The Capitals let a golden Game 1 opportunity go up in smoke

While most of the American sports world was fixated on the NFL Draft Thursday, the Washington Capitals had a chance to start their playoff series against the Pittsburgh Penguins correctly. Must-win Game 1s don’t exist, particularly not in the playoff history between these teams, but it’s a lot better to win them than not.

This one was 2-0 in the Capitals’ favor after Alex Ovechkin scored a silky goal on the rush 29 seconds into the third period. That, really, should’ve been that. The Capitals were playing at home in D.C., and the Penguins didn’t have all-world center Evgeni Malkin, who watched from the press box with a lower-body injury. But you’re reading this post, so you know that the 2-0 lead wasn’t enough, because the Penguins scored three times in five minutes.

None of the goals the Capitals gave up was an embarrassment on its own. They were an ever-building pileup of misfortune, mainly. Patric Hornqvist tipped a Justin Schultz shot from in front of a screen with 17 minutes to play, and Braden Holtby probably never saw it. Alex Ovechkin almost intercepted a Jake Guentzel pass to Sidney Crosby in front of the net two and a half minutes after that, but he only slowed it down.

When the puck got to the Penguins’ captain, he did what he does, which is to say he put it into the net. The game-winner shortly after that was the weakest goal of the three, when Guentzel tipped a Crosby shot that snuck under Holtby’s arm on the short side of his net. Holtby played the puck behind his net and wound up sending it right to Crosby.

It’s not that the Capitals sat back. They had an advantage in shot attempts all through the game, and they kept up the pressure even after Ovechkin’s goal made their lead two. Holtby needed to do better, though. The last two Penguins’ goals could’ve been saves, and on the other end of the ice, Matt Murray made a few sparkling stops.

The Capitals could’ve won this game. They would’ve if Holtby had given them a little more, or if Ovechkin hadn’t missed a yawner of an empty net that would’ve added one more goal to their total. The Capitals had a 35-26 edge in scoring chances, and there was nothing about their broader performance that needs an overhaul. They just had to finish plays, both Holtby and his teammates.

Malkin is progressing. The Penguins could get back their Russian engine as soon as Sunday’s Game 2, bolstering their third and fourth lines by reconfiguring matchups up and down the lineup. Few think this series will take fewer than six or seven games to decide, but the Capitals will never get more of a gimme than having a two-goal lead in the third period at home in a game Malkin’s not playing in.

The Capitals wouldn’t panic even if they lost Game 2 at home and went on the road in a hole. They did the same against Columbus in the first round and then won the next four. They did the same against these Penguins last year and still managed to force a Game 7, though not one that went well. The problem is that this is a series that will be decided on the margins, and they’ve given up the early edge for nothing.

The Penguins have reinforcements coming — probably Malkin, and maybe winger Carl Hagelin, too. (Hagelin missed Game 1 with an apparent facial injury.) They’ve stolen away home-ice advantage for now, which means they’re playing with something kind of like house money on Sunday.

Maybe most importantly, they’ve raised the possibility that they’re still in the Capitals’ heads after dispatching them in this round each of the last two years.