Penguins Grades: Capitals Rebuild Shows Up Pens, Big Lessons to Learn
WASHINGTON D.C. — The Pittsburgh Penguins locker room was a mixture of sullen and encouraged. From coach Mike Sullivan to Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell, the internal reaction to their 4-1 loss to the Washington Capitals was an expansive mixture of emotions.
The Penguins’ leadership core was probably surprised that the two teams that have been on parallel tracks for most of the last two decades are suddenly in very different places. Washington has zoomed past the Penguins with a mixture of young players and newly acquired players in their 20s, while the Penguins are fighting to preserve the past era with their star players and others acquired as the prelude to a rebuild because they arrived with additional draft picks attached.
In full disclosure, Washington was not burdened with the same no-movement clauses and 35+ deals that have trapped the Penguins. Instead, Washington’s veterans have essentially retired due to injuries, freeing up loads of cap space. Washington also kept their draft picks far more often than trading them, leading to production from players like Connor McMichael (2019) and smooth trades for young players like Rasmus Sandin, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Andrew Mangiapane, and Jakob Chychrun.
It’s still Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin, but the Capitals from 2022 are no more. The Penguins from 2022 are still here…but older.
Saturday, Washington displayed its new look and a high-energy defensive structure behind coach Spencer Carbery and swallowed the Penguins like a python controlling its prey.
It was a close game, but also, it wasn’t. So much like the teams’ positions in the bigger picture, they are close but going in very different directions.
“You know, we competed hard. I thought we had opportunities to maybe put more pucks in play and get inside the dots a little bit,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “We had some looks. We had some opportunities. Listen, it’s a one-goal game.”
It was a one-goal game until the final couple of minutes. Washington scored a power-play goal in the final seconds of their opportunity and then an empty netter.
“Yeah. I’m not sure (why we struggled to score). Maybe (we needed) to get out of our end a little better,” Crosby said in a soft voice. “I don’t… I have to watch it again. I thought it was pretty tight on both sides of the puck.”
Lost in the shuffle, the Penguins didn’t score until midway through the third period. They cut the lead to 2-1 but deserved no better.
The 4-1 final was probably a more apt score than 2-1. Washington got inside the dots. The Penguins merely thought about it. Washington held their fort like the revolutionaries who built this city. The Penguins didn’t have the firepower to overcome the disparity.
Rebuild vs. Rebuild
The Capitals now have 31 wins and 15 losses, including overtime and shootouts. The Penguins now have only 18 wins and 29 losses, including overtime and shootouts.
Despite the Penguins being 5-0-1 in their last six games at Capital One Arena and possessing a 6-3-0 in the second of back-to-back games, the revamped Capitals flexed their rebuild, which is a few years ahead of the Penguins. To underscore that point, Chychrun, whom some in the Penguins organization long desired, scored Washington’s first goal.
Read More:Â Penguins vs. the Metro; How the Capitals Took Big Swings To Rebuild
Washington acquired Chychrun from the Ottawa Senators over the summer, maximizing the salary cap flexibility afforded to them by T.J. Oshie essentially retiring but going on long-term injured reserve.
Top center Pierre-Luc Dubois had two points, showcasing Capitals’ former GM (now president of hockey operations) Brian MacLellan’s successful gamble when Washington and the LA Kings swapped bad contracts. Washington sent goalie Darcy Kuemper to LA for Dubois.
The Capitals snagged Aliaksei Protas, 24, in the third round of the 2019 draft and Connor McMichael in the first-round pick (taken after the Penguins’ Sam Poulin in the 21st). Both had two points.
The Penguins had 2022 first-round pick Owen Pickering and 2018 second-round pick Joel Blomqvist in net. Otherwise, the Penguins’ roster is largely older stars and transient players hoping to find a home.
The Penguins’ offseason acquisitions and young players were no match Saturday and only 32-year-old Bryan Rust scored.
Sullivan tried to remain in the moment and keep the focus on the playoff race, but with just three wins in 11 games and getting bounced by a team they used to torture, the greater picture seemed to haunt him, too.
“I don’t know what we’re going to take away from it right now. It’s too raw. I’ll digest it. I’ll watch the film. We’ll see what we can take from it,” said Sullivan. “But we’ve just got to keep competing. And that’s just the world we live in right now. We’re trying to stay in the playoff race. Every game…every game is important. We have to keep competing here.”
And on those stone tablets, the true story of the 4-1 Capitals win, or Penguins’ loss, was written but in the context of a much greater story. Perhaps this is the first time since the mid-1980s that the Capitals have the upper hand in the fierce rivalry.
