5 Takeaways from Washington Capitals vs Pittsburgh Penguins Game

In a rematch of last year's Winter Classic and the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Penguins and Capitals were at it again.

The Pens played the better game and controlled possession for most of the match. However, it was Washington that came out on top, 3-2 in overtime. 

Here are five takeaways from tonight's game. 

Don't Mess with Arron Asham

Jay Beagle had to learn this lesson the hard way. 

Beagle was pestering Kris Letang, taking off Letang's helmet in a scrum near the boards. Arron Asham took exception, and the two tangoed seconds later. 

Asham laid a haymaker on Beagle's jaw that made him fall to the ground immediately. Blood was dripping from his mouth after the big punch. 

Asham meanwhile celebrated his dominating victory by gesturing his hands the same way an NFL referee would motion if a pass were incomplete, as if to say, "No one can have a piece of me."

His big victory in the fight ignited the crowd at the Consol Energy Center and gave the Penguins momentum to tie the game. 

Bob Errey Has One Hell of an Eagle Eye

It seems like after Ovechkin tipped a shot into the net, the only person in the arena to have noticed that the puck went in the net was Penguins ROOT Sports analyst Bob Errey. 

No referee signaled a goal.

The goal judge didn't turn on the light.

The players on the Washington Capitals didn't even react.

Only Bob Errey mentioned that the puck had gone in, and after the next whistle and the referee review, a goal was awarded to the Caps and Alex Ovechkin.

Penguins Lost Game They Should Have Won

The Pittsburgh Penguins played well enough to dominate this game by a four-goal margin. 

Instead, a fluky goal allowed by Brent Johnson and an inability to cash in on great scoring chances gave the Penguins only one point from this game.

The Pens outshot the Capitals 41-19 in this game and had five power-play opportunities. In the third period, the Pens outshot Washington 18-3.

The Capitals, on the other hand, only had one opportunity on the man advantage, and it came in overtime when Dennis Wideman scored the game-winning goal. 

In other words, the Penguins had the special teams advantage and controlled the play by getting shot after shot on Tomas Vokoun, yet they still came away with only one point because of a fluky goal and the inability to finish.

Ironically, one guy who was banged on for not being able to finish last year was James Neal. He scored two goals tonight to silence his critics and has four on the season now. He is really meshing well with Evgeni Malkin.

That being said, this game reminded Penguins fans of the series they had in 2010 against the Montreal Canadiens, when they kept getting shots on net but weren't able to succeed. 

Give credit to Tomas Vokoun for a stellar performance. 

Pens Do a Great Job Staying out of the Box

The Penguins didn't allow a single penalty until overtime on Thursday night. It was great to see.

The game shouldn't have even gone to overtime, because Pittsburgh should've put the game away earlier after out shooting Washington 41-19 and 18-3 in the third period.

However, when they did commit a penalty in overtime, they couldn't shut down Washington. The Pens allowed their first power-play goal of the season in their fifth game. Going 16-for-17 on the penalty kill is amazing, but situational penalty killing is a lot more important than having a long stretch of successful penalty kills.

The Pens weren't able to kill off the penalty in a big situation, and for that, they only collected one point. 

More Important Things Than Hockey

Before the game, Russian superstars Evgeni Malkin and Alexander Ovechkin took a ceremonial opening faceoff in respect for the victims of the tragic Lokomotiv accident this offseason.

The Pittsburgh Penguins also collected money around Consol Energy Center from fans to donate to the team in Russia. 

The Penguins and Capitals both had commemorative patches on their sweaters to remember the victims. The jerseys were auctioned off after the game on NHL.com. 

It was a poignant moment which reminded us all that there are more important things in life than sports.