Washington was also down a defenseman as Brooks Orpik sat out the first of three games after his hit on Maatta forced the Penguins player out of Game 3. Washington coach Barry Trotz insisted there was “a good vibe” coming from the Presidents’ Trophy winners.
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On Monday night, Kris Letang launched himself into the same spotlight.
The Penguins had been opportunistic on other Washington mistakes.
Letang’s hit wasn’t as bad as Orpik’s from the perspective of how late it was, as well as the fact that Orpik extended an elbow in what looked like a deliberate attempt at a head shot. But I’ll say this: they’re proving themselves a worthy Cup contender – something they haven’t been able to do in a while.
However, Letang did finish a check that was well past the point of impacting the play, made contact with Marcus Johansson’s head and ultimately targeted a player who was in a very vulnerable position. Letang received a minor penalty for interference following the play and was issued the suspension after a brief hearing Tuesday.
The former Oiler hasn’t played since Game 1 of Pittsburgh’s first-round series against the Rangers, being a healthy scratch in every game since.
In this situation, there is no “next man up”. I wasn’t sold on Pittsburgh going into these playoffs; any team can get hot down the stretch, but while that’s an ideal way to go into the postseason, it doesn’t by any means guarantee continued success when the games get tighter and more hard. While some found it a surprising choice given that stars Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson already fill that role, Docston is a dynamic player who will give quarterback Kirk Cousins another reliable target, which will open up their play options. Bumped up to the Penguins’ top defensive pairing, he logged almost 29 minutes of ice time, a season high. When Maatta was injured in game two, Letang was tasked with filling that void and recorded north of 35 minutes time-on-ice or in other words, more than half of that tilt.
It was the fourth goal of the post-season for Carlson, who leads the Capitals with 10 playoff points. And, those stats may not be the most impressive accomplishment for the dynamic blue-liner in this series.
Daley tied it midway through the first by beating Holtby between the pads on a 40-foot wrist shot. Ribeiro had only one assist in nine postseason games and a minus-3 rating. I was just trying to shoot it. “There’s nothing you could do about that, I guess”. The remaining defenders have their work cut out for them.
The Penguins had lost eight straight playoff games that went to overtime.
While things look grim for Pittsburgh, many seem to forget that they’re now leading this series.
All four games in the series have been decided by one goal and game five could be another close one on Saturday in Washington.
Washington’s T.J. Oshie, middle, can’t find a way around Pittsburgh’s Justin Schult, left, and Nick Bonino.
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“They were terrific, the whole group of them”, Coach Mike Sullivan said of his defensive corps. “We think we have the guys in this room to win overtime games”. That ended a three-game road losing streak against the Islanders for Tampa Bay, and will strengthen their odds on the National Hockey League series prices which had sat at -130. The Capitals’ hope the offensive production continues, but the overall result is different.
