Pens gain measure of revenge
Letang’s power-play goal in OT lifts Pittsburgh over defending champs
PITTSBURGH – For how often these two teams have played each other, it was fitting they needed more time on Thursday night. Capitals forward T.J. Oshie single-handedly erased a two-goal deficit in 21 seconds to force overtime. But with the Penguins on a power play just 19 seconds in, Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang lifted the Penguins to a wild 7-6 win over Washington in the clubs’ first meeting of the new season.
The two teams who have won the past three Stanley Cup were on the ice Thursday, and they’re still testing themselves against each other as one will likely have to get past the other for another crack at the trophy.
The Penguins are the standard the Capitals are now chasing. Washington has set a goal of repeating as Stanley Cup champions, and Pittsburgh’s titles in 2016 and 2017 marked the first time a team went back-to-back in nearly two decades. The Penguins are still fuming that the Capitals were the team to oust them from the postseason in May, and Thursday night’s win was a small bit of revenge.
“They’ve done something that we’re trying to do,” Capitals Coach Todd Reirden said before the game. “Just as much as that’s something that they want to focus on trying to be better at and get back something that was theirs, we’d like to duplicate something they’ve done in the past.”
Past Capitals trips to Pittsburgh have resurrected bad memories. The Penguins eliminated Washington in the second round of the playoffs two years in a row, and the Capitals had to then watch as their division rival hoisted the Stanley Cup both times. But as Washington reviewed its most recent video from playing against Pittsburgh, it was a pleasure to watch for a change. The last time the Capitals were in PPG Paints Arena, center Evgeny Kuznetsov scored on a breakaway in overtime of Game6to advance to the Eastern Conference final for the first time in 20 years.
“It’s a little bit of a different ending to some of the video than we’ve had in the past against these guys,” Reirden said. “We should have some confidence in having had success in this building.”
But playing a second game in as many nights, the Capitals were shaky to start the game. Defenseman Jamie Oleksiak scored through a moving screen in front of goaltender Braden Holtby in the first two minutes. Seventy-nine seconds later, forward Andre Burakovsky had a defensive zone turnover, and with the puck suddenly on his stick, center Sidney Crosby charged the net. Holtby was aggressive, skating up to make a toe save on Crosby’s backhand chance.