Nedeljkovic chased, second period meltdown, and more: 3 reasons why Pittsburgh Penguins lost 8-3 in blowout to Washington Capitals

The Pittsburgh Penguins were shelled 3-8 in their first game back from the 4 Nations break at the hands of the Washington Capitals at the PPG Paints Arena on Saturday evening. The game was close after 20 minutes, but then the Capitals pulled away to secure their 37th win of the season.

Kris Letang (PPG) and captain Sidney Crosby scored for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Meanwhile, Jakob Chychrun scored twice for the Washington Capitals, with Tom Wilson, Ethen Frank, Martin Fehervary, Dylan Strome (PPG), Aliaksei Protas and Brandon Duhaime scoring the others.

So, here’s a look at three key reasons why the Pittsburgh Penguins lost to the Washington Capitals on Saturday evening.

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3 reasons why Pittsburgh Penguins lost to Washington Capitals

#3 Rust's absence felt

The Pittsburgh Penguins felt Bryan Rust's absence significantly against the Caps. With 42 points in 48 games, the right winger missed Saturday’s game with an illness, leaving a void in the Penguins’ lineup.

As such, Rust’s absence was noticeable due to the lack of scoring depth beyond the usual suspects, Crosby and Letang. Getting depth scoring is crucial for Pittsburgh, as the team cannot depend solely on captain "Sid the Kid" or other top players like Erik Karlsson or Evgeni Malkin. Despite all the top players delivering against the Caps, the lack of depth scoring was significant.

#2 Second period meltdown

The game was tied at one heading into the first intermission. But then, Washington turned it up by popping five goals on the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second period. In particular, the Capitals scored back-to-back goals roughly eight seconds apart, giving them a 5-2 lead.

Tom Wilson added his 25th of the season to make the game 6-2 and essentially put it out of reach for the sluggish Penguins, who didn’t seem to have many answers to the Caps’ solid defensive scheme.

#1 Nedeljkovic chased

Washington chased Pittsburgh’s starting goaltender, Alex Nedeljkovic, after scoring five goals on 14 shots. The final nail in Nedeljkovic’s coffin was the back-to-back goals less than 10 seconds apart. Nedeljkovic looked out of place, seemingly unable to find the puck.

Here’s a look at the two goals:

While the goals can’t be blamed solely on Nedeljkovic, he failed to bail out his teammates on bad defensive plays. The Protas goal, in particular, made Nedeljkovic look lost on the ice.

So, the Penguins turned to Joel Blomqvist, who gave up one more goal in the second and another in the third to seal the lopsided win for the Washington Capitals.

The Pittsburgh Penguins will quickly regroup to play the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night. Despite playing on consecutive nights, the Pens hope to turn things around.