Joel Blomqvist plays well in his NHL return but Penguins fall to rival Capitals

Matt Vensel, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Jan 18, 2025

Published in Hockey

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WASHINGTON — The Penguins kept Joel Blomqvist busy in his return to the NHL.

The rookie goalie made 29 saves, a few of them spectacular, to give the Penguins a chance at a comeback Saturday against the rival Washington Capitals on Saturday. But they couldn’t generate enough offense and lost, 4-1, at Capital One Arena.

This game played out in a predictable manner, with the Capitals playing like one of the best teams in the East and the Penguins looking like a team that was skating in the second half of a back-to-back. They were determined but didn’t have the juice needed to knock off a red-hot Capitals team that has won 10 of its past 15 games.

Blomqvist, who made his first NHL start since Nov. 11, played well in his return to the NHL but did not get enough support at either end of the ice in Saturday’s loss.

The Capitals were all over the Penguins early on, firing the first seven shots on goal and ringing another attempt off a post. They pulled ahead when Jakob Chychrun’s shot from the point hit Anthony Beauvillier’s stick and redirected past Blomqvist.

The Penguins settled down to make it more of a low-event game for a bit. But the Capitals pushed hard in the final 10 minutes of the second period and made it 2-0 when Aliaksei Protas, left alone in the slot, beat Blomqvist with a one-time blast.

The Capitals had a couple of other point-blank opportunities during that flurry, but Blomqvist rocketed across his crease to rob Tom Wilson with his blocker, and then after the goal by Protas he made a sprawling left skate save on Pierre-Luc Dubois.

In the third period, Blomqvist stopped Wilson again on a short-handed breakaway.

Bryan Rust scored on a 2-on-1 rush with 8:31 remaining in the game to spoil Capitals goalie Logan Thompson’s bid for a third straight shutout. But the Penguins couldn’t get the equalizer and watched Dubois add an insurance goal with 2:10 left.

Brandon Duhaime scored an empty-netter as the Penguins lost.

Ice chips

— Kris Letang was back in action after he missed Friday’s victory at Buffalo because of an illness. However, Pierre-Olivier Joseph, who lives with Letang, sat out Saturday because he was under the weather. Ryan Graves remained in the lineup as a result.

— Matt Nieto and Ryan Shea were again made healthy scratches by the Penguins.

— Sidney Crosby assisted on Rust’s goal, only his second point in the past five games.

— The Capitals took exception to a dangerous trip by Beauvillier on Matt Roy late in the second period. Martin Fehervary rushed right to the defense of his partner and jumped Beauvillier, causing a 5-on-5 scrum. Beauvillier was penalized on the play.

— Wilson, the Capitals winger and Penguins nemesis, played his 800th NHL game.

Coming up

The Penguins will not practice Sunday, as they will be flying out to California. Their seven-game road trip will continue Monday when they visit the Los Angeles Kings.