The Washington Capitals are officially in danger of another early playoff exit.The Pittsburgh Penguins earned a 6-2 victory in Game 2 Saturday, extending their series lead to 2-0 over the Presidents' Trophy winners.Washington has lost in the second round of the playoffs in each of the past two seasons and now has an uphill battle to avoid the same fate in 2107 after losing the opening two games at home.Phil Kessel and Jake Guentzel each finished with two goals and one assist in the Penguins rout, with Guentzel's final score coming on an open net. He now has seven goals in seven games this postseason.After scoring two goals last game, Sidney Crosby took on more of a facilitating role with two assists.Meanwhile, Braden Holtby couldn't do much of anything in net. The Capitals goalie allowed three goals on just 14 shot attempts in the first two periods before head coach Barry Trotz pulled him for Philipp Grubauer.This move was met with plenty of surprise:Grubauer didn't fare any better, allowing two goals in eight shots on goal. The final score came on an open net in the last minute of the game.Marc-Andre Fleury was far superior in net, making 34 stops with just two goals getting behind him. The 33 blocked shots from Pittsburgh also helped a great deal.Alex Ovechkin had two assists for the Capitals while Nicklas Backstrom added one goal and one assist, but it wasn't enough to compete in a disappointing night for the home squad.Like in Game 1, Washington was the more aggressive team from the start but struggled to turn that into goals. The home team took 34 shots in the first period alone compared to just eight from Pittsburgh, although many were blocked before reaching the net.Craig Custance of ESPN provided an unhelpful note on the early effort:The Penguins took advantage of the lack of scoring by blowing things open in the second period. Three separate odd-man rushes led to a 3-1 lead through the second period:The fireworks continued in the third with Kessel's second goal of the game quickly answered by Backstrom.However, an Evgeni Malkin goal that was confirmed by review made it 5-2 in favor of Pittsburgh and effectively sealed the win.The bounces were just going the right way for the Penguins in this game:One more Guentzel goal completed the 6-2 blowout.The Capitals will now be desperate for wins in Pittsburgh, which won't be an easy task. The Penguins were significantly better at home during the regular season and are 3-0 so far in the postseason.Washington won't go down without a fight, but it will take a considerable effort Monday in Game 3 to avoid falling into an inescapable hole. At the very least, Holtby will have to perform like the reigning Vezina Trophy winner.
Click here to read full news..
