In the past two games, the Pittsburgh Penguins have had the Washington Capitals on the brink of elimination from the Stanley Cup playoffs.
And in both those games, the Capitals have stepped up and stood out, keeping their ever-elusive title hopes alive.
The biggest reasons after a 5-2 rout in Game 6 in Pittsburgh?
Defense, defense and defense.
Barry Trotz's blue-line emphasis, a key in the Capitals' Game 5 victory, proved vital to Washington's success once more on Monday. The Caps checked Pittsburgh supremely well all night, suffocating the Pens, roughing up Sidney Crosby and holding Pittsburgh to only three shots on goal in the opening period and under 10 total shots until several minutes into the third period.
The Caps were also a force to be reckoned with when they were outnumbered Monday, killing off penalties with ease and blocking pucks left and right as they swarmed a seemingly helpless Pens team.
In other words, Washington had complete control of Game 6.
And that was clear long before the score got out of hand.
The early dominance of the Caps "D" set the tone for a night in which Pittsburgh's high-flying offense, which found success even without Crosby and Conor Sheary earlier in the series, had no time to get into a rhythm. And the Pens' frustrations with Washington's physicality -- and not necessarily the "dirty" kind -- revealed themselves late, symbolized by a retaliatory Matt Cullen slash that preceded two quick insurance goals by the Caps.
Although the Pens lost by three goals, Marc-Andre Fleury really wasn't one of Pittsburgh's main problems, per se -- he had his fair share of quick-footed saves against the puck-controlling Caps. It was only midway through the final period, with the Penguins slowing after the wear and tear of a Washington blowout, when Fleury's glove couldn't keep the game within three.
The Steel City crowd, of course, wasn't completely dead -- and neither were the Pens -- in the waning minutes of the contest, when Pittsburgh capitalized on some busted coverage from (a comfortable?) Caps defense during a 4-on-4 with two late scores.
Still, a 5-2 defeat for the Pens -- in Pittsburgh, no less -- rings loud as confirmation that the Capitals, the same perennial postseason disappointments who appeared all but dead in the water after Games 1 and 2 at home, are alive and well. Equipped with newfound defensive dominance, or at least a dependence on those defensive strengths, they will get one final shot at beating the Pens in the playoffs for the first time since 1994 in an anticipated Game 7 on Wednesday.
And it's anyone's series.
