May 24 04:55AM Can't Spell OVECHKIN Without CHOKE. PENS WIN.

 

 

 

First off, the inspiration for the game recap's title:

 

Acne City over at PUCK DADDY.

More pics of this bizarre infatuation with Crosby at the PD link.

 

Here's what her sign says when she isn't at the rink:

 

Our Cap fan friends who e-mail us after games must have lost their internet access.

The silence is beautiful.

 

Secondly, an athiest could give a summary of this game. The Caps scored twice off of egregious mistakes made by the Penguins. No one knows what Letang did yet. Caps caught the Pens on a horrible line change. Strip those away, and it's 3-1. It's not even close. Those mistakes can be remedied. Bylsma's overall game plan exposed the Caps while putting the emphasis on his own talent. Beautifully done.

 

 

The Capitals have been lights-out all year. Good for them. But they are flailing about at the worst time of the season. Caps fans are feeling the anxiety now, and it's only accentuated by their shaky goaltending. And they also know that the one-man Ovechkin show will taper off in the grind of the playoffs. Tough time to be a Caps fan.

 

The Pens are on a tear. Case closed.

 

There are certain signs of Spring.

Daylight Savings is one of them.

Watching the Capitals lose big games is another.

Pens fans invading Washington is a third.

 

For all the Caps fans visiting us on this glorious Monday,

click "Read More" to continue.

 

But sorry.

No more mentioning of your disturbing infatuation with Crosby.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anthem pics sent in by Lowell, hilaryx5eff, couch, docc8,

chris o., allison, mark ash, Justin D., Nick B, and some silent partners.

 

 

Starting this thing off, the Pens had the Caps running.
Crosby gets a great chance early. Huge save.

The Caps get an offensive rush, and you hear cowbells in the stands.
Is this a college game? Jesus. Horrible fans.

Crosby gets a second chance early on a 2-on-1 with Bill Guerin. Goal. 1-0.

 

What a friggin play by Kunitz with the chip.

 

Crosby gets a secondary assist on it, too.

If you want to look at a joke, go watch A.O. backchecking on that play.

 

woooo

Soon after, Cooke goes to the box for a job.
The Pens kill it beautifully.

Gonch jobs.
Semin gets a breakaway. Candy comes back and thwarts it. Huge.
The Pens end up killing it, but the Caps were all over MAF like Ted Leonsis on a $5 bill.

But alas, the Caps tie it. 1-1.
All it took was a Pens mistake. And a huge one. Letang stunned.

Late in the period, Kennedy gets jobbed by some joke, and the glass falls apart.
Good job with your arena, Leonsis.

Thankfully, no players or spectators get injured.

Play finally resumes, and Trent Green goes into the corner.
Gonch jobs him. Green takes the first of at least three dives on the afternoon.

 

 

PP for the Caps. Huge kill.

After the kill, Guerin makes a mistake in his own zone.

But makes up for it by blocking a huge shot.
And then Crosby finds himself on a semi-breakaway.
Stopped. No surprise there.

 

Nothing else happens. Solid road period.

 

 

 

 

 

Things started picking up about 6 minutes into the second.
Malkin and Van Morrison went off, then Backstrom jobbed Crosby.
Pens get a 4-on-3; their first PP of the game, interestingly enough.

Gonchar goes under center, and the Caps fans do some whooping.
We were gonna listen closely to what was being "chanted" the next time he touched the puck. Oh wait.

 

2-1.

Whoooopp

Guerin in front. wooo.

The next two minutes consisted of Ovechkin forgetting he was on a team and trying to do too much. Failed.

The Pens needed the next goal. And they got it.
Kunitz-Letang-Crosby-Guerin. Two backhand chip passes.
Guerin gets it.

 

Toe-drag city.

3-1.

 

Not just saying this.

One of the better goals of the season:

 

 

 

Makes those "Guerin to Washington" trade-deadline rumors sting a little.

 

 

Trent Green goes to the box for something, and the Pens get a PP.
No dice.

For the rest of the second period, Dan Bylsma's game plan was exhibited.
The Pens worked the puck between their D-men.
If they didn't see something they liked, they started again.
Rarely was the puck picked off in the neutral zone.

Towards the end of the second, the Caps work in the Pens zone and get Tom Poti wide-open. Looks like a goal every day of the week. Ovechkin doesn't know the rules of hockey and the fact that the shot will be looked at after the next whistle.

He spends all his time waving around in the Pens zone as the Pens head the other way. Bad leadership.

