1. If it’s a day ending in the letter “y”, we must be discussing a(t least one) controversial hit, and this time it’s a Penguin under the microscope. Kris Letang, come on down…
Letang levels MoJo for a 2 min penalty#CapsPens pic.twitter.com/pBntylByFo
— CAPITALS HILL (@CapitalsHill) May 3, 2016
On Letang hit on Johansson…not nearly as late as Orpik, but still late. Anything after .6 is considered late. And its .64 after.
— John Shannon (@JSportsnet) May 3, 2016
What say you, Caps?
Johansson on Letang hit: “He obviously leaves his feet and hits me in the head. I guess that’s the kind of play you want out of the league.”
— Sam Werner (@SWernerPG) May 3, 2016
Backstrom on Letang hit on Johansson: “Hit in the head, left his feet. Brooks Orpik got three games. We’ll see what this is.”
— Zac Boyer (@ZacBoyer) May 3, 2016
Court of public opinion?
Should #Penguins‘ Letang face supplemental discipline for his hit on #Capitals‘ Johansson?
— Scouting The Refs (@ScoutingTheRefs) May 3, 2016
How about you, Mike Sullivan?
Coach Sullivan on the Letang hit: “It’s a body check… It is a physical series. We are going to play hockey and let the refs referee.”
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) May 3, 2016
But wait, you just said…
#Pens Coach Sullivan on Orpik hit on Maatta: “Late hit. Targeted head. Hit that everyone wants out of this game” -SK
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) May 1, 2016
To be clear, Brooks Orpik‘s hit on Olli Maatta was worse than Letang’s hit here – it was later, and made more clear contact with the head. But any reasonable observer would classify both as the type that “everyone wants out of the game.”
Brooks Orpik says he hopes a similar standard is enforced on hits like his moving forward.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) May 2, 2016
Which brings us to Barry Trotz and the not-even-close-to-last-word on this, from hours before the game:
Barry Trotz says Orpik’s suspension is so long because the hit came against the #pens. Asked to clarify: “Take it for whatever you want.”
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) May 2, 2016
Your move, NHL.
Pittsburgh’s Kris Letang will have a hearing today for interference on Washington’s Marcus Johansson.
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) May 3, 2016
That’s a good start…***
2. May in the NHL is hardly the time of year for moral victories. But the Caps have to be encouraged by the way they dominated last night’s game, territorially, despite the disappointing result:
WSH-PIT G3: Tough to see a great effort end up unproductive. pic.twitter.com/R48elug17Y
— Muneeb Alam (@muneebalamcu) May 3, 2016
The Caps had ~20 shot from inside the hashmarks at 5v5. https://t.co/4d2MKqzmHn pic.twitter.com/PlTZXbuKiO
— Pat Holden (@pfholden) May 3, 2016
The Capitals led 4.04 to 1.51 in the only stat that matters – expected goals. pic.twitter.com/iNRzzYF5Iv
— Corsica (@CorsicaHockey) May 3, 2016
Patric Hornqvist: “They were the way better team all night.”
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) May 3, 2016
You can see why the Caps can’t wait to get back out there for Game 4, and probably would’ve played it last night, if given the option:
Trotz: “We’ve got a good vibe going out of this game. … Guys are excited.”
— Chris Gordon (@Chris_Gordon) May 3, 2016
And if it all feels a bit too familiar, well…
As points of reference, the Caps have played 2 games in the last two weeks that would’ve fit right in with MTL2010. pic.twitter.com/3nwJN2asHh
— Japers’ Rink (@JapersRink) May 3, 2016
***
3. Yesterday’s Narrative contained a bullet about Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby being relatively quiet so far in the series. That changed last night for one of them:
Ovechkin scores in the 3rd #CapsPens 1-3 pic.twitter.com/sjB07zBPr3
— CAPITALS HILL (@CapitalsHill) May 3, 2016
Alex Ovechkin: Goal, assist, seven SOGs, 18 Corsis, nine hits.
— Corey Masisak (@cmasisak22) May 3, 2016
Williams scores #CapsPens 2-3 with 30 secs left pic.twitter.com/AiJVNvtCwX
— CAPITALS HILL (@CapitalsHill) May 3, 2016
Ovi getting big pic.twitter.com/JDilBMnSwm
— CAPITALS HILL (@CapitalsHill) May 3, 2016
Ovi hit on Cole pic.twitter.com/zqs6PuZ3KA
— Stephanie (@myregularface) May 3, 2016
More Ovi hits pic.twitter.com/DaEuFiNMDn
— CAPITALS HILL (@CapitalsHill) May 3, 2016
But when you manufacture hype, sometimes even that isn’t enough… apparently:
A lot going on here, but nothing about Ovi’s game last night was quiet. https://t.co/Fv1eP65uwJ pic.twitter.com/ZqeAicfBQ3
— Japers’ Rink (@JapersRink) May 3, 2016
Three points on the Caps’ seven goals and non-stop physical engagement. Ain’t nothin’ “quiet” about that.