NHL Winter Classic 2011: How Washington Capitals Can Benefit From Victory

With the Washington Capitals' 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, the Caps have re-introduced themselves to the hockey world as contenders to make a run at the Stanley Cup.

The Capitals showed depth, resilience and toughness in the New Year’s Day win and will look to build off the victory at the NHL’s annual outdoor celebration. Characteristics that are usually identified as weaknesses of the Capitals were their strengths in a convincing victory against the Penguins.

Unsurprisingly, the game took on a very physical tone early, with Ovechkin laying a strong hit on Penguins defenseman Zbynek Michalek. The Penguins answered the physicality with a big hit on Matt Hendricks by Penguins center Jordan Stall, who was competing in his first game of the season returning from injury.

With around eight minutes to go, Penguins forward Mike Rupp laid a hard check to Capitals d-man John Erskine behind the Capitals' net. The two squared off for the second fight in Winter Classic history and set the tone for the rest of the contest.

An even first period concluded as scoreless, with the teams exchanging nearly even shot totals and one power play a piece.

The second period began with much of the same tones as the first period. The physical play continued, and netminders Semyon Varlamov and Marc-Andre Fleury continued their stellar play.   

Just over two minutes in, Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin took a Kris Letang clearing attempt in on a partial breakaway and beat Varlamov for the first goal of the game.

Immediately after the goal on the next sequence, Capitals forward Brooks Laich crashed into Marc-Andre Fleury. An interference minor penalty was called, but replay proved this call to be controversial as Laich was pushed into Fleury by the Penguin defense. Instead of the Penguins gaining a 2-0 lead on the subsequent power play, the Capitals killed off the penalty and began to regain momentum in the contest.

Five minutes later the Capitals answered with Penguins forward Max Talbot in the penalty box. A brilliant pass from Nicklas Backstrom to Mike Green led to a blocked shot and the puck bouncing around the Penguins net. The chance eventually was converted by Mike Knuble for an equalizer as he jammed the puck in the net underneath Marc-Andre Fleury.

A game that began lively was now starting to show on the Heinz Field scoreboard as well.

A short time later, a Marc-Andre Fleury puck-handling blunder led to a Marcus Johansson steal behind the net. Johansson found Jason Chimera, who danced around the net again, but failed to convert an open-net wrap around chance, which could easily have cost the Caps a swing in momentum and eventually two points in the standings.

However, Fleury would not be done.

Just under four minutes after the first Fleury gaffe, the same happened again. As Fleury went behind his net to play a Chimera dump in, the puck eluded him. As Fleury struggled to find the puck, Johansson arrived at the scene and threw a pass to a driving Eric Fehr, who placed the puck in the back of the net.

The Capitals out-shot the Penguins 16-8 in the second period, and took a deserved lead into the final frame.

Shots in the third dramatically decreased as the ice conditions deteriorated due to the falling rain generated by a passing cold front, and the Capitals played a defensive dump-and-chase style in hopes of closing out the victory.

With eight minutes left to go in the game Eric Fehr would complete a Caps defensive zone breakout and a Jason Chimera lead pass over the Marc-Andre Fleury’s glove hand to give the Capitals some insurance.

The Penguins threatened, but never converted in the closing minutes, giving the Capitals a 3-1 road victory which they can carry into 2011 and gain momentum with as the season draws toward its end. This victory is paramount to overcoming an eight-game losing streak that lasted from December 2-18, which was well-documented on HBO’s 24/7 series that chronicled the two teams leading up to the Winter Classic.

The Penguins will look forward to a Super Bowl Sunday afternoon rematch in order to avenge the outdoor loss.

The Capitals, meanwhile, will need to continue the momentum in order to pick up points lost during the difficult December stretch. They begin right away on Tuesday with a key matchup against divisional title challengers Tampa Bay, a team which made headlines during the Winter Classic by trading for veteran goaltender Dwayne Roloson.

The Winter Classic victory can be enjoyed for now by the Capitals, which have gone through difficult times in the past 30 days and now look to gain momentum into 2011. However, it is back to work Tuesday for a rejuvenated team that looks to cement its position in the Stanley Cup playoffs.