At one of the main sporting confrontations of the 21st century Several generations have grown up between the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the battle itself between two irreconcilable rivals has been significantly enriched over all these years with many different scenarios and stories. Today, the main characters on stage remain, plus or minus, the same faces. However, Washington's head-to-head matches with Pittsburgh and even the legendary duel between Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, which, according to Ovi himself, once saved the entire National Hockey League, no longer attracts as much attention as the achievements of other NHL stars.< br>This may be due to the results of both teams in recent years. “Washington” and “Pittsburgh” have long ceased to be contenders for the Stanley Cup, the rivalry between Ovechkin and Crosby no longer has the same fire, and both organizations have come to the point where they are merely fighting for a place in the playoffs. It’s even symbolic that last season, for the first time in many, many years, long-time “friends” were not included in the list of participants in the Cup. Interestingly, a year ago it was the Penguins who put a spoke in the Capitals’ wheels: Evgeni Malkin’s goal brought the Pens victory in a dramatic match and practically deprived Ovechkin and Co. of their chances of reaching the playoffs. Today, the Caps, led by their captain, did the same.
On the eve of the head-to-head meeting in Pittsburgh, both teams had (and still have) a mathematical chance of snatching the coveted berth, but as the season progressed, both Washington and Pittsburgh experienced and continue to experience many difficulties, which is why there is no talk of any or there is no stability and positive forecasts. Although the position of the “capital” is still slightly better. The “Caps” were still running strong towards the finish of the regular season, played several interesting combinations and, in principle, began to look much prettier. For the Pens, the crisis has no solution, the club is parting with important assets, criticism of the veteran trio of Crosby, Malkin and Letang does not stop, and in relation to Evgeniy, the number of impartial statements from the media and fans is increasing exponentially.
If not a knockout, then a knockdown certainly against the backdrop of such troubles was the blow from Washington and Alexander Ovechkin personally. Already in the very opening of the match, the Capitals punished Pittsburgh, whose level of conversion of the numerical majority is one of the worst in the entire league: Tom Wilson, playing in the 4 on 5 format, took the first chance. But in the second 20 minutes, the Caps turned on some incredible speeds for the Penguins and in one period sentenced their opponents to defeat. It all started with Ovechkin's power play goal. This goal was Alexander's tenth in the last 15 games, the 18th of the season and the 840th of his NHL career. The distance to repeating Wayne Gretzky's record is getting smaller — 54 goals.
A few minutes later, Ovi already assisted and participated in the goal of Hendrix Lapierre, one of the main discoveries of Washington in 2024. With two assists against the Pens, Ovechkin brought his career NHL points total to 1,532 and pushed legendary Canadian defenseman Paul Coffey out of the top 15 in league scoring.
Well, the author of the defeat was the one whom many like to call Ovechkin’s heir. Ivan Miroshnichenko made his NHL debut back in December, but played only four games at the highest level and returned to the Washington farm club, gaining experience in the AHL. At the end of February, the 20-year-old Russian was once again called up to the Caps camp, but was not allowed to play in games — Spencer Carbury kept Ivan on the bench over and over again. However, today Miro still entered the playing lineup. The young Russian forward celebrated the coach’s trust with his debut goal in his NHL career. It also became Ivan’s first effective action in the main hockey league of the world.
It is not so difficult to imagine what emotions Miroshnichenko was experiencing at that moment. But it’s remarkable how happy Ovechkin is for Ivan. Alexander, as if in a fatherly manner, congratulated his young compatriot on an important event.
At 0:5 after two periods, “Pittsburgh” no longer had a chance for a comeback. And any attempts by the Pens to win at least one 20-minute period were instantly destroyed by Sonny Milano, who sent the sixth puck into the Penguins’ goal in the opening of the final period after a pass from Russian defender Alexander Alekseev. By this time, the stands of the PG Paints Arena had already noticeably lowered. Only the most desperate and loyal fans of the team were left to watch the failure of Pittsburgh, who “thanked” their hockey players for such a humiliating defeat with a loud whistle. Everyone understands that, unlike the mathematical ones, the Penguins seem to have no objective and real chances of making it to the playoffs.