crosby's scoring touch providing the ending, they rallied to beat the Washington Capitals, 5-4, in overtime.
The Penguins (2-2-0) swept the two-game series against the Capitals (2-0-2). Both games were early gut-checks in a season in which players say every game will mean a little more.
Speed is the first word the Penguins have used to describe Kasperi Kapanen on almost every occasion since he was acquired this offseason from Toronto. It took less than a period for him to show it.
During his anticipated and delayed Penguins debut on Tuesday, Kapanen raced through the neutral zone one what looked like an innocent play with two Washington Capitals defenseman were sitting back. But Kapanen turned on the jets to create a shot on net that handcuffed goalie Vitek Vanecek. Colton Sceviour, who also scored in the first meeting against the Capitals this year, was there for the tap-in.
Through most of the first 30 minutes, that play looked like it might stand as the lone bright spot in an otherwise rotten stretch of hockey. The Penguins failed to record a shot on goal through nearly the first eight minutes of the game. One of their few attempts, a one-timer from the point from Jusso Riikola, was blocked to send the Capitals the other way in transition. Washington’s T.J. Oshie feathered a cross-ice pass from just inside the blue line to Lars Eller in the opposite circle.
After Kapanen sparked the Penguins goal, it looked like Pittsburgh would escape a poor period with the score knotted at 1. However, Washington's Tom Wilson — the best player on the ice in Sunday’s game — scored just eight seconds later and then again before the period ended to give the Capitals a 3-1 lead.
Special teams changed the shape of the game in the second period. The Capitals squandered a 3-on-0 breakaway by playing a game of “no you shoot it.” Then, they committed a pair of stick infractions that put the Penguins on a 5-on-3 power play. Jake Guentzel buried a tap-in goal on an assist from Bryan Rust.
After the Capitals again stretched the lead to two on a goal from Evgeny Kuznetsov, the visitors had a chance to put the game away when they went on a 5-on-3 power play. Instead, they let the Penguins right back in it. A beautiful pass from goalie DeSmith sprung Teddy Blueger on a breakaway to pull the Penguins within one.
The temperature of the rivalry game was cranked up a many more notches when Oshie delivered a high-hard hit on Marcus Pettersson in the neutral zone. Pettersson, defenseless and blindsided, during the impact lay on the ice and had to be tended to by the Penguins medical staff.
Oshie was initially assessed a five-minute major but the referees changed the call to just a two-minute minor for interference. It didn’t matter much to Evgeni Malkin. He ripped a one-timer from the right circle to tie the score at 4.
The Penguins entered the game missing one regular lefty in Mike Matheson. Pettersson’s injury took away one more. And then Riikola, who took the final shift of the second period, did not return for the third.
The Capitals had a golden opportunity early in the third period. But DeSmith, flat on his stomach and with all four extremities flailing, somehow kept the puck from crossing the goal line.
In overtime, Kris Letang fired a one-timer on net. Crosby was there to scoop the rebound and deposit it in the back of the net.
The Penguins continue their first homestand of the season with a two-game series against the New York Rangers, beginning Friday night at 7 p.m.
