Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh PenguinsJan 2, 2024

FinalTuesday, Jan 2, 2024· PPG Paints Arena

away

home

Goals	1	2	3	T		Shots	1	2	3	T
WSH	4	0	0	4		WSH	11	8	3	22
PIT	1	2	0	3		PIT	6	16	13	35

: WSH 43PIT 77
: WSH 1.90PIT 3.33
PP goals: WSH 1PIT 1
Hits: WSH 17PIT 31
Blocks: WSH 23PIT 9
PIM: WSH 6PIT 4
: WSH 45%PIT 55%

Fantasy takeaways

Generated from the play-by-play, shifts and season context. No opinions, just what changed.

Washington Capitals edge Pittsburgh Penguins 4–3

Washington Capitals beat Pittsburgh Penguins 4–3 at PIT. Jake Guentzel (PIT) led the scoring with 1G 1A. PIT's first power-play unit (Malkin, Crosby, Karlsson, Rakell and Guentzel) scored 1 power-play goal on 15 attempts in 5:08 together.

Points
Jake Guentzel had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 5 shots in 23:16.Guentzel
Points
Rickard Rakell had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 3 shots in 22:27.Rakell
Points
Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 1 shot in 22:24.Crosby
Points
Rasmus Sandin had 2 assists (2 points) on 1 shot in 17:58.Sandin
PP1
PIT's first power-play unit (Malkin, Crosby, Karlsson, Rakell and Guentzel) scored 1 power-play goal on 15 attempts in 5:08 together.Malkin Crosby Karlsson Rakell Guentzel
New line
New look for PIT: Malkin–Smith–Rust skated 11:30 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (61.9% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.Malkin Smith Rust
Usage
Dylan Strome (WSH) played 11:30, −6:32 down on his 18:02 season average over 81 games.Strome
Usage
Rickard Rakell (PIT) played 22:27, +6:01 up on his 16:26 season average over 69 games.Rakell

Shot map

Both teams on one rink, filtered by strength and period.

Shot map

Every attempt, sized by expected goals. Goals are rings, shots on goal dots, misses hollow, blocks crosses.

Strength

Period

Team

← WSH attacks left (bottom on phones)PIT attacks right (top on phones) →

PIT
WSH
Goal
Shot on goal
Missed
Blocked

Showing 120 of 120 attempts · PIT 77 · WSH 43

Game flow

Cumulative expected goals and shot attempts, with power plays shaded and goals marked.

Cumulative shot attempts

PIT
WSH
Goal
Power play (shaded)

Pressure Index

PIT pressure
WSH pressure
Goal
Control (|PI| > 0.25)

: descriptive only, the team with more pressure scored the next goal about half the time. In control: WSH 18% of the game, PIT 53%.

Shift chart

Every shift, grouped by line and pair; bars are coloured by strength state. Click a player to highlight.

Shifts

PIT

WSH

goals / penalties

Even strength
Power play
Penalty kill
Goal
Penalty

Sequence card

5-on-5 possession-chain numbers from the sequence engine (Draw Equity and control cover all situations).

Sequence card
Stat	WSH	PIT
	48	64
	1.83	1.96
	1.76	1.81
	7	12
	4	2
	23	16
	−0.013	+0.013
	18%	53%

Definitions: sequence xG, transition attempts, Draw Equity, control and the Pressure Index.

Lines used

Detected from who actually shared the ice, with time together. Percentages are the unit's share of shot attempts.

Washington Capitals

L1Mantha – McMichael – Protas
10:4863% CF
L2Dowd – Aube-Kubel – Malenstyn
10:3648% CF
L3Ovechkin – Kuznetsov – Wilson
10:1640% CF
L4Strome – Phillips – Lapierre
6:3838% CF
D1Carlson – Fehérváry
13:0748% CF
D2Bear – Sandin
10:3742% CF
D3Jensen – Edmundson
7:4029% CF

PP1Ovechkin – Carlson – Kuznetsov – Wilson – Strome
2:2050% CF
PP2Ovechkin – Mantha – Sandin – McMichael – Protas
1:01100% CF
PK1FDowd – Malenstyn
2:48
PK2FKuznetsov – Wilson
2:15
PK1DCarlson – Fehérváry
2:05
PK2DJensen – Edmundson
0:47

Current WSH line combinations →

Pittsburgh Penguins

L1Crosby – Rakell – Guentzel
14:1050% CF
L2Malkin – Smith – Rust
11:3062% CF
L3Carter – Harkins – Acciari
7:5653% CF
L4Eller – Puustinen – O'Connor
6:1473% CF
D1Letang – Pettersson
18:1150% CF
D2Karlsson – Joseph
9:4467% CF
D3Ruhwedel – Graves
5:0491% CF

PP1Malkin – Crosby – Karlsson – Rakell – Guentzel
5:08100% CF
PP2Carter – Letang – Eller – Smith – Rust
0:31100% CF
PK1FEller – O'Connor
1:45
PK2FRust – Acciari
0:58
PK1DLetang – Pettersson
2:15
PK2DRuhwedel – Graves
0:35

Current PIT line combinations →

Scoring summary

Every goal with the skaters on the ice for it.

