Skip to content
Capitals at Penguins
NHL

Washington Capitals at Pittsburgh Penguins

NHL scoreboard
Washington Capitals
▸4
Pittsburgh Penguins
3
FinalTV ESPN+, HULU·PPG Paints Arena

Recap

written from the game data

The Washington Capitals beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3. The Capitals scored first and never trailed. The Capitals led 4-3 after two periods. The biggest swing in win probability was Jake Guentzel's goal at 18:54 of the second period, which took the Penguins' chances from 12% to 29%. Expected goals favored the Penguins, 3.7 to 1.3; shots on goal were WSH 22, PIT 35. With league-average goaltending at both ends, the Penguins win a replay of these chances 87% of the time. Darcy Kuemper stopped 32 of 35 (.914), 0.7 goals saved above expected; Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 14 of 15 (.933). Three stars: 1. Alex Ovechkin (1 G), 2. Martin Fehérváry (1 G), 3. Sidney Crosby (1 G, 1 A).

Three stars

  1. ★
    WSH
    A. Ovechkin1 G
  2. ★★
    WSH
    M. Fehérváry1 G
  3. ★★★
    PIT
    S. Crosby1 G, 1 A

Line score

goals · shots on goal beneath
Goals and shots on goal by period
Team1st2nd3rdT
WSHWSH4110803422
PITPIT16216013335

Scoring

7 goals

1st period

  1. WSH
    T. Wilson(11)
    R. Sandin (9), E. Bear (1)
    snapxG 0.02win prob +11 ptsVideo
    1-0
    0:55
  2. WSH
    B. Malenstyn(4)
    N. Dowd (3)
    wristxG 0.03win prob +16 ptsVideo
    2-0
    11:16
  3. WSH
    M. Fehérváry(2)
    D. Strome (9), H. Lapierre (4)
    wristxG 0.02win prob +11 ptsVideo
    3-0
    13:02
  4. WSH
    A. Ovechkin(8)PPG
    R. Sandin (10), A. Mantha (6)
    wristxG 0.02win prob +6 ptsVideo
    4-0
    19:18
  5. PIT
    R. Rakell(3)
    E. Karlsson (18), P. Joseph (2)
    snapxG 0.04win prob +6 ptsVideo
    4-1
    19:56

2nd period

  1. PIT
    S. Crosby(21)PPG
    J. Guentzel (25), E. Malkin (18)
    batxG 0.42win prob +9 ptsVideo
    4-2
    9:11
  2. PIT
    J. Guentzel(17)
    S. Crosby (17), R. Rakell (8)
    wristxG 0.12win prob +17 ptsVideo
    4-3
    18:54

Penalties

WSH 6 PIM·PIT 4 PIM

1st

  • 17:45PITValtteri Puustinen · Slashingdrawn by John Carlson2 min

2nd

  • 7:32WSHJoel Edmundson · Hookingdrawn by Jansen Harkins2 min
  • 14:45PITJeff Carter · Slashingdrawn by Nick Jensen2 min

3rd

  • 5:28WSHMartin Fehérváry · Holdingdrawn by Rickard Rakell2 min
  • 10:40WSHEthan Bear · Holdingdrawn by Evgeni Malkin2 min

Win probability

ours · the whole game
Tap or hover the chart for the moment-by-moment number
PIT goalWSH goalFinal: PIT 0%

