Neuvirth notches second shutout this season
The text message came late on Saturday night. Capitals goalie Semyon Varlamov was sick and Michal Neuvirth needed to prepare for his first game since Jan. 18.
It just so happened that Neuvirth’s return coincided with a nationally televised game on Super Bowl Sunday against the Pittsburgh Penguins. No matter. An athlete can’t pick his moments. And while it was far from a work of art, Neuvirth responded with a solid 22-save shutout to help Washington to a 3-0 victory over the Penguins at Verizon Center.
Brooks Laich and Marcus Johansson both scored for the Caps — Johansson’s a crushing short-handed tally early in the second period. Mike Knuble added an empty-net goal with 44 seconds left to put the game away. Washington (29-15-10, 68 points) completed a big weekend with a second straight victory. The Caps are now 9-0-2 against Pittsburgh (34-16-4, 72 points) in their last 11 regular-season meetings.
“I think we’re starting to get our identity back,” Laich said. “Especially in the first period Friday night against Tampa [Bay] I thought our leaders, our top guys, did a good job and then it’s easy for the rest of the team to follow suit. Then the same thing tonight. We’re a committed group right now.”
Neuvirth posted his second shutout of the season. The 22-year-old lost a 3-2 shootout decision to the Penguins at home on Dec. 23. HBO cameras were still rolling that night for its “24/7 Penguins/Capitals: Road to the NHL Winter Classic” program and caught Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma being less than complementary towards Neuvirth during an intermission speech to his team. That made an impression.
| Caps notes |
| » Washington has now hosted 18 matinee games on Super Bowl Sunday since 1988. It is 14-3-1 in those games, including eight in a row. |
| » The Caps played the final two periods without defenseman Mike Green, who took a shot off the right side of his head. Green needed stitches on the outside of his ear and is listed as day-to-day. |
| » Pittsburgh’s Matt Cooke started a scuffle late in the third period when he tripped Caps winger Alex Ovechkin. Ovechki |
“Of course, I watched every episode [of 24/7]. But this is hockey. It didn’t really bother me,” Neuvirth said. “But now I’m really happy that I shut them down. It’s even better for me right now.”
His teammates had a lot to do with that. The Caps backchecked well, blocked 18 shots and easily killed both Penguins power plays. One of those came immediately after officials wiped out a Knuble score thanks to goalie interference by Matt Hendricks. Allowing a goal there just a few minutes into the second period could have turned the momentum. Instead, Washington was in control once that power play expired.
“Our [penalty kill] doesn’t panic,” Laich said. “It seems like our penalty killers are very calm and composed. Our goalies, especially. They make the saves when we need them to.”
