Caps Wet the Bed, Change the Sheets, and Then Win Game 3

Here's the great thing about art:

The same piece of work can mean different things to different people, and who's to say who's right or wrong?

Game 3 in the Washington Capitals-Pittsburgh Penguins series was anything but a piece of art.

However, there was a plethora of discussion over this piece of work in real time:

Now, in the spirit of the Zapruder film, here's how everyone's seen Alex Ovechkin's and Matt Niskanen's consecutive hits on Sidney Crosby since then:

Feel free to compare notes with Niskanen's recollection of the event:

Ovechkin's hit clearly knocked Crosby off-balance. The question, then, was whether or not Niskanen had time to react.

There's no doubt he was gonna come with the kind of cross-check around the net that happens often and is sometimes called. It's tough to make split-second adjustments with that sorta move.

Any way you look at it, though, the hard facts were these:

• Niskanen got five-and-a-game, so there went the Caps' top penalty-killing blueliner;
• Pittsburgh was already without Kris Letang, their top d-man;
• Crosby's in concussion protocol and will miss Game 4;
• The other concussion story was the Penguins' Conor Sheary, who was levelled by teammate Patric Hornqvist, didn't return, and will also miss Game 4.

Luckily for Washington, Coach Barry Trotz opted before the game to drop a forward in favor of defenseman Karl Alzner. This meant he still had six blueliners after Niskanen got tossed.

And yet, the Caps -- coming into Game 3 down 2-0 in this series -- still almost found a way to blow it, compliments of Geno Malkin stepping up with a goal and assist in the waning seconds:

No doubt Shattenkirk exhaled deeply after that one.

Frankly speaking, he's stunk in this series. Dude was -3 coming into this game after going -4 against Toronto in the first round.

Maybe he's gripping his stick too tight. After all, he's never won a Cup. Neither have the Capitals, and at numerous points already in these playoffs, it seems like they're 'way too aware of it.

As to Crosby and Niskanen being former teammates and all, so no harm was intended ... since when did that ever matter in the NHL?

This is from 2010, when Niskanen was with the Dallas Stars:

The only fact that matters right now is this:

Crosby's out of Game 4, at the very least, and Niskanen isn't.