Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post - Tomas Vokoun is congratulated by teammates after recording a 30-save shutout.
The speedy winger buried the chance and put the Capitals up 1-0, 15 minutes 25 seconds into the period. It marked Chimera’s 14th goal of the season and his first in eight games.
Few may have anticipated a one-goal game between these teams, but Chimera’s tally stood as the difference in the contest thanks to Vokoun and also the Capitals’ ability to adhere to their system.
“I think we executed our game plan tonight,” Hendricks said. “I know we’ve talked about that as being kind of a thorn in our side lately, especially those last two road games. To execute our game plan for 60 minutes and come out on top with a win was great.”
Through the second period, the Penguins continued to rack up scoring chances and on nearly every shift that brought them into the offensive zone they tried to make sure Vokoun knew they were there. Pittsburgh bumped and ran into Vokoun numerous times as the game went on, but the netminder simply shook off each altercation.
After a scoreless middle period, Washington came out throwing as much offensive pressure as possible on Marc-Andre Fleury (20 saves) and the Penguins to try to increase their lead. The Capitals came close, a shot by Hendricks clanked off the post and Alex Ovechkin put forth his best chances of the contest but couldn’t beat Fleury.
Pittsburgh followed with a furious attempt to score as time ticked away in the third. With 6:21 remaining in regulation, Vokoun made a lunging stop on a bad-angle rebound attempt by Malkin. He made a pair of saves to smother shots by James Neal on the next shift.
Then, with 2:07 remaining in regulation Malkin snared the puck once more and barreled down the right wing as bodies from both sides were strewn on top of the crease.
Somehow, by the time Malkin shot from the hash marks in the right faceoff circle Vokoun emerged from the pile and stood up to catch the puck. The Penguins wouldn’t get another opportunity of that caliber.
“We play a little bit the dice there, we could’ve put the game away but it’s nice to bounce back,” Vokoun said. “We didn’t play good — not very good game in L.A. — and this is a good bounce-back victory for us obviously, a tight checking game, a 1-0 game. The score says it all, a pretty even game and I think our effort was much better today.”
Capitals note: Backstrom was placed on injured reserve retroactive to Jan. 3 and is eligible to be taken off that list at any time. Washington’s top center has not played since that day when he suffered a head injury after being elbowed by Calgary’s Rene Bourque.
Related: Capitals’ fourth line helps shut door on Penguins
Summary and stats: Capitals 1, Penguins 0
More coverage: Capitals Insider
The Post Most: SportsMost-viewed stories, videos and galleries int he past two hours
Loading...
Comments