1st period

0:55
WSHTom Wilson (Rasmus Sandin, Ethan Bear)snap0.01 xG
WSH: Ovechkin, Kuznetsov, Wilson, Bear, SandinPIT: Malkin, Karlsson, Smith, Rust, Graves
WSH 1 – 0 PIT
11:16
WSHBeck Malenstyn (Nic Dowd)wrist0.06 xG
WSH: Jensen, Dowd, Edmundson, Aube-Kubel, MalenstynPIT: Malkin, Karlsson, Rakell, Guentzel, Graves
WSH 2 – 0 PIT
13:02
WSHMartin Fehérváry (Dylan Strome, Hendrix Lapierre)wrist0.03 xG
WSH: Carlson, Strome, Phillips, Fehérváry, LapierrePIT: Carter, Ruhwedel, Harkins, Acciari, Joseph
WSH 3 – 0 PIT
19:18
WSHAlex OvechkinPP (Rasmus Sandin, Anthony Mantha)wrist0.02 xG
WSH: Ovechkin, Mantha, Sandin, McMichael, ProtasPIT: Rust, Ruhwedel, Graves, Acciari
WSH 4 – 0 PIT
19:56
PITRickard Rakell (Erik Karlsson, Pierre-Olivier Joseph)snap0.03 xG
WSH: Dowd, Aube-Kubel, Bear, Malenstyn, FehérváryPIT: Crosby, Karlsson, Rakell, Guentzel, Joseph
WSH 4 – 1 PIT

2nd period

9:11
PITSidney CrosbyPP (Jake Guentzel, Evgeni Malkin)other0.47 xG
WSH: Jensen, Dowd, Malenstyn, SandinPIT: Malkin, Crosby, Karlsson, Rakell, Guentzel
WSH 4 – 2 PIT
18:54
PITJake Guentzel (Sidney Crosby, Rickard Rakell)wrist0.14 xG
WSH: Ovechkin, Carlson, Kuznetsov, Wilson, SandinPIT: Crosby, Karlsson, Rakell, Guentzel, Joseph
WSH 4 – 3 PIT

Box score

Skaters grouped by the line they played on; CF% is the 5v5 share of shot attempts while on the ice.

Washington Capitals

WSH skaters
Skater	Line	G	A	P	+/-			Hits	Blk	PIM		PP	SH
Aliaksei Protas L	L1	0	0	0	0	3	0.01	1	0	0	15:12	—	—	59	64
Anthony Mantha R	L1	0	1	1	0	1	0.06	0	0	0	14:37	—	—	53	62
Connor McMichael L	L1	0	0	0	0	1	0.25	0	0	0	14:34	—	—	55	63
Beck Malenstyn L	L2	1	0	1	0	4	0.26	2	2	0	18:54	—	—	40	57
Nic Dowd C	L2	0	1	1	0	0	0.00	2	3	0	16:42	—	—	48	71
Nicolas Aube-Kubel R	L2	0	0	0	0	0	0.07	1	2	0	14:23	—	—	44	56
Evgeny Kuznetsov C	L3	0	0	0	0	2	0.05	0	0	0	20:07	—	—	30	22
Tom Wilson R	L3	1	0	1	0	1	0.27	3	1	0	18:56	—	—	33	30
Alex Ovechkin L	L3	1	0	1	0	4	0.15	0	0	0	16:44	—	—	44	27
Dylan Strome C	L4	0	1	1	+1	0	0.00	0	0	0	11:30	—	—	42	46
Hendrix Lapierre C	L4	0	1	1	+1	0	0.13	0	0	0	8:27	—	—	33	45
Matthew Phillips R	L4	0	0	0	+1	1	0.23	0	1	0	7:30	—	—	38	46
John Carlson D	D1	0	0	0	0	1	0.16	1	4	0	26:11	—	—	47	40
Martin Fehérváry D	D1	1	0	1	0	1	0.04	6	4	2	22:35	—	—	46	47
Ethan Bear D	D2	0	1	1	0	1	0.03	0	1	2	18:34	—	—	46	51
Rasmus Sandin D	D2	0	2	2	0	1	0.21	1	3	0	17:58	—	—	43	34
Joel Edmundson D	D3	0	0	0	+1	1	0.00	0	2	2	16:27	—	—	41	69
Nick Jensen D	D3	0	0	0	+1	0	0.00	0	0	0	15:00	—	—	38	69