Fortunately for the Caps, Ovechkin's lack of hockey knowledge doesn't cost them.

No goal regardless.

 

wah. learn the rules

 

At the end of the period, Trent draws his second mud penalty of the game.
Orpik goes off for visor-sticking.

 

 

At the end, Ovechkin races from his own zone trying to beat the clock and not concerning himself with his teammates. As if he doesn't do that every time he gets the puck. In case he didn't notice, three of his teammates were wide open when he gained the zone. What a hack.

The Caps came out and got the big goal they need.
And then they got another.

 

If you're keeping track, that's two goals the Caps scored off horrendous Penguin errors.

The fans start chanting FLEURY...FLEURY.
MAF's heard that before, like past the first round of the playoffs.

The next few minutes of play was intense.
The play-by-play announcer was drowned out by Caps fans wanting every call.
And they say Crosby complains? Jesus.

Every times a Caps player fell, the [fill in the blank] Center cried their eyes out.

 

Kind of embarrassing.

 

But embarrassing is nothing new to these parts.

[Thanks to Michael J. for this]

 

The late hits from the Caps finally cost them.
The Pens get a PP halfway through the third.
Pens had some big chances.
But Theodore wasn't cheating on his pregnant girlfriend. Big saves and a LINK.

Malkin had a solid chance a little later.
But again, Theodore wasn't cheating on his pregnant girlfriend.
It's almost like he was taking performance-enhancing drugs.
Oh, wait. HE DOES.

The game was reaching the homestretch, and Steckel blatantly trips Malkin.
Pretty dangerous play. Those are the kind of players Ted Leonsis employs.
The Pens can't capitalize.

After an icing call, the Pens make a line change.

Kunitz forgets he's on Bing's line. MAF holds down the fort.
Pens get the point after a late frenzy.



Malkin gets tripped after leading a 2-on-1.
But the Caps had already taken their quota of penalties.

The Pens had to survive a frenzy in front of MAF.
MAF with a save. Candy with a block.

Malkin gets douched.
Erskine knocks his stick away. Not a penalty anymore.

MAF makes some saves to wrap up OT.

Semin was up first.
We typed this before he sco-- save by MAF.

Suprisingly weak move.

 

Letang led off for the Pens.

Nope.

 

Next up, Jokov. He is like 80 for 80 or something.

MAF stands tall.

 

And then it happened.

All the mocking. All the taunting. Sidney Crosby stood at center ice.

He walked down on Theodore.

 

 

-sooska-

 

 

Stunned.

 

And now it was Washington's chance.

A.O. City. Couldn't have asked for a better ending.

 

A.O walks down.

 

Sorry A.O. You're just a tool.

Ovechkin was rushed to the hospital after choking on his shootout chance.

 

Game.

 

Michael J.

 

 

 

 

Video of the shootout:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Big-time e-mail from reader Corey M.

 

There is a little tradition among Pens fans here in the DC area, that after each game we win, we storm the steps of the Museum across the arena, and recite pens chants, and boo Ovie, or whatever the CAPS fans try to say during the game. Such as last year, they had towel giveaways at the game, and they were lit on fire on the steps celebration. It's louder than the Million Man March I swear, and you can hear it blocks away. Anyhow, I noticed people were flashing pictures of it in great numbers today, might be a great post addition if you can get one of those.

A new arrival to the Musem steps tradition, some 90 lbs, looked to be indian kid showed up and was wearing a Mario jersey and dancing around like he was Slum-dog Penguins fan. The dude was so heart and soul, if you get a picture of him, he deserves to be hailed by the pensblog. When a CAPS fan tried to start stuff with him, he stayed classy and true to the name on his jersey and made the kid look like a douche trying to start stuff with a 90 lbs indian maybe kid. He laid it on the line, and I'd bet good money, when he's sober, he's another avid reader.

CAPS fans make an annoying Whoop-whop noise everytime Gonchar touches the puck, so when he scored the Pens fans started making the noise loudly in celebration, then did so loudly in the concourse exiting the game. It was like taking their on belt and hitting them with it, it was great.

Chris Cooley was in attendance, and I think he was doing the trying not to cry at the end of the game routine. He tried to bitch-smack a pens fan, but since he's got no rings, it does not hurt anyone.

Finally, had an amazing stunned shot lined of some Caps fans frustrated after the shoot out goal, but some kid steped into the line of fire.

 

Intense e-mail.

 

 

JB with the pic.

bottom left.

 

Great time to be alive.