Washington Capitals vs Penguins: First chance to bounce back

The Washington Capitals suffered their first loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, at least this gives the team their first chance to bounce back.

After starting the season with a two game sweep of the Buffalo Sabres, the Capitals were given their first real test of 2021. In a matchup of two pillars of the former Metropolitan Division, this certainly delivered on what is thought to be a season full of playoff type games. The Penguins would finish on top at the conclusion of a shootout against the Capitals with a 4-3 win. Gaining their first win of the season after having dealt with their own sweep at the hands of the Flyers.

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The game would include some playoff type close calls and lucky windows of scoring, as well as a few lapses along the way resulting in goals that shouldn’t have been. The first goal came off the skate of Evan Rodrigues of the Penguins, in nearly a kicking motion. The second goal came from Nic Dowd, which needed review as it slowed just on the other side of goal line and was quickly played out by the defenseman. Lastly, after Samsonov was taking too long to get back in front of the net the Penguins returned it to an even match with a wide open goal.

Some positives out of this matchup, the first score by Alex Ovechkin in 2021; 707 and counting. The elimination of the goose egg for Evgeny Kuznetsov in points, after assisting on two of the Capitals three goals for the game. Finally, the ability of Samsonov to bounce back while in the middle of the game with a some lapses in judgement by shutting down the Penguins from the mid-second period until the shootout rounds, this speaks volumes of what he can do when locked in.

While they fell to their archrival, the Capitals had very few issues to work through especially when the offense graded out with a B and the defense with a B-. But now they get a second chance to correct those issues.

Starting with a full game of offensive effort, where they seemed to dry up in the second period other than the one score to try and take and keep the lead. Overall their offensive production has been solid over the first three games of the season, although it would be nice to see some more production from some of the secondary scorers.

Next comes the D which seems to be gelling better as the season goes along, after allowing a high scoring affair in the first game the pairings have settled into a groove. But to be the most effective they should work to keep out of the penalty box for avoidable penalties.

Finally, for Samsonov to really fill out the role expected from him following the leaving of Braden Holtby he needs to settle down and lock in his focus like he did after the last goal scored by the Penguins in the second period. Following the tying score in the second period he shutdown the Penguins offense until the fourth round of the shootout.

Will the Capitals continue growing together and keep up their winning ways from the first series or will we see a downward trend starting? Here’s how to find out:

Date: Tuesday, January 19th
Time: 7:00 pm EST
Where: PPG Paints Arena
TV Broadcast: NBC Sports Washington
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, Caps Radio 24/7
Live Streaming: fuboTV has live NHL games on NBC, NBCSN, CNBC, and USA in which you can stream from your phone, television, and all your favorite devices. This is a service that broadcasts live TV over the internet, no cable required. Watch your favorite teams, network shows, news, and movies on 100+ channels. Plus on-demand entertainment including full TV series. fuboTV is currently available in the United States, Canada, and Spain.

Bonus Fantasy Hockey Coverage:

For those of you who enjoy the fantasy sports scene, here are a few of the players in this contest to consider putting into your starting lineup before the game starts:

Stats when playing against Pittsburgh Penguins:

Nicklas Backstrom (50 GP: 8 G, 47 A)

Stat line from Sundays game against the Penguins: 1 G, 2 SOG, 23:33 TOI

John Carlson (39 GP: 7 G, 16 A)

Zdeno Chara (75 GP: 18 G, 20 A)

Stat line from Sundays game against the Penguins: +1, 3 SOG, 19:22 TOI

TJ Oshie (30 GP: 14 G, 15 A)

Stat line from Sundays game against the Penguins: -1, 2 SOG, 20:29 TOI

Alex Ovechkin (60 GP: 35 G, 24 A)

Stat line from Sundays game against the Penguins: 1 G, 1 A, 6 SOG, 23:50 TOI

RIchard Panik (16 GP: 4 G, 7 A)

Stat line from Sundays game against the Penguins: -1, 3 SOG, 13:21 TOI

Surprise Fantasy Game: Nic Dowd

In 8 previous games against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Dowd has accounted for 3 goals and 1 assist. Which isn’t bad for production against a single team, 0.5 P/GM average. But in this game all the players who usually do well against the Penguins kept it up, so finding those who would constitute a surprise production is hard to figure out. But considering he just improved his output against the Penguins to 0.55 P/GM, with a single goal and one gotten by hard effort.

Sleeper Fantasy Game: Evgeny Kuznetsov

In 26 games against the Penguins, Kuznetsov has only produced 14 points (4 G, 10 A) good for slightly better than 0.5 P/GM. Anyone who continues to build upon this production would count as a positive outcome, as Kuznetsov added 2 assists this brought up his production to 0.59 P/GM. But after being involved in two of the three scores for your team, you should end up in the positive side on the scorecard. Instead he finished even in the plus/minus department, means he was on ice for a few scores. While it’s nice to see him get his first points in the 2021 season, he will need to improve on his defense if they expect to compete throughout the whole season.

Slacker Fantasy Game: T.J. Oshie

The worst case of from those who typically have good games against the Penguins, T.J. Oshie seemed to cool off after having a hot start to the 2021 season. After starting the season with 1 G, 2 A in the first two games, he was held off the scorecard even with the 6th most TOI and he was called for a 2 minute minor penalty. This is a stark contrast to his typical production of nearly a point per game rate.