WSH goalies
Goalie	Dec	SA	SV	GA			TOI
Darcy Kuemper(start)	W	35	32	3	.914	3.33	60:00

Pittsburgh Penguins

PIT skaters
Skater	Line	G	A	P	+/-			Hits	Blk	PIM		PP	SH
Jake Guentzel C	L1	1	1	2	+1	5	1.11	1	0	0	23:16	—	—	45	49
Rickard Rakell R	L1	1	1	2	+1	3	0.12	2	1	0	22:27	—	—	47	47
Sidney Crosby C	L1	1	1	2	+2	1	0.63	4	0	0	22:24	—	—	46	52
Evgeni Malkin C	L2	0	1	1	-2	6	0.44	0	0	0	22:02	—	—	60	61
Bryan Rust R	L2	0	0	0	-1	1	0.11	1	0	0	16:47	—	—	62	47
Reilly Smith R	L2	0	0	0	-1	1	0.10	2	1	0	16:06	—	—	65	59
Noel Acciari C	L3	0	0	0	-1	2	0.26	4	1	0	12:09	—	—	50	47
Jeff Carter C	L3	0	0	0	-1	1	0.07	1	0	2	10:19	—	—	53	48
Jansen Harkins C	L3	0	0	0	-1	0	0.00	4	0	0	8:50	—	—	56	49
Lars Eller C	L4	0	0	0	0	3	0.08	1	1	0	12:23	—	—	67	39
Drew O'Connor L	L4	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	2	0	0	10:18	—	—	64	40
Valtteri Puustinen R	L4	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	1	0	2	7:37	—	—	78	73
Kris Letang D	D1	0	0	0	0	4	0.06	2	1	0	24:55	—	—	55	22
Marcus Pettersson D	D1	0	0	0	0	1	0.06	0	0	0	22:03	—	—	50	16
Erik Karlsson D	D2	0	1	1	0	2	0.17	0	0	0	27:01	—	—	61	64
Pierre-Olivier Joseph D	D2	0	1	1	+1	1	0.01	2	1	0	16:21	—	—	52	63
Ryan Graves D	D3	0	0	0	-2	2	0.08	2	1	0	12:42	—	—	68	69
Chad Ruhwedel D	D3	0	0	0	-1	2	0.03	2	2	0	11:18	—	—	58	77

PIT goalies
Goalie	Dec	SA	SV	GA			TOI
Alex Nedeljkovic	L	15	14	1	.933	1.33	44:27
Tristan Jarry(start)	—	7	4	3	.571	0.32	13:02

Goal anatomy

Animated replays from NHL EDGE tracking, with the entry, passes and shot speed for each goal.

Tom Wilson (WSH) 1st 0:55 · assists Rasmus Sandin, Ethan Bear · Rush · carried in · 52.4 mph shot · 1.6 s from entry to goal.

Tom Wilson · 1st 0:55 · WSH

Play: rush
Entry: carry
Odd man: No
Passes: 2
Shot: 52.4 mph
Distance: 40 ft
Entry to goal: 1.6 s

Watch on NHL.com → · Tracking-derived via NHL EDGE

Beck Malenstyn · 1st 11:16 · WSH

Play: odd-man-rush
Entry: carry
Odd man: 2-on-1
Passes: 0
Shot: 8.8 mph
Distance: 8 ft
Entry to goal: 3.0 s

Watch on NHL.com → · Tracking-derived via NHL EDGE

Martin Fehérváry · 1st 13:02 · WSH

Play: turnover-forecheck
Passes: 0
Shot: 66.4 mph
Distance: 46 ft

Watch on NHL.com → · Tracking-derived via NHL EDGE

Alex Ovechkin · 1st 19:18 · WSH PP

Play: point-shot
Passes: 4 (royal road)
Shot: 58.9 mph
Distance: 58 ft

Watch on NHL.com → · Tracking-derived via NHL EDGE

Rickard Rakell · 1st 19:56 · PIT

Play: turnover-forecheck
Passes: 2 (royal road)
Shot: 65.3 mph
Distance: 35 ft

Watch on NHL.com → · Tracking-derived via NHL EDGE

Jake Guentzel · 2nd 18:54 · PIT

Play: rebound
Entry: carry
Odd man: No
Passes: 0
Shot: 13.9 mph
Distance: 5 ft
Entry to goal: 6.8 s
Type: rebound

Watch on NHL.com → · Tracking-derived via NHL EDGE

Methodology

Shot locations come from the NHL play-by-play, normalised so each shooter attacks the same way, then flipped so the home team attacks right. On-ice stats and lines come from the shift charts: a unit is the exact set of skaters sharing the ice, and CF% is the share of all shot attempts while they were out. Head-to-head cells are 5v5 time against each opponent. Expected goals and the Pressure Index appear as their models are released.