Had the Washington Capitals known entering Game 3 that they would outshoot the Pittsburgh Penguins 49-23, they likely would have felt reasonably confident of victory.
Similarly, had the Capitals known that the official scorer would record a 58-25 advantage in hits for Washington, they probably would have expected their physical play to be a big factor in the game.
Instead, it was the Penguins who took a 2-1 series lead thanks to a 3-2 victory featuring some fortunate bounces and strong goaltending by rookie Matt Murray.
And for all the hits by the Capitals, it was a check by Pittsburgh defenceman Kris Letang that was the most memorable physical play in the contest.
Depending on how the NHL's Department of Player Safety reacts, Letang could have undone much of the good work the Pens did in taking the series lead.
That's not to say Pittsburgh played a particularly beautiful game.
Patric Hornqvist got his stick on Trevor Daley's point shot less than seven minutes in, making for a perfect redirection past Braden Holtby. Tom Kuhnhackl's goal was even fluki ...
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Article written by Jonathan Willis