Penguins Report Card
Team: B-
They had a lethargic start. The Capitals were able to put bodies on the blue line and take away the middle of the ice. The Penguins third line got the puck deep with control a couple of times. However, that was the only line that had any success getting past the Capitals wall, for which the Penguins paid the price. Without pressure in the defensive zone, the Capitals were emboldened.
The Penguins needed a few more defensive plays and counterattacks. Some determined net-battles to claim that space. And they needed more fourth-sticks from Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang.
The Penguins just needed more.
Joel Blomqvist: A
The young goalie made quite a few good saves. Sullivan said he was tremendous but didn’t need to waste words describing it.
“He stopped the puck.”
Depth: B
The Penguins’ most successful lines in terms of puck possession were the third and fourth lines. Unsurprisingly, Cody Glass played a big role. Drew O’Connor was aggressive again, too. Games in which the Penguins are trying to forecheck and pressure the opposing defensemen are not entirely kind to Kevin Hayes. He created some offensive chances, though.
Lizotte, Glass and Acciari were noticeably o the puck in the offensive zone, too.
Categorized:Penguins Penguins Analysis
Well, at least there’s no goalie problem anymore. If we’d done what Washington did with Kuemper, and swapped Jarry for a quality center or a winger… Oh well, what’s done is done. But you can’t compete in this league with just one line, and only when said line is producing. You know, HBK was our third line. Key word being was.
3 goals against is much better than 3 goals against. Problem solved.
The Caps took some calculated risks and swung big trades that worked out in their favor. I wouldn’t say their drafting in recent years is attributing to the majority of their success. Trading for PLD, Chychrun, Mangiapane, Thompson and signing Roy certainly has; not to mention using LTIR to their benefit. I wanted the Pens to make a play for Chychrun last deadline. I have to applaud them, things are going very well in the regular season for the Caps. I don’t think many fans nor media thought PLD would work as well as he is in WSH, it very… Read more »
You’re right. I’d like that too, but Dubas only made mistakes before and after Karlsson. We’ve spent to the cap and only have one line. I actually think the blue line would be better if we had more than one line. The Karlsson contract looks bad to us because he’s on a team with one line, and that one line can’t produce for four lines, night in, night out. But Dubas spent money elsewhere. You think we’ve acquired picks? Nothing relevant to push this team into the playoffs before 2057. We’ve spent to the cap, and the only remaining player… Read more »
still 5 to 1 in cups
NO ONE WANTED JARRY!!! KD tried!
Yes because Kyle Dumbass signed him for way too much.
Joel blomqvist looked really, really good tonight. First game back up, thrown in against best team in hockey in the road. The first goal beauviller redirected with his stick. Second goal was horrible turnover by Pettersson and gave him no chance, and third goal was bad breakdown off face off and I think it went off graves. He made several outstanding saves, especially a toe save right before rust goal and blocker save on breakaway. He controlled rebounds, and was calm moving puck. We might have something with this kid.
Also, I went to this game and have to say Sid and Geno were both pissed at the end and giving it to Karlsson pretty hard heading to the bench after empty net goal…seriously, it looked like a Geno vs kessel moment from back in the day. not sure what happened there, but I have to wonder if things are wearing thin. Hope they can get it together quickly, or alternatively find some team that will take on ek65 and at least most of his contract…
Now that we have a good goalie tandem, we just need a head coach that have some sort of idea of how to play defense in front of them.
Might help if we had a few players who knew how to score goals. Pathetic offense.
They need to get 3or 4 good players……..at least
14th overall goals for (143), dead last goals against (179) ..
Wait, are you demanding the coach play defense, too?
I’m OK with whatever takes Sullivan out of the head coach position 😉
Keep Sully, keep losing!
Crosby, Malkin, and especially Letang were terrible tonight. Period. At no point in this game did I think we had a chance to win. It was a big, physical team that wanted to win against a team that just wanted to skate around the ice and play hockey…Mike Sullivan’s answers, or should I say his body language while giving those answers, said it all: the Caps are up there, and we’re down here…not to repeat myself, but when your 1C and your 2C only have 20 combined goals all season AND are a combined -37, you have problems… (Reference: Oveckin… Read more »
Crosby looked uninterested from the start…not pursuing pucks in the d-zone on the 1st shift and looked more like someone who HAD to go to work and couldn’t wait for their shift to end.
The Caps possessed the puck on both ends and owned the ice the same way the Pens did when we won the last cups. Not dump and chase, not blindly throwing it up the ice, but keeping possession.
Don’t you know that dump and chase is all Sully knows.
Totally disagree
71 and 58 have been empty sweaters all season.
