NHL Playoff: Penguins 0 for 5 on power play, while Capitals score key 5-on-3 goal
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Washington goalie Simeon Varlamov makes a diving save on a shot by Sidney Crosby, right, that seemed headed for an open net late in the second period and the score tied, 2-2. -
Brooks Orpik drives Washington's Brooks Laich into the boards in the third period yesterday in Washington as the Penguins tried to rally in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
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WASHINGTON -- The Penguins took just two penalties in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series against Washington.
That's pretty good -- no, that's awfully good -- against a team with the Capitals' speed and skill.
Trouble is, they came just 61 seconds apart, and gave Washington a five-on-three power play that led to the Capitals' second goal in their 3-2 victory at the Verizon Center yesterday.
That goal, scored by Alex Ovechkin, should not necessarily have been decisive, since it came with nearly 43 minutes left in regulation and only put Washington up by one.
But in large part because the Penguins went 0 for 5 with the extra man -- and produced little more than muffled laughter on most of those chances -- the game's lone special-teams goal provided Washington's margin of victory.
"It's a one-goal game, and the [Washington] special teams beat us, 1-0," Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik said. "The story, at the end of the day, is that their power play got one, and ours didn't."
While there was nothing about the game to suggest that the Penguins can't compete with Washington -- their 36-26 advantage in shots was a reasonable reflection of how the game played out -- losing it is an ominous portent for them.
The outcome of their previous seven series has been foretold by the result of Game 1. They have won the opener four times, and gone on to capture the series on each occasion. They lost the first game the other three times and been eliminated in that round.
More troubling is that they have failed to score a power-play goal in four consecutive games, going 0 for 17 during that span, and are 1 for 24 in the past five.
Despite their chronic ineptitude with the extra man, the Penguins might have seized early control of the series if Capitals rookie goalie Simeon Varlamov -- who could not prevent defenseman Mark Eaton from scoring from the point a few minutes earlier -- hadn't produced a breathtaking stop on Sidney Crosby with 2:01 left in the second period and the score tied, 2-2.
Crosby, who had scored the Penguins' first goal, took a feed from Chris Kunitz and put a shot toward a mostly open net, but Varlamov was able to get his stick on the puck just as it reached the goal line.
"I didn't get a lot on [the shot]," Crosby said. "I just tried to direct it in the net. He kind of made a desperation save.
"Those are the type of opportunities you don't want to waste. You end up losing, 3-2, and you look back and say, 'What if?' "
Washington coach Bruce Boudreau suspects he might know the answer to that question and presumably didn't like it much.
"It obviously was a turning point," he said, "because they would have had the lead, and we would have had to play catch-up."
The Capitals had to do that early, after Crosby beat Varlamov from the slot at 4:09 of the first, but never trailed after Dave Steckel punched a rebound past goalie Marc-Andre Fleury at 13:50.
SECOND PERIOD/18:01: Penguins center Sidney Crosby carries the puck up ice and enters the offensive zone. He crisscrosses with left winger Chris Kunitz leaving a drop pass for his teammate. Kunitz takes the puck, moves into the faceoff circle and backhands a pass to Crosby in the slot. Crosby swats the puck toward an open net with his forehand. Capitals rookie goaltender Simeon Varlamov is out of position but is able to reach back and get a piece of the puck directing it away from the goal line.
A few minutes later, the Penguins were down two men because of two unnecessary minors; Sergei Gonchar cleared the puck over the glass at 15:14, and Matt Cooke tripped Ovechkin in the neutral zone at 16:15.
"You can't give a team that talented a five-on-three for an extended amount of time," Eaton said.
Although the Penguins killed the early part of that five-on-three well enough, Ovechkin eventually drifted to the bottom of the left circle and, as Fleury moved out of the crease to prepare for an Alexander Semin shot from the top of the slot, Semin slid a pass to Ovechkin, who hit an unguarded net.
"I like to play on the point, but I got in a good position," Ovechkin said. "It was probably an accident. It won't happen a lot."
Likely more often, though, than the Penguins have scored with the man-advantage lately. With the way their power play has performed, taking penalties against them carries few risks.
Fact is, it's a sound defensive strategy.
"The power play today [was] not good," center Evgeni Malkin said. "Maybe we talk [at practice], maybe we change a little bit."
And perhaps alter the early course of the series, if they do.
First Published May 3, 2009 12:00 am
