Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby made 44 saves and spoiled the debut of Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan in a 4-1 victory at Consol Energy Center. With the Capitals up 2-1, T.J. Oshie scored an insurance goal when he carried the puck past Ian Cole before wrapping a shot around the left post 8:50 into the third period. Oshie scored again with 48.1 seconds remaining.
Pittsburgh outshot Washington 45-34, but Sullivan, who was named coach after Mike Johnston was relieved of his duties Saturday, said he thought the Penguins were pressing in some areas, particularly while failing to capitalize on two power plays. Pittsburgh are 11 points behind Washington in the Metropolitan Division after losing their first game under Sullivan. The Capitals earned a point for the 10th time in 11 games to extend their division lead to three points over the New York Islanders.
After a spirited first shift from the Penguins' top line produced three shots in the first 43 seconds of the game, the Capitals rebounded to score the opening two goals. Defenseman Karl Alzner slid a pass to Backstrom entering the offensive zone with Sidney Crosby trailing. Backstrom sent a snap shot over goalie Marc-Andre Fleury's glove from the top of the right circle for a 1-0 Capitals lead 3:53 into the first period.
John Carlson extended the lead when he collected his own rebound, beating Olli Maatta to the puck, and took a wrist shot into the upper-right corner 7:04 into the opening period. Evgeni Malkin cut the deficit in half when he deflected a Ben Lovejoy slap shot past Holtby to make it 2-1 with 6:01 remaining in the first.
Pittsburgh nearly tied the game when Patric Hornqvist's backhand shot hit off the right post and sat at the Washington goal line. The puck eventually came to Chris Kunitz, with Holtby out of position, but Kunitz backhanded a shot into Carlson before it was cleared with 8:47 remaining in the second period.
The Capitals thought they took a 3-1 lead 1:49 later when Justin Williams followed the puck through the Penguins crease before backhanding a shot into the net, but it was ruled he ran into Fleury.
Beau Bennett left the game with 1:04 remaining in the first period after Oshie hit him into the boards.
Rob Scuderi was a late healthy scratch and was traded during the game to the Chicago Blackhawks for defenseman Trevor Daley. Adam Clendening replaced Scuderi in the Penguins lineup. Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said he does not anticipate making another trade at this time.
Pens Quotes
Mike Sullivan: "I think we've got to think we've got to find a way to free ourselves up to be more instinctive and not press. Sometimes when you try too hard, you're out of that instinctive mindset where you're seeing the ice and you're in that flow mindset. … Having said that, we'll go back to work tomorrow, we'll focus on the process and we'll pull ourselves out of this."Jim Rutherford: "I'd like to give Mike a little time with this group, see how it settles in, then we'll take a look at it. One of the things with making the move was the coaching change, making it when we did, it gives us enough time to make other adjustments if necessary."
Opposition View
T.J. Oshie: "We were stressing it quite a bit before the game, that they were going to come out with some intensity. They're going to try to impress their new coach. They're going to earn their ice time. You get lifted when you have a new opportunity. For me, personally, when you see a coach go, you feel a little let down because that obviously means you're not playing that good, so you pick your own game up. I thought we did a good job matching their intensity and having a good start."
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