With all due respect, I don’t know what game you were watching. Crosby played well, set up rust for goal, set up rust and rakell multiple times for grade a chances, was very good on back checks. Letang made an unbelievably good play right before the rust goal to stop a two on one. Malkin was fine, actually was playing pretty fast and stealing pucks several times. Caps are just very good, and very structured defensively. Also, pens were playing back end of back to backs. They played fine, caps just were better.
Crosby was minus 2
you’re right, no need to actually watch the game to see how someone is playing, just check their +/- in the box score.
“Send in the clowns”…
If you cried and shrieked at the opportunities to break up the beloved “core” over the last 6 years then this is what you were asking for.
Yes should have rebuilt after last good playoff run, you know money talks, afraid to get rid of stars , but you know stars get old too darn it
Should have moved on from 71 and 58 2 summers ago. The Bolts dumped Stamkos to stay competitive and playoff bound. He sucks this season in Nashville. Hextall gave in to the yinzer fan boys and puck bunnies and set the franchise back several years.
Sid made sure both stayed. Had they been allowed to leave then Sid leaves which would mean the Pens as a Franchise would never recover.
When you examine this lineup, it’s clear that scoring has been a persistent issue in most games. More often than not, the Penguins are facing backup goalies instead of their opponents’ top netminders. That alone speaks volumes about how other teams view them. Essentially, teams feel comfortable resting their starting goaltender because this lineup doesn’t present enough offensive threat to force their hand. No matter how many analytics experts you bring in, the on-ice results tell the real story: this team simply lacks the firepower to consistently get the job done.
This team is full of players going thru the motions , I’m so sick of Sally’s excuses, been hard to watch for couple of years now (well wr competed hard) yeah right they don’t even stick up for thereon players
KD should be open for business and clearance sales. Outside of 87, 38, and 30 – everyone should be considered or asked for movement. I realize this a process that will take up until next season. But it’s a must.
You say grade away those guys but you mention who is supposed to take over in those spots. No.1 D-Man and No.2 Centermen don’t grow on trees so unless your getting some good pieces(not picks or prospects) your better off keeping your guys and stay in the fight.
The bigger problem is D. Pens are 14th in Goals but dead last in Goals allowed.
Fire Sully or continue to lose. 7 seasons without a playoff series win. Its ridiculous he still has a job!
Caps have 18 Million in LTIR cap relief. Not to take anything away from their success this season, but it’s quite a luxury to build a roster with that amount of cap space. Carberry is a great young coach. They’ve made very sharp decisions as an organization as well.
Dear Teflon Mike, it’s not about “competing hard””. And who cares if it was a one-goal game? You lost, Mr Cluekless. For the 29th time this season. How you remain employed is one of life’s great mysteries.
Very strong analysis. Just call people names. Very mature. Pretty sure Sully knows more about hockey than all of us on this site, so maybe we can dial down the butthurt.
Drafting and development has a lot to do with the success. Seriously who have we drafted and developed in the last 10 years that has an impact as Protas is having with the Caps? No one. GMJR not only threw away draft picks, but hardly developed anyone.
Not the Front Offices fault nor is it Sully’s fault. The fault lies within the players failing to make an impact. If the player does not take it upon themselves to fix there issues then why are they even around?
Sully is a one trick pony and that pony has left the building.
Huh?
“Surely, the Penguins’ leadership core was unaware that the two teams that have been on parallel tracks for most of the last two decades are suddenly in very different places.”
This statement appears to belittle the leadership core’s intelligence. I’d imagine they are aware they haven’t made the playoffs in a few years and are in a downward spiral, with about 6 guys on the roster who wouldn’t be on any other competitive teams roster; meanwhile, the Caps are 1st in the East by several points, Surely, they are aware.
Caps had a few losing seasons in there, too, more than pens. Point is that all of a sudden they are best team in nhl, after last year being within in a couple point if pens
I think you’re right. I’m not sure how that line came to be–I had asked a couple of people to clean up my work–but I don’t recall trying to imply anything that might be insulting. My apologies for the nebulous or a little bit wonky sentence.
People, the caps are top team in league, are 31-10-4 and 7-0-3 in last ten games, and their goalie has been out of his mind. He is 21-2-3…and no that is not a typo. Has a 2.09 ga/avg (2nd in nhl) and .925 save % (3rd). He had not given up a goal in 9 straight periods before the rust goal, and he has given up a total of 2 goals in last four games, stopping 91 of last 93 shots. Maybe we can acknowledge that sometimes the other team is just better. And
Wasn’t that the whole point of the article? How the Capitals have retooled in a short period of time and the Penguins have languished!