Capitals fall flat on opening night in the worst way possible
Friday the 13th started out as an exciting day for Washington Capitals fans. The six month wait since their last game that counted was over. It was time to begin a new season. Fans lined up the Rock the Red carpet. Inside Capital One Arena, they waved their glow sticks in anticipation as players were introduced one by one.
Once the puck dropped it was still loud but after a scoreless first period the Pittsburgh Penguins began the rout of their 4-0 win over the rivals. Those fans decked out in black and yellow took over the building and the National Portrait Gallery steps following the game.
Those fans decked out in red and spent all that money for opening night wondered if this is the way the season will go. It was the first time ever the Caps got shutout in both a season opener and a home opener. Not the start that Spencer Carbery wanted and you could tell he wanted the opposite if you saw his locker room speech on the broadcast just moments before the puck was dropped.
The Caps put some pressure on during the early part of the first period. With no score the Pens had the edge in shots but only by a narrow 10-8 margin.
Shots were 13-7 in favor of the Penguins in the second period. The third period was much worse for the Caps as they were outshot 12-4. In the end, the Caps only had 19 shot on goal while the Penguins had 35. I’m sorry but if you can only get 19 shots in an entire game, you have to step it up next game.
Evgeni Malkin got the first goal for the Penguins at 4:07. Sidney Crosby scored twice after that. The first one came on the power play at 5:51. The second one was also a PPG at 11:46. Reilly Smith capped off the scoring in the third period at 16:57.
The Caps had three power play chances and you can tell by the final score they came up empty each time.
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The Capitals will look to bounce back on Monday Oct. 16 when they host Matthew Phillips’ old team the Calgary Flames. Game time is at 7 p.m. and you can catch it on Monumental Sports Network.