Penguins beat Capitals to even series

The best series in the Stanley Cup playoffs wasn’t going to wait until late to get going. After a wild Game 1 which saw the top-seeded Washington Capitals defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins at Verizon Center, the Penguins struck back to even the matchup headed back to Pittsburgh on Saturday in Game 2 with a 2-1 win.

Pittsburgh took a 1-0 advantage in the second period on a Carl Hagelin goal, his second of the playoffs, before losing the lead at the 4:08 mark of the third period to Marcus Johansson. With less than five minutes remaining, it was Eric Fehr who became the unlikely hero, scoring the game-winner to even the series.

For the Penguins, this was a must-win. Falling behind 2-0 to the Capitals would have been devastating, because it would have meant having to beat the President Trophy winners four of the next five contests. Now, the Penguins have home ice advantage and could possibly take a stranglehold on the proceedings should they defend their ice.

Pittsburgh did many of the little things poorly in Game 2 like winning the physical battle and losing faceoffs, but it threw 35 shots on goals to pepper the likely Vezina Trophy winner, Braden Holtby. Holtby was terrific, but he couldn’t beat the Penguins, who once again found a way to win without goaltender Marc-Andre Fluery back in net. Third-string goalie Matt Murray continues to keep chugging, winning with 23 saves.

At the end of the day, Pittsburgh has the momentum and Washington has to find a way to steal one game on the road before returning to the nation’s capital for a pivotal Game 5 next week.

It will be interesting to see how the series get ratcheted up after the huge hit in the first period by Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik (a former Pittsburgh star), who hammered Olli Maatta with a borderline. Maatta did not return after having to be helped off the ice, something Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan was not happy about, per ESPN.

“He’s obviously out. We’ll have more details probably tomorrow on his status,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “I thought it was a late hit. I thought it was a target to his head. I think it’s the type of hit that everyone in hockey is trying to remove from the game. That’s how I saw it.”

For his part, Washington head coach Barry Trotz saw the hit a different way, per ESPN.

“I’ll let the league handle it. … He’s not a dirty player. The Pittsburgh people know that.”

Now we have a best-of-5 series with the Penguins and Capitals going after the Stanley Cup. Washington has never won it all, Pittsburgh is chasing elusive glory one more time with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin hungry for another title.

Time will tell who wins.