Empty Thoughts: Penguins 6, Capitals 3

Observations from the Penguins’ 6-3 win against the Capitals

On Sunday, new general manager Ron Hextall and president of hockey operations Brian Burke watched a Penguins game for the first time in person since they joined the team.

They saw a spirited, albeit imperfect, effort by their squad.

They also saw some of the depth Hextall’s predecessor, Jim Rutherford, amassed this past offseason. Particularly on defense.

Rutherford’s most notable offseason additions on the blue line, Cody Ceci and Mike Matheson, had their fingerprints all over this game as each player notched two assists and even helped the Penguins get past a poor start by chipping in on the team’s first two goals.

For Matheson, he recorded his first two points as a member of the Penguins. After a slow start that was followed by some time on injured reserve, Matheson is starting to look more and more familiar with his new surroundings after an abbreviated training camp.

“A lot more comfortable,” Matheson said via video conference. “Things are happening a lot more naturally than at the beginning of the year. Once you get to a point where the systems are a lot more natural and instinctual, it flows a lot better within the game.”

And Ceci just keeps plugging along with a steady and fairly reliable presence. This game might have been his most “spectacular” in that he generated offense by just putting the puck in places for his teammates to do some real damage with it.

He echoed Matheson’s thoughts.

“After a little while, you get a little more comfortable. You trust your instincts a little more. You’re not guessing. You’re not trying to figure out the systems. You’re just back to playing hockey. “

The Penguins played some pretty good hockey on Sunday thanks to Ceci and Matheson.

What happened

A power-play goal 5:18 into regulation gave the Capitals the game’s first lead. After a defensive zone turnover off an unsuccessful clearing attempt by Penguins forward Colton Sceviour, Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov chopped a half-speed one-timer off the left wall that glanced off the stick of Penguins defenseman John Marino. The puck just avoided the stick of Penguins defenseman Kris Letang and the right skate of Capitals forward Lars Eller then slid past goaltender Tristan Jarry’s right skate on the far side. It was Kuznetsov’s second goal of the season. Assists went to former Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz and Eller.

The Penguins responded at 10:29 of the first period with a dazzling passing sequence. Corralling a puck at the Capitals’ right point, Penguins defenseman John Marino fed a pass to the left point for Matheson. Dishing the pass to Penguins forward Sidney Crosby in the left circle, Matheson darted past Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov and took the puck back from Crosby. From just below the left dot, Matheson slid a smooth pass to the right of the crease where Penguins forward Bryan Rust tapped in his fourth goal of the season past goaltender Vitek Vanecek’s left skate. Matheson and Crosby collected assists.

Only 32 seconds later, the Penguins took their first lead. After Penguins forward Teddy Blueger beat Capitals forward Nic Dowd on a draw in the Capitals’ right circle, Penguins defenseman Chad Ruhwedel settled the puck at the center point and tapped it to the right point for Ceci. Surveying the zone for a moment, Ceci lifted a wrister towards the cage. The puck made its way through a forest of sticks and legs before Vanecek kicked it out with his left pad. Penguins forward Brandon Tanev muscled his way past Schultz for position above the crease and tucked the rebound past Vanecek’s right skate with a forehand shot for his fourth goal. Assists were credited to Ceci and Ruhwedel.

The game was tied again, 2-2, 3:26 into the second period. Corralling a pass behind the back of the Penguins’ net, Capitals forward T.J. Oshie fired a forehand wraparound shot from the right of the cage which was rejected by Jarry. The ensuing rebound slid to the left circle where Capitals forward Jakub Vrana claimed it and fired in a backhand shot past Jarry’s glove hand on the far side for his fourth goal. Oshie and Kuznetsov had assists.

A rare power-play goal by the Penguins restored a lead, 3-2, at 6:44 of the second. From center point, Letang fed a pass through a handful of bodies to the left of the cage for Rust who was able to jam in a forehand shot past Vanecek’s blocker on the near side. Letang and forward Jake Guentzel registered assists. It was the Penguins’ first power-play goal in seven games and snapped an 0 for 21 skid with the man advantage over that span.

An even rarer two-goal lead for the Penguins was reached exactly four minutes later. From the Capitals’ right point, Ceci backhanded a pass up the wall for Rust who one-touched the puck to the high slot for Guentzel. Using Eller as a screen, Guentzel lifted a wrister that hit Capitals defenseman Zdeno Chara to the right of the crease. The rebound bounced above the blue paint. Guentzel followed up on the play and fired a forehand shot past Vanecek’s blocker for his fifth goal. Assists went to Rust and Ceci.

The Capitals pulled within one score late in the period in an unusual sequence at the 17:49 mark. Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin pushed the puck up the right wing against Letang. Pulling up at the Penguins right half wall, Ovechkin centered a pass that was intercepted by backchecking Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin. Stopping the puck with his right skate, Malkin could not play it with his stick thanks to a steal by Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom who swatted a backhander past Jarry’s right leg for his seventh goal. Assists were recorded by Ovechkin and defenseman John Carlson.

