“The thing that impressed me more than anything is the way we played in overtime”.
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The immediate reaction to Orpik’s words was positive; media people seemed particularly impressed by the degree to which he took responsibility for his late, dirty, dumb hit.
Orpik has gone a full decade between suspensions, the previous one coming in 2006.
Players also have little time to celebrate a win or brood over a loss. With Orpik set to miss Games 3-5, either Mike Weber or Dmitry Orlov will draw back into the lineup.ABOUT THE PENGUINS: While Sullivan admitted he has questions about Maatta’s availability for Game 3, he stopped short of revealing any answers should the defenseman be forced to sit out.
As for Maatta, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan didn’t rule out his possible return later on in the series.
The 21-year-old Finn has a concussion history dating to his time playing junior hockey. The Capitals will likely have Nate Schmidt fill in Orpik’s spot on the top defensive pair alongside John Carlson, and then will reincorporate Orlov, who was benched for Game 2 in the series because of a miscue in the opener. Coach Barry Trotz apparently didn’t agree with Orpik and… actually, it’s tough to say exactly what he’s doing here. I think it’s the type of hit that everyone in hockey is trying to remove from the game.
Orpik had a hearing with the NHL’s department of player safety Sunday.
The suspension to Brooks Orpik comes amid other problems for the Washington Capitals, who have struggled over the course of the last five games.
“He just finished on a hit”, Trotz said. “I think he keeps his focus razor-sharp, and when he’s like that, he’s going to help us”. Look for either Derrick Pouliot or Justin Schultz, another puck-moving defenseman, to move into Maatta’s role.
“The hit on Thomas Hickey you can see his head snap back, and you can see the shoulder and elbow up into the head area”, Capuano said. “It didn’t look good”. “You see press conferences from the coaches who lost, they’re abrupt, they’re direct”.
“I mean, the people here in Pittsburgh trying to paint him that way, come on”, Trotz said. After the hit, it was expected to be a major penalty, however the defenseman only received a penalty for interference. Quite a long one when you consider that Orpik spent the first 13 years of his professional career in the Penguins organization.
The Washington Capitals are going to need to find their game much earlier in game three than in their most recent affair.
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The Penguins are looking for their third win in four home games in these playoffs and fourth in five overall matchups against Washington. “I’m not there to judge about that”. The Penguins allowed the one goal while short-handed during Washington’s 14-shot third period, paving the way for Eric Fehr to score the victor against his former team with 4:28 to go.
