Washington Capitals: Top 3 studs against the Penguins

The Washington Capitals played a complete team game from start to finish in a dominating win over the Pittsburgh Penguins that could’ve easily been a shutout.

After a scoreless first period, the Caps would break through first on a goal from Conor Sheary against his former team. They would double that lead with a good defensive play from Alex Ovechkin that led to a goal from Jakub Vrana. Lars Eller put the exclamation point on the game with a goal early in the third period and the Caps hung on from there on out.

Here were the top 3 studs from the game.

#3 Vitek Vanecek

It’s a shame some fans and Caps Twitter were quick to criticize Vitek Vanecek when the team was on a four game slide when the defense in front of him was simply bad. After a dreadful Sunday afternoon where he allowed six goals on 38 shots. He bounced back in a big way Tuesday night.

Early in the game he made a stop on a shorthanded breakaway attempt. It was a huge play and it led to momentum shifting towards the Caps. Vanecek finished with 26 saves on 27 shots.