Many nights during the long NHL season, 60 minutes of hockey is more than enough.
This was not one.
Things didn’t go well for the Penguins Sunday night at PPG Paints Arena. They lost to the Washington Capitals, 3-1, just their third loss in their past 20 home games. It was even more hurtful because it meant the Capitals are Metropolitan Division champions and will have home-ice advantage for at least the first two rounds of the playoffs, should they advance that far.
But I couldn’t shake a couple of thoughts in the final minute after seeing Evgeni Malkin escorted off the ice by linesman Ryan Daisy and assistant coach Mark Recchi thrown out by referee Brady Meier: One, I could have watched that drama all night, and, two, I hope the two teams meet again in the postseason, preferably in the second round.