WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals learned a hard lesson in their 2-1 loss in Game 2 of their second-round playoff series with the Pittsburgh Penguins: the power play can't provide the only offense.
Washington had eight power-play goals in its first-round series with the Philadelphia Flyers, and even though the power play went 1-for-2 on Saturday, the rest of the attack was disjointed.
It did not look like an offense that ranked first in even-strength goals (164) — and second in goals per game (3.0) during the regular season. Through two periods, they managed 10 shots on goal (to 28) and two even-strength scoring chances (to eight), according to war-on-ice.com. The final tally: a 35-24 shot and a 12-6 scoring-chance advantage for the Penguins.
“We didn’t manage the puck (in the first two periods),” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. “We didn’t place it in the right areas.
“I don’t think we were as urgent on the puck. Our puck battles weren’t as crisp and when you’re turning pucks over in the neutral zone, you’re feeding their game.”
The Penguins, tied 1-1 in the series, are at their best when their defensemen quickly transition the puck from the defensive zone to their forwards, many of whom are excellent skaters. They back down the defense, then maintain possession in the offensive with their skill and cycle game. There’s a reason the Penguins finished the regular season as one of the best puck-possession teams.
"I thought we were coming out of our end zone very efficiently and we were hanging onto pucks down low, underneath the hash marks,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “When we do that I think we're hard to play against.”
Trotz felt the Capitals’ “emotional bite” arrived after a goal from defenseman Nate Schmidt was disallowed late in the second period because of goalie interference from Evgeny Kuznetsov. They would end up tying it at 1-1 on an early third-period power play.
Several Capitals players agreed — they didn’t play with enough desperation.
“We talked between the second and third — we’re getting embarrassed out there, and we’re only down a goal. That’s a positive thing,” Capitals forward Justin Williams said.
There was also a sense in the locker room that Washington needs to play a more simple game. Make the easy pass, not the fancy one. Shoot the puck from all over, rather than looking for the perfect opportunity.
“We made lots of turnovers,” Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin said. “We didn’t execute the puck in our zone. We made bad decisions. We had no traffic in front of the net. If they have a chance to take a shot, they take a shot. Sometimes you have to find a different way to take the puck to the net.”
Despite winning Game 1 in overtime, the Capitals have not resembled their Presidents' Trophy-winning makeup for long enough stretches. Goalie Braden Holtby (68 saves on 71 shots in the series) has masked the deficiencies against a Penguins team that can come at you in waves.
"I don't think we've played our best game yet," Trotz said. "We haven't strung enough periods together. ... We can be better in a lot of areas right now."