Biggest swing: Jake Guentzel, 2nd 18:54 — PIT 12% → 29%

Shot map

unblocked attempts · size = our xG
S. Crosby · Goal · xG 0.42J. Guentzel · On goal · xG 0.25J. Guentzel · On goal · xG 0.23E. Malkin · On goal · xG 0.22N. Acciari · On goal · xG 0.18L. Eller · On goal · xG 0.17B. Rust · On goal · xG 0.16E. Malkin · On goal · xG 0.14J. Guentzel · On goal · xG 0.13E. Malkin · On goal · xG 0.13R. Rakell · On goal · xG 0.12J. Guentzel · Goal · xG 0.12E. Malkin · On goal · xG 0.11L. Eller · On goal · xG 0.10J. Guentzel · Missed · xG 0.09L. Eller · On goal · xG 0.09J. Guentzel · On goal · xG 0.08J. Guentzel · Missed · xG 0.07E. Malkin · Missed · xG 0.07S. Crosby · Missed · xG 0.07S. Crosby · Missed · xG 0.06E. Malkin · On goal · xG 0.05E. Karlsson · Missed · xG 0.05J. Carter · On goal · xG 0.05R. Smith · Missed · xG 0.04R. Rakell · Goal · xG 0.04J. Guentzel · Missed · xG 0.03E. Karlsson · Missed · xG 0.03R. Smith · Missed · xG 0.03K. Letang · On goal · xG 0.03R. Graves · On goal · xG 0.03E. Karlsson · Missed · xG 0.03N. Acciari · Missed · xG 0.03P. Joseph · On goal · xG 0.02R. Rakell · On goal · xG 0.02E. Karlsson · On goal · xG 0.02M. Pettersson · Missed · xG 0.02M. Pettersson · On goal · xG 0.02C. Ruhwedel · On goal · xG 0.02K. Letang · On goal · xG 0.01E. Malkin · On goal · xG 0.01C. Ruhwedel · Missed · xG 0.01E. Karlsson · On goal · xG 0.01M. Pettersson · Missed · xG 0.01M. Pettersson · Missed · xG 0.01R. Graves · On goal · xG 0.01E. Karlsson · Missed · xG 0.01C. Ruhwedel · On goal · xG 0.01N. Acciari · On goal · xG 0.01K. Letang · Missed · xG 0.00R. Smith · On goal · xG 0.00K. Letang · On goal · xG 0.00K. Letang · On goal · xG 0.00
PIT3 G · 3.7 xG · 53 att
Tap a shot for who, when and how likely
GoalOn goalMissedBigger = higher xG

Expected goals

WSHvsPIT
1.34 G
All situations
3 G3.7
1.23 G
Even strength
2 G1.9
0.11 G
Power play
1 G1.8

Expected goals: the chance each unblocked attempt scores, from our shot model, summed. 86 unblocked attempts.

Deserve to win

on the chances created
WSH13%87%PIT

Flurry-adjusted xG 1.27 – 3.55

How often each side wins a replay of these chances with league-average goaltending at both ends. Rebounds in a flurry are counted once, so a scramble is not three chances.

Team stats

WSHvsPIT
22
Shots on goal
35
45%
Faceoffs
55%
1/2
Power play
1/3
6
Penalty minutes
4
17
Hits
31
23
Blocked shots
9
6
Giveaways
14
7
Takeaways
11

Box score

every player line
Washington Capitals skaters
SkaterGAP+/-SOGixGHitBlkPIMFO%TOI
74J. CarlsonD000010.08140—26:11
42M. FehérváryD101010.03642—22:35
92E. KuznetsovC000020.040004020:07
43T. WilsonR101010.063103318:56
47B. MalenstynL101040.1822010018:54
25E. BearD011010.02012—18:34
38R. SandinD022010.13130—17:58
8A. OvechkinL101040.17000—16:44
26N. DowdC011000.002304516:42
6J. EdmundsonD000+110.01022—16:27
21A. ProtasL000030.01100—15:12
3N. JensenD000+100.00000—15:00
39A. ManthaR011010.09000—14:37
24C. McMichaelL000010.200003814:34
96N. Aube-KubelR000000.041205014:23
17D. StromeC011+100.000005711:30
29H. LapierreC011+100.10000008:27
45M. PhillipsR000+110.16010—07:30
Washington Capitals goalies
GoalieSASVGASV%xGAGSAxTOI
35D. Kuemper(W)35323.9143.66+0.6660:00

Season series

Tied 2-2

Data: NHL. Model: Gridpex (expected goals and win probability built on NHL play-by-play).