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The Washington Capitals defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins by a score of 6-3 today. The Capitals got two late empty net goals to seal an otherwise very tightly contested game. Caps vs Pens or as my wife likes to say "Caps vs Pengs", is always a great divisional rivalry battle. The Pens were able to take advantage of some inadequate goaltending by Samsonov in the first period. After that, Samsonov was lights out the rest of the game.
Here are the stats from the game:
Shots on Goal:
WSH – 45
PIT – 32
Shots on Goal (5v5):
WSH – 33
PIT – 28
Corsi For %:
WSH – 47.14%
PIT – 52.86%
Corsi For % (5v5):
WSH – 46.85%
PIT – 53.15%
Power Play:
WSH – 1/4
PIT – 0/3
Hits:
WSH – 39
PIT – 33
Blocks:
WSH – 20
PIT – 11
Scoring Chances For:
WSH – 30
PIT – 44
Scoring Chances For (5v5):
WSH – 25
PIT – 35
High Danger Chances For:
WSH– 15
PIT – 18
High Danger Chances For (5v5):
WSH – 12
PIT – 16
My Takeaways:
Samsonov Roller Coaster - It would not be a Washington Capitals game if the opponent didn't score in the first couple minutes of the game. Samsonov once again was very up and down. He allowed three really soft goals in the first period. Brian Boyle should never be able to rip inside post at that angle. Here is a goalie comparison of "how not to" and "how to" defend the same shot as a goaltender:
Here is the Brian Boyle goal from today. The angle at the 0:34 mark is the best:
Here is Kuznetsov shooting a similar shot and look at how technically sound Vasilevskiy is at defending the angle. The Clip is I am focusing is embedded to start on 7:02 and ends at 7:21:
Granted, Kuzy tries this all the time and I am sure the scouting report is out on him. Brian Boyle on the other hand is not a sniper and maybe that shot caught Sammy off guard. Regardless, you should be defending it no matter what. Ilya Samsonov is listed as 6'3 and 200lbs while Andre Vasilevskiy is listed as 6'3 and 225 lbs. Sammy should be able to get up like that!
After allowing three goals in the first period, Samsonov stopped the all 18 Pittsburgh shots the rest of the game. 9 of those 18 shots were considered high danger chances and Sammy stopped them all! Samsonov finished the game 25/28. He stopped 10 of 11 low danger shots, he stopped 6 of 6 medium danger shots, and 8 of 10 high danger shots. Samsonov got the Caps in trouble early but also bailed them out down the stretch. This was just a classic Samsonov game. Right on brand.
Tom Wilson - You just hate to see it. Tom Wilson scores what would eventually be tallied as the game-winning goal to put the Caps up 4-3 late in the third period. I would imagine the fans in the building not being too thrilled with that one. Wilson is just an elite hockey player. Here is the goal and boy was it a beautiful all-around play:
Wilson finished as the 1st star of the game. He had 1G-1A-2P. He also registered 8 total hits and 4 blocks, one giveaway and one takeaway. He had three iSCF (individual scoring chances) and one high danger chance. You just hate to see it.
Turning Point of the Game - Up 3-2 early in the 2nd, the Pittsburgh Penguins took three minor penalties in the span of 1:41 seconds. The Penguins are objectively the least penalized team in the league. They entered today's game averaging 2.97 penalties taken per 60 minutes. The Pens were actually doing a great job of killing off the first Kris Letang Penalty in the second period. The killer penalty was the Brian Dumoulin Delay of Game just three seconds after Jeff Carter was called for hi-sticking. This one put the Capitals on the 5-on-3 for 1:57. It only took the Capitals 40 seconds to score on the 5-on-3 man advantage. You guessed it, the great one Alexander Ovechkin from his office. Here is the automatic goal:
The Caps played great hockey for a majority of the rest of the game. The Caps outshot the Pens 35-18 from the second period on. With the game tied 3-3 in the third, the Caps dug in and played some great hockey. The Caps held a 65.22% to 34.78% CorsiFor% advantage in the third period. They also led 6-3 on high danger chances in the third.
Next Up, The Capitals are home tomorrow to face the Bruins at 1:30pm. Vanecek will be in net for the Caps as they continue to search for the goalie that will lead them in the playoffs if they make it.
That is all for today. Thanks for reading and GO CAPS!
Washington Capitals Blogger • 
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