Penguins forward Zach Aston-Reese recorded his second goal on an empty net at 18:57 of the third period. Letang and Jarry had assists.

That was followed by another empty net goal from Crosby, his fifth, off an assist by Guentzel.

Statistically speaking

• The Penguins controlled shots, 38-31.

• Rust led the game with six shots.

• Oshie led the Capitals with five shots.

• Carlson led the game with 27:20 of ice time on 27 shifts.

• Letang led the Penguins with 23:43 of ice time on 28 shifts.

• The Penguins controlled faceoffs, 37-23 (62%).

• Blueger was 10 for 15 (67%).

• Kuznetsov was 6 for 13 (46%).

• Ceci led the game with three blocked shots.

• Defenseman Brenden Dillon led the Capitals with two blocked shots.

Randomly speaking

• The third period might have been the best the Penguins have played all season. They just possessed the puck and largely kept the Capitals from mounting any kind of sustained attack. The Penguins controlled shots in the third 17-8. It was arguably the best display of playing as a group of five they’ve offered this season.

• Part of that was relying heavily on the Aston-Reese/Blueger/Tanev line. That trio was out against the Capitals’ top players on a regular basis, with Sam Lafferty mixing in occasionally for faceoff purposes. Even if it’s only been two games since Aston-Reese’s return from offseason shoulder surgery, it’s as if they’ve been playing together all season long.

• He still has a ways to go before he looks like the All-Star he was in 2019-20, but Jarry took a good step in that direction on Sunday, particularly in the third. He was forced to make a couple of tough saves with his team up by a goal for most of that period. They were the proverbial timely saves coach Mike Sullivan speaks of.

• The Penguins were 1 for 2 on the power play and got their first such goal in seven games, snapping an 0 for 21 skid over that stretch. Beyond the obvious success of just getting a power-play goal, that unit actually looked good, even on the one unsuccessful chance. They did a lot to try to create chances in tight. In fact, were it not for a fabulous right skate save by Vanecek during the first period, Guentzel would have had a power-play goal on that first opportunity during the first period.

• Letang had a very up-and-down game. He had a handful of assists, including one on the power play. But he also took two penalties, a slashing minor only 26 seconds into the game and a delay of game minor for putting a puck out of play mid-way through the second period.

• There was a time when the notion of Rust scoring this often would have been remarkable. Now, it’s kind of expected. He’s had quite an evolution in his game.

• Malkin’s 14:06 of ice time on 20 shifts was a season-low.

• Prior to the game, the Penguins recalled reserve goaltender Maxime Lagace off the taxi squad. He served as the backup goaltender as Casey DeSmith was scratched due to an illness not related to covid-19.

• The first 40 minutes of this game were fairly sloppy but entertaining. These teams looked exactly like two squads that have not played much hockey over the past week. And that’s exactly the case due to covid-19 issues elsewhere in the league. The Penguins had only played one game over the previous seven days while the Capitals played their first game since Feb. 7.

• The Capitals have lost four consecutive games.

Historically speaking

• Crosby’s empty net goal gave him 1,275 career points and pushed him past Al MacInnis (1,274) for the most points in NHL history by a Nova Scotia-born player.

• MacInnis is still the NHL’s all-time leader in putting slap shots through boards, however:

• Matheson’s points were his first as a member of the Penguins.

• Jarry recorded his first assist of the season and the third of his career.

• Jarry played the Capitals for the first time in his career. The only remaining active opposing teams he has not played are the Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars.

• The Penguins scored two empty net goals in the same game for the eighth time in franchise history.

Publicly speaking

• Sullivan on Matheson:

“He’s getting more familiar with how we’re trying to play every day. His confidence is growing. He made some really nice plays out there today. He’s defending hard for us. I thought he made a great play on (Rust’s) goal, that give-and-go off the offensive blue line. Just shows you what he’s capable of. We think he’s getting better with every day that he’s here with us. He’s certainly getting more familiar with how we’re trying to play and hopefully, that will help his confidence.”

• Matheson downplayed his role on the dazzling sequence leading to Rust’s first goal:

“It was a great play by Sid. I just got him the puck and tried to get open for him. He made a great play getting it to me. There wasn’t much left for me to do at that point.”

• Rust on how Jarry has dealt with a poor start this season:

“You can see he’s matured so much as a player. He just kind of just tries to learn from the past and get better every day. That just shows his level of character and how he’s grown. He’s become a true professional.”

• Sullivan on Jarry:

“He made some good saves for us at key times. That’s what you need from your goaltender in order to win games and have success in this league. Tristan took a big step tonight. He made some big saves for us. I thought we defended hard in front of him. But certainly, when we broke down, he was there to make the big stops.

“Hopefully, Tristan will gain some confidence off of this. He certainly should. It was a solid performance by him.”

Visually speaking

• Game summary.

• Event summary.

• Highlights:

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