In Saturday night’s game two, Fehr was able to help the Penguins win the game. The way they figure it, if they’re skating 5-on-4, the Capitals are expending plenty of energy on their half of the ice.
Advertisement
With Kris Letang off for tripping, Marcus Johansson notched his second goal of the playoffs when he poked home the rebound of a John Carlson shot at 4:08. “We know Washington has a good power play”.
“This was one we absolutely needed”, Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said.
Antti Niemi stopped 19 consecutive shots since relieving Kari Lehtonen after the first period until Backes scored.
Having the seemingly tireless Letang around helped.
The Capitals will face the Penguins in Game 3 in Pittsburgh on Monday.
“Just play the game the right way and not let circumstances affect our mindset”, Sullivan said. That alone does not make him a good guy; it makes him a not-bad guy.
Something Washington wants to avoid.
Sullivan said Matta was “out”, adding that the team would probably have a further update Sunday.
The Capitals view it a bit differently.
Sullivan would not comment on Fleury’s availability but said he has made “significant improvement” as he tries to recover from a second concussion this season. Orpik took aim at Maatta long after the puck had left Maatta’s stick.
Chorney, who played for Pittsburgh in the playoffs previous year and was originally brought in to bolster the Capitals’ blue-line depth, has been seeing quite a bit of ice time lately, as Washington dealt with an Orpik injury in the first round against Philadelphia, and was then trusted over Dmitry Orlov on Saturday. On that point, he’s right.
During their back-to-back Stanley Cup final runs in 2008 and 2009, the Pittsburgh Penguins knew all about what Brooks Orpik can do.
On the flip-side of the coin the Pens PK has done a great job of keying on Alex Ovechkin to take him away from his predictable left-circle spot, without abandoning other assignments that open up. “Sometimes, stuff happens, I guess”.
The Penguins won the game 2-1 to tie the series at one game apiece.
“It was competitive”, Niskanen said. Due to Orpik’s history – he’s been suspended twice by the Department of Player Safety – and recklessness of throwing such a high hit to the head, the defenseman will sit for potentially the rest of the playoffs.
Advertisement
The three-game ban says the National Hockey League is not afraid to interfere with the competitiveness of a series if it is necessary to preserve its mission to eliminate head hits from the game. “It’s the type of hit that everyone in hockey is trying to remove from the game”.
