Instead it was the Penguins taking a 2-1 series lead, thanks to a 3-2 victory featuring some fortunate bounces and some strong goaltending from rookie Matt Murray.
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Update: Johansson returned for the start of the second period.
The first period of Game Three was bad, but worse than the scoreboard was the image of Marcus Johansson collapsed on the ice after suffering a late headshot by Kris Letang.
Game four in Pittsburgh will be an absolute must win for Washington as they look to split the road games in Pittsburgh to regain home ice advantage in the series.
“I didn’t see him coming, (and) he hit me from the blind side”, Johansson said. That was until Ovechkin finally opened the scoring for the visitors, scoring his first goal of the series from beyond the faceoff circles over the shoulder of Murray.
Alexander Ovechkin and Justin Williams scored for Washington, but the Capitals find themselves in a deficit against a franchise they’ve beaten just once in eight previous playoff meetings. Pittsburgh must continue to play a speedy style of hockey and protect Murray and the net from being collapsed on by Washington.
Best goalie: Murray was on his game throughout the night, stopping 47 of 49 shots to improve to 5-1 in the playoffs.
Several Capitals players later went out of their way to hit Letang, who was upset himself after Nicklas Backstrom clipped him with a knee to the head following Letang’s hit on Ovechkin late in the second.
“It’s the playoffs, it’s a lot more physical than the regular season”, Letang said.
Best penalty kill: The Capitals PK unit continued its postseason dominance, killing off all three Penguins power plays.
A horrendous Capitals turnover in their own zone gave the Penguins a freebie as Carl Hagelin was able to cash in on a goal from in front of the net. Orpik had a 44.76-percent Corsi rating (score adjusted, five on five) in five games for the Capitals in the playoffs.
The Penguins were hardly crisp but turned Washington mistakes into goals while Murray did the rest.
Letang played 28 minutes in Monday’s victory.
Yet the instant the Washington Capitals defenseman made contact with Pittsburgh defenseman Olli Maatta’s head early in Game 2 on Saturday night, Orpik knew he had crossed a sometimes vague line between aggressive and illegal.
CAPITALS: Orpik says he has no problem with the three-game suspension the National Hockey League levied on him for making contact with Maatta’s head in Game 2 on Saturday night.
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No team is ever exactly excited about the possibility of losing its No. 1 defenceman, but the Penguins in particular will be vulnerable if Letang is suspended for any substantial length of time.
