Sunday's game between Washington and Pittsburgh was a wonderful showcase game for the NHL on Super Bowl Sunday.
On Twitter, Penguins fans were discouraged when the Capitals outshot Pittsburgh 14-5 in the third period.
Admittedly, that's not a great recipe for success. However, sometimes a good team is going to control play for a stretch or two.
The Penguins speed and their forecheck was the story out of the gate. The Pens were first to pucks in the Capitals defensive zone, and they were forcing a myriad of turnovers. They led 3-1 after two periods and I thought the score reflected the flow of play. The Pens were up 28-18 in shots.
In the third, the Capitals physicality set the tone. Washington outscored Pittsburgh in the final frame 2-1.
This just in: The Capitals are really good. It's also to important to note...So are the Penguins.
The 2016 Pens were a dominant bunch. They controlled zone time and routinely outshot the opposition en route to the franchises fourth Stanley Cup championship.
Even still, the Capitals proved to be a foe that could push back against the Pens overwhelming speed game. In game three of the 2016 playoff series, they outshot Pittsburgh 49-23.
In game six, they trailed 3-0 before scoring three unanswered goals to force overtime.
Point being, even if you're an outstanding team, a great team will get their chances as well.
I was not discouraged by what I saw from the Penguins on Sunday. In fact, I think it's a precursor to another classic playoff series. One that can go either way.