Courtesy: att McClain – Washington Post
As the Washington Capitals sit one point out of a playoff spot, they know how important grabbing the second game of a home and home series against the Pittsburgh Penguins is.
Monday night’s game was very winnable in head coach Adam Oates’ eyes, but a few mental lapses here and there ultimately costed the Capitals’ chance at two points as they came up empty with a regulation loss. Despite the Penguins being led by their top guns in Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz – Kunitz scored just 46 seconds into the game – the Capitals found a way to log a lot of ice time in Pittsburgh’s zone, but couldn’t breach their defense and grit.
In seeing Jeff Zatkoff and Jaroslav Halak Monday night, the coaches of each respective team will go with their other option in net. Marc-Andre Fleury (33-14-3, .916 SV%, 2.31 GAA) will be between the pipes for Pittsburgh opposite of Washington’s choice in net Braden Holtby (19-14-3, .911 SV%, 2.98 GAA).
Holtby needs a solid game tonight to first and foremost get his team back in the win column, but also to boost his own self-confidence. No. 70 seems like a different player in 2013-14 than he has in the past. He has been faced with competition at his position and a defense in front of him that is 27th in shots allowed per game in the NHL. Given the offensive talents on Washington, so much emphasis has been placed on what needs to be fixed on the back end that Holtby has had to pick up a lot of extra slack he hasn’t been too accustomed to as this was his first full season — 2012-13 was an abridged campaign due to the NHL lockout — as a full-time starting goalie. Whether or not his inconsistent play is entirely his fault remains to be seen, but Holtby will need this game to keep his team’s chances very much alive in the Eastern Conference.
It was clear Monday night that Pittsburgh’s stars came to play and Washington’s will have to do the same at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh. Alexander Ovechkin played to a -1 rating and went to the penalty box for two minutes and eight shot attempts. Nicklas Backstrom was credited with a goal, but also played to a -1 rating. These guys have to be the go-to guys when it comes down to it.
But as of late, it’s been the third line of Jason Chimera-Eric Fehr- Joel Ward leading the way for the Capitals as they are the grittiest line of the bunch.
And that’s largely the problem with the Caps… they don’t have enough grit at times and will need it Tuesday against the team that is the epitome of the word.
For Washington to avoid dropping a crucial game to the Penguins, they must do three things:
1. Win the battle in the faceoff circle and avoid being defeated in that department for a 7th straight game
2. When in Pittsburgh’s zone, create traffic in front of the net making Fleury’s line of sight blocked
3. Avoid mental lapses in their own zone by communicating effectively in front of Holtby and in the neutral zone
These three things are easier said than done against the class of the East, but as they showed Monday night, Washington can compete with Pittsburgh if they execute their gameplan.
