Penguins lose 4th straight, falling to Capitals in overtime

The Penguins reached a milestone on Tuesday.

And not a good one.

Their 4-3 overtime home loss to the Washington Capitals at PPG Paints Arena extended their losing streak to a season-worst four games.

But as they enter the All-Star break, they aren’t despondent about the results.

In fact, they were almost defiant in the optimism Tuesday’s contest provided for them.

“It was the best game we played in a while,” coach Mike Sullivan said ebulliently. “Our energy level was tremendous. We were playing on our toes. I thought we controlled territory. We generated a number of scoring chances. Our power play was dynamic. For me, it had all the ingredients that, I think, makes the identity of the Penguins what it is. It’s unfortunate that we didn’t get the result. … For the most part, we really liked our team game.

“We thought it was really good, and that’s what I told the players after the game.”

The Penguins controlled shots, 45-32, and seemingly every portion of the lineup had a hand in creating scoring chances. Additionally, the power play was hotter than an afternoon on Venus, going 3 for 5.

“It’s more about the way we play,” defenseman John Marino said. “Tonight, we proved that we stepped up tonight. Everyone played pretty well. I think we deserved to win, unlike the other games. We found our game tonight.”

The special teams of each squad found quite a bit of offense, especially early in the contest as there were three power-play goals and one short-handed score.

The Capitals took 1-0 lead 5:50 into regulation thanks to that short-handed goal.

At the left point of the offensive zone, Penguins defenseman Kris Letang – under pressure from former Penguins forward Carl Hagelin – forced a poor pass that was intercepted at the center point by Capitals forward Nic Dowd, who wound up with a breakaway from his own blue line. Attacking the net, Dowd deked a handful of times, opened up goaltender Tristan Jarry’s five hole and slid a forehand shot through for his sixth goal of the season. Hagelin had the lone assist.

Working on the same power-play opportunity, Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin tied the game, 1-1, only 36 seconds later.

Controlling the puck in the right circle of the offensive zone, Malkin slid a pass to the right of the cage for Penguins forward Jake Guentzel. Drawing in Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary and opening up some space in the right circle, Guentzel fed the puck back to Malkin, who snapped an immediate shot past goaltender Vitek Vanecek’s glove on the near side for his fifth goal. Guentzel and Letang collected assists.

Vanecek left the game at 13:17 mark of the first period due to what was termed an “upper-body” injury by the Capitals. He appeared to injure the head portion of his upper body only 3:47 into regulation after Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen crashed into him on what looked to be a mask-on-helmet collision, thanks in part to Capitals forward Garnet Hathaway shoving Kapanen into the cage.

Ilya Samsonov replaced Vanecek and was stout as he recorded the win by making 43 saves on 45 shots.

One of the shots that beat Samsonov came on a power-play opportunity at 11:26 of the first period.

While he didn’t record an assist, Malkin helped generate the score with an adroit display. Settling a bouncing puck at the right point of the offensive zone, Malkin absorbed a big shoulder check from Capitals forward Tom Wilson but managed to shuffle the puck down low to the right corner while falling.

Guentzel chased it down to claim possession and forced a pass to linemate Sidney Crosby to the left of the crease. Crosby then tapped a backhand pass to the right circle for forward Bryan Rust. Going from his forehand to his backhand, Rust lifted the puck over a scrambling Samsonov for his 13th goal. Crosby and Guentzel tallied assists.

Another power-play goal tied the game again, 2-2, at 16:13 of the first.

Racing the puck into the offensive zone on the right wing, ex-Penguins forward Conor Sheary attacked the net and jabbed a subtle forehand shot on net. Jarry made the initial save but allowed a rebound that Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov cleaned up with a forehand shot for his sixth goal. The Penguins alleged interference by Capitals forward Lars Eller against Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin, but their protests fell on deaf ears. Sheary and former Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz netted assists.

The Penguins’ power-play struck for the third time 4:44 into the second period.

From the left of the crease, Rust shuffled a pass to the slot for Guentzel, who fumbled the puck a bit only to have it bounce to Crosby, positioned to the right of the cage. From there, Crosby swept a forehand shot that hit off the far post. Rust followed up on the sequence and, despite a stick check from Capitals defenseman Nick Jensen, jammed in the puck with his forehand. Crosby and Guentzel collected assists.

A would-be goal by Dowd at 7:05 of the second was wiped out after the Penguins issued a successful coach’s challenge claiming goaltender interference by Dowd.

According to a statement from the NHL, Dowd “had a significant presence in the crease which impaired goaltender Tristan Jarry’s ability to play his position prior to his goal.”

Ex-Penguins forward Daniel Sprong tied the game 3-3 late in the second period at the 19:18 mark with a dazzling individual effort.

Racing up the left wing, Sprong gained the offensive zone, chipped and chased the puck past Penguins defenseman Chad Ruhwedel then attacked the net, putting a forehand shot over Jarry’s blocker on the near side for his eighth goal. Defenseman John Carlson had the only assist.

After a scoreless third period, Orlov claimed victory at 4:17 of overtime.

Off a drop pass by Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov, Orlov drove the puck deep on the right wing of the offensive zone and pulled up. Making a course correction, Orlov curled around the right circle to the slot, got a step on Crosby and pumped a wrister that toasted Jarry’s blocker for the win. Kuznetsov and Wilson netted assists.

Jarry made 28 saves on 32 shots as his record fell to 23-8-6.

The point they earned the standings salved the result somewhat for the Penguins, who enter the All-Star break in third place of the Metropolitan Division with a 27-11-8 record and 62 points.

But the fashion they played this game appears to be the antidote for their ongoing skid.

“Some games, we (do) not make many shots,” Malkin said. “We (have) like 20 shots but we score like four, five goals. It’s hockey. Sometimes, goalies play unbelievable. Sometimes, a little bit unlucky. Sometimes, you just can’t score. But like (Sullivan said) after (the) game, we played a good game and maybe we deserved more.”

“We played the game that we’re trying to play,” Sullivan said. “We dictated the terms. We controlled territory. We controlled the shot clock. We controlled scoring chances. For the most part, everything we could control, we did and we just didn’t get the result.

“If we put that game on the ice consistently, we’re going to win a lot of hockey games.”

Notes: The Penguins are now 4 for 4 on coach’s challenges this season. … With 13 points (five goals, eight assists), Malkin has scored in 10 of the 12 games he has played since returning to the lineup from offseason surgery on his right knee on Jan. 11.