Bryan Rust gave the Penguins a lift in his season debut, but Pittsburgh spent too much of the night digging out of its own mistakes and couldn’t climb all the way back in a 5-3 loss to the Capitals.
Washington struck first just 23 seconds into the game, then kept punishing Pittsburgh’s giveaways and defensive breakdowns. The Penguins answered quickly and even twice cut the deficit to one, but every time they threatened to settle in, another miscue opened the door for the Capitals.
Rust made an immediate impact after entering the lineup, scoring on Pittsburgh’s first shot at 1:19 of the opening period. Ben Kindel carried the puck into the zone and fed Rust, who drove to the net and saw the puck slip off Logan Thompson and in to tie it at 1-1.
That was about as clean as it got early for the Penguins.
After Ville Koivunen was whistled for tripping and Nick Robertson was called for clearing the puck over the glass, Pittsburgh had to survive 44 seconds of a 5-on-3. Trevor van Riemsdyk did his part with a few shot blocks, but the Capitals soon cashed in again when Kris Letang turned a puck back behind his own net and Pierre-Luc Dubois turned the turnover into a 2-1 lead.
The first period tilted heavily Washington’s way from there. The Capitals finished with a 14-4 shot edge, and the shot-attempt numbers were even more lopsided at 34-11. Pittsburgh was getting pushed around and repeatedly hurt by its own puck management.
The second period brought more of the same. Arturs Silovs coughed one up behind the net, and Declan Carlile made things worse by blocking the goalie’s route back to the crease. Tom Wilson set up Dubois again, and it was 3-1.
Not long after that, another Carlile mistake fed a Washington rush. A brutal cross-ice pass was picked off and turned into a 2-on-0, with Wilson finding Alex Tuch for a 4-1 Capitals lead.
Pittsburgh finally found some life through its second line. Egor Chinakhov set up Evgeni Malkin, Thompson stopped Malkin’s shot off the post, and Tommy Novak jumped on the rebound to make it 4-2.
Then the fourth line chipped in. Kaeden Korczak fired one toward the net and Robertson got a beautiful tip to bring the Penguins within 4-3. Robertson was also cross-checked in the back on the play, and he later drew a penalty as Pittsburgh tried to keep the pressure on before intermission.
That was the story of the night in a nutshell: enough push to stay alive, not nearly enough clean hockey to control anything.
Pittsburgh had a chance to carry momentum into the third on a power play, but couldn’t convert. Soon after, van Riemsdyk went to the box for hooking to prevent a scoring chance, and Ryan Leonard beat Silovs with a wrist shot as the penalty expired to push Washington ahead 5-3.
Blake Lizotte later went off for a penalty of his own, then came back out and got sprung on a breakaway that Thompson denied. The game turned ugly when Dubois drove Carlile into the boards head first, leaving Carlile bloodied. Pittsburgh got a power play out of it and came up empty.
Silovs was pulled with plenty of time left, but the Penguins couldn’t generate much beyond the perimeter as the clock wound down.
A few notes stood out beyond the final score. Kindel has taken Chinakhov’s spot on the top power play, and that change may make sense after Chinakhov looked out of place as a left shot working mostly on the left side.
Letang had a rough first period, especially on the second Washington goal, and Pittsburgh’s problems were hardly limited to one defenseman. Each of the Capitals’ first four goals was fueled by a major Penguins turnover or breakdown, and Carlile was directly involved in the third and fourth goals against. The Penguins are making life hard on themselves, and opponents are taking the gifts without hesitation.
Rust was the only Penguins forward to record a shot in the first period, and he scored on it. By the middle of the second, Pittsburgh had moved him back up with Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell, which was no surprise.
Crosby also carried the load in the faceoff circle, going 6-1 in the first period. Everyone else on the team was 3-11. Pittsburgh entered the night 27th in the league in faceoffs at 45.5%, and without Crosby’s 55.7% entering the game, that number would look even worse.
Robertson had a busy night after dropping into a fourth-line role. He did put the puck over the glass, but he also scored and drew a penalty late in the second period.
Malkin, meanwhile, was noticeable as a passer and chance creator. At this point in his career, that’s where he’s doing a lot of his best work.
Mostly, though, the Penguins spent the night chasing the mistakes they made themselves. They had a couple of breakaways and power-play chances late, but not enough precision to turn the game around.
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