Evgeni Malkin Shines as Penguins Upset Capitals: Game Highlights and Analysis

Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin / Photo: © G Fiume / Contributor / Getty Images Sports / Gettyimages.ru, Derek Cain / Contributor / Getty Images Sports / Gettyimages.ru

The fight between the captains Sidney Crosby and Alasdair Ovechkin went into the background. The focus was on an unexpected result from the game between Washington and Pittsburgh, as well as Evgeni Malkin, who became the first star of the meeting, showing the good play of the two forwards.

Malkin scored two points and made Ovechkin go crazy.

Start different

Surprisingly, just a year ago, Washington and Pittsburgh were neighbors in the standings and were trying to get a wild card in the Eastern Conference. Then the Capitals did it, making the playoffs and losing to the Rangers in four games in the first round. In the offseason, both teams faced changes that had different effects on their main rivals. Therefore, in the current regular season, the capital club has made great progress, improving in almost all game indicators.

But the main thing is that Spencer Carbery’s team started the season successfully. Washington scored 18 points in 12 meetings and took fourth place in the East. Meanwhile, the Capitals didn’t care who they beat. The team beat New Jersey, Vegas, Dallas and the Rangers. One of the reasons for the successful performance of the capital club is the effective play of the captain. Ovechkin entered the meeting with Pittsburgh on a five-game scoring streak.

Alexander Ovechkin / Photo: © Scott Taetsch / Contributor / Getty Images Sports / Gettyimages.ru

But Pittsburgh stalled at the start of the season. At the same time, even the strong performance of Penguins leaders Crosby and Malkin could not help the team, which suffered a series of six failures at the beginning of the regular season. In total, in 15 meetings, the Penguins suffered eight defeats, including twice in overtime.

Malkin stopped Ovechkin

At the beginning of the first period, it may have seemed that the Penguins, playing away, were the favorites of the game. The hosts started actively and by the seventh minute they had gained a two-goal advantage. First, defender Erik Karlsson opened the scoring with a pass from Malkin, who showed the highest skill. Coming out from behind the goal, the Russian went a little on the boards, and then, through two sticks, he made a beautiful pass with a weird one to Karlsson.

A few moves later, the Swedish defender launched a 2-on-1 attack and made a strong pass to the far post. Michael Bunting only had to put his stick in to score the goal – 2:0.

– We were not good enough at the beginning of the game. I would say we probably underestimated how competitive this game would be in the first 20 minutes,” said Carbery.

Two goals at the beginning of the meeting did not eliminate Washington. And the team quickly found a way to effectively respond to the opponent. In the ninth minute, Connor McMichael in the attack zone threw the puck to Rasmus Sandin, who fired a wrist shot into the corner near the goal, reducing the gap to the minimum. Midway through the period, the Capitals could have tied the game when Karlsson was sent off, but the home special team failed to capitalize on the power play.

But with equal strength, the Capitals were abandoned. In the second period, a combination of people who came from the team worked, building a goal based on the notes of Karlsson and Bunting: Jakub Vrana ran into a counterattack, sent a pass to the far post, and Andrew Mangipane troubled the goalkeeper with one touch.

After that, there was a big drought in Washington’s home field, when the guests looked better. At one point, the Capitals game was so bad that team captain Ovechkin started swearing emotionally on the bench. Fortunately for the hockey players of the hosts, there was no negative reaction from the recipient.

“Pittsburgh” was able to score again in the 51st minute, and again Malkin spoke. Brian Rust ran behind the net and made a difficult pass to the nickel, and Malkin, breaking through three opponents, broke to the puck and scored from close range – 3:2. It seemed that the mind in the game would remain alive until the final whistle. In addition, near the end of the meeting, Carbery changed the goalkeeper to the sixth field player, but 23 seconds before the end of the third period, the visitors scored a goal in an empty net. Noel Acciari scored, adding a point – 4:2.

Evgeni Malkin / Photo: © Patrick Smith / Staff / Getty Images Sports / Gettyimages.ru

The puck ended up with Malkin, who was recognized as the first star of the game, the winner. In terms of sure goals, the Russian (84) is closer to Nashville’s Steven Stamkos (85), who is third in this category among active players, and Ovechkin (130) tops the list.

As for Alexander himself, he did not score any effective actions and stopped his streak of five games with points scored.