Capitals: Nicklas Backstrom’s four goals leads to win over Pittsburgh in NHL 20 simulation
It would be a crime if the Washington Capitals lost in NHL 20 against the Pittsburgh Penguins on this date. Thankfully we didn’t have to worry about that.
Behind four goals from Nicklas Backstrom, the Washington Capitals won their third straight game over the Pittsburgh Penguins in our NHL 20 playoff simulation to go up 3-1 in the series.
The Caps struck for two goals in the opening period, both from Nicklas Backstrom. The first goal came at 8:57 off an assist from Jakub Vrana on a shot coming from the left face-off circle.
Backstrom doubled the lead at 18:44 for his sixth goal of the playoffs with another shot from the same area. Tom Wilson and Dmitry Orlov had the helpers. 2-0 was the score after 20 with the Caps outshooting the Penguins 10-3.
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Alex Galchenyuk finally got the Penguins on the board at 7:11 with assists coming from Zach Aston-Reese and Marcus Pettersson.
At 8:57 the Caps answered with Backstrom completing the hat trick for his seventh goal of the playoffs. The goal came right in front of the net on the right side. Wilson and Vrana had the helpers.
At 13:20 the Caps added to their lead with a goal from the point by Nick Jensen assisted by Lars Eller. 4-1 was the score after 40. The Caps outshot the Pens 8-7 in the middle period and 18-10 overall to that point.
Brandon Tanev got one back for the Penguins at 9:26 in the third but that was as close as they would get. Backstrom sealed it with his fourth of the night at 19:22 with an empty net goal that was assisted by Wilson and Michal Kempny.
The Caps were outshot 14-4 in the third period which made the totals 24-22 in favor of the Penguins but that was a desperate third period with Pittsburgh’s pressure running high in front of the home fans. Braden Holtby made 22 saves on the 24 shots he faced for a .917 save percentage.
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Can the Caps close out the series in Game 5 when the series shifts back to Washington? Check back tomorrow to find out.