Penguins draw first blood vs. Capitals thanks to Fleury, Crosby

After a frantic third period, the Pittsburgh Penguins skated over and congratulated goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. The veteran goalie was there when they needed him against the Washington Capitals, and the Penguins drew first blood in their Metro Division final showdown, winning Game 1 by a 3-2 score.

Sidney Crosby had two goals, while Nick Bonino had the game-winner. Fleury made 34 saves, while the Penguins blocked 24 shots.

The Capitals and Penguins have played three times in the postseason during the Crosby vs. Ovechkin era. The Penguins have won both, but lost Game 1 each time, until Thursday night.

Crosby got the Penguins on the board first:

Full marks to Patric Hornqvist for forcing a turnover from Matt Niskanen that helped spring Crosby and Jake Guentzel on a 2-on-1. Guentzel’s pass was perfectly placed so Crosby could bury it just 12 seconds into the second period.

Crosby struck again at 1:04 of the second period, as the Penguins made a smart line change:

Nice little pass in front by Hornqvist to Crosby there, as Sid scored his fourth of the playoffs.

Alex Ovechkin got one back for the Capitals on his fourth of the playoffs.

Ovechkin sniped one from the slot past Fleury, finding a pocket in the Penguins’ defense.

It remained 2-1 in the third period when Niskanen atoned for the earlier turnover with a perfect pass to Evgeny Kuznetsov for the tying goal.

That’s a glorious celebration right there.

Not so glorious? The blown defensive coverage by Brooks Orpik on this goal from Bonino:

Not only is Orpik caught up ice once Ian Cole makes the pass to Bonino, but then he gets blown out by the Penguins forward’s speed. Bonino had five points in six games against the Capitals last postseason, including the overtime Game 6 goal that ended the series.

From there on, it was Fleury’s show. He made 15 saves overall in third period, making a few saves on a mad scramble in front of him and then keeping the puck out for over 90 seconds of 6-on-5 hockey.

Fleury’s inconsistency prevents this from being an emphatic statement about his goaltending going forward, with Matt Murray injured. But in Game 1, he gave the Penguins everything they needed in the third period and in a game where the Capitals had 83 shot attempts to the Penguins’ 41.

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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