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Penguins 7 Takeaways: ‘Hard Fought’ Point, But Is It Good Enough? (+)

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Pittsburgh Penguins game, Kris Letang, Anthony Mantha

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The game meant more than two points and meant more than a rivalry game with a little hate building. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals are embroiled in a deepening pool of teams at the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff seedings, and more teams will have early summers than extended seasons.

So every point matters.

The Penguins scored on a couple of Capitals goalie Darcy Kuemper’s miscues to force overtime and the shootout, but earned only one point in the 3-2 shootout loss at Capital One Arena.

Was the effort good enough?

“Anytime you get a point, it’s a good point. And so it was a hard-fought point, I’ll tell you that,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “I thought we competed hard.”

The Penguins’ defensive structure has been, generously, spotty. The team allowed at least 39 shots in three of their previous four games.

Make that four of five after giving up 45 shots to Washington, but that’s one side of the coin. The other is the Penguins allowed only 22 shots over the final 45 minutes.

But again, the overriding question that trumps all: did they play well enough to win?

My best answer is — not really.

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