Although neither of the three were able to find the back of the net in game two, they are a big key to the Penguins success and usually find some good looks at the net. The Pens were great at home this season and have been the better of the two teams so far in this series and while getting the Caps at a price is very enticing I do think the Penguins get the victory and go up 2-1.
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“It happened pretty quick”, Orpik said.
For mobile users, use this link to watch the video. For the Caps, it’s league-mandated and will last for the next 3 games, thanks to Brooks Orpik’s illegal check to Olli Maatta. Looking at it, was Brooks a little bit late? I’m more disappointed in the length than anything. “But sometimes you have to man up to those things and I think he did”. “We’ve done that all year, so I expect the guys to step up and fill that gap”. And I support his comment because I know he’s being truthful. Against the board, what have you. I’m disappointed but not surprised based on who we’re playing and all that. Ovechkin only had three shots on goal throughout the whole game. Certainly sounded that way.
Pittsburgh defenseman Olli Maatta is likely to be out with a concussion following a blindside hit by current Capitals (and former Penguin) defenseman Brooks Orpik. If Trotz and the Capitals are upset that Orpik received three games for his hit while Bellemare only received a single game for his hit from behind on Orlov, they have every reason to be.
We definitely know that defensive shakeups are coming for both the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals in the coming days. You see it in every series.
“Does he hit hard?” Absolutely. Absolutely, he hits hard, but that’s not a predator. He’s trying to play through people in terms of hard. He knows a lot of people in that dressing room. He had 19 points in the regular season on six goals and 13 assists, and his loss should motivate the Pens as they seek revenge in Game 2.
“(Orpik) is one of the most honest guys in the league”, Capitals forward Tom Wilson said.
This is Orpik’s first suspension in a decade, and he said he didn’t try to argue his case to the league during his hearing on Sunday afternoon.
Is it normal behaviour for players? In March, when Maatta got hurt, the team moved Trevor Daley (a left-handed D that prefers right-side) up to the top pair to play with Kris Letang.
On Monday, Orpik was not one of them.
“I told our group this morning not to get discouraged, because we were close”, Sullivan said. “It was a bad hit”. Definitely not at his head.
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As for the Capitals, coach Barry Trotz stated that Orpik simply thought that the puck was going back to Maatta when he hit him.
