Washington Capitals (40-20-7) vs Pittsburgh Penguins (39-21-6)

For the third straight game, the Washington Capitals will face-off against another Metropolitan rival. The Pittsburgh Penguins have faltered lately, as they dropped six consecutive games to end the month of February. The Penguins, however, are still 3^rd in the Metro, and had the chance to pull within one point of the Flyers in their last game. The last time these two teams played, back on February 23^rd, the Capitals defeated Pittsburgh by a score of 5-3.

The Washington Capitals last played on Thursday as they took on the New York Rangers for the second half of a back-to-back. Washington eventually fell to New York 6-5 in overtime to mark a second straight loss. The Caps and Rangers split their first two meetings with one win for each team. The Capitals received the first power play of the evening early in the first, as Pavel Buchnevich went off for holding less than two minutes in. Washingtons’ now-17^th ranked power play was 0-for-5 versus the Flyers, and that theme continued versus New York. Against the team that drafted him, Carl Hagelin gave Washington the lead with his 8^th of the season. Moments later, the Rangers were gifted their first power play as Nic Dowd was called for tripping. The Rangers’ power play has been very good with 51 power play goals on the season, and Mika Zibanejad made it 52, with his 34^th of the season. John Carlson, who is hunting for his first Norris Trophy, continued to just stand in front of the net on the penalty kill, and that has hurt the Caps. Washington went back on the penalty kill as Nic Dowd was called for his second penalty of the period. Luckily the Capitals killed off that penalty and did not allow a goal on the shift immediately following. Washington has been assessed 252 minor penalties in 66 games, the most in the NHL. The second period saw the Rangers take the lead on the delayed penalty as Kuznetsov was about to go off for tripping. Mika Zibanejad got his 2^nd goal of the game, and shortly after, Lars Eller did go off for tripping, so Washington went right back on the penalty kill. Just as the Caps killed off the penalty, they would go on the man-advantage with Brendan Lemieux going off for tripping. TJ Oshie would get a number of great shots, but the score remained 2-1. With just under eight minutes remaining in the middle frame, Ilya Kovalchuk scored his first goal as a Capital to tie the game 2-2. Tony DeAngelo wiped out the tie to make it 3-2 with his 14^th of the season just about three minutes later. Sixteen seconds after DeAngelo’s goal, Michal Kempny tallied his 4^th of the season to make it 3-3. Kempny had not scored since his two-goal showing versus the Canucks back on October 25^th during a wild comeback win. For the Caps to emerge winners tonight, the defense was going to need to do something they haven’t done much of; defend. It took just 12 seconds into the third period for Mika Zibanejad to score his 3^rd of the game to mark his 4^th career hat-trick and re-instate the Rangers lead. Play would continue as 4-on-4 as Jonas Siegenthaler and Brett Howden were called for matching two-minute minors. Alex Ovechkin made it 4-4 with his 46^th of the season with just over 10 minutes left in the game. A heavy hit by Lars Eller ended up giving the Rangers a late power play as he went off for roughing. Just as the Caps killed off the Eller penalty, John Carlson was called for cross-checking. Lars Eller then went off again for high-sticking for two of the remaining three minutes. It was unlikely that Washington would be able to kill off six minutes of back-to-back-to-back penalties, and they didn’t. Mika Zibanejad tallied his 4^th of the night to seal the win for the Rangers. Todd Reirden elected to pull Samsonov for the extra skater and with 42.9 seconds remaining, Alex Ovechkin scored his 2^nd of the game to tie the game, 5-5. The Caps were guaranteed at least one point in the standings to keep themselves first in the division, as the game went to overtime. Washington eventually fall in overtime, as Zibanejad potted his 5^th of the game, and Ilya Samsonov dropped his 5^th straight start, after allowing six goals on 39 shots. Braden Holtby will start against the Penguins.

The Pittsburgh Penguins also played on Thursday, where they defeated the Buffalo Sabres, 4-2. Short of the 8-minute mark of the first, Patric Hornqvist put the Pens on the board with his 16^th of the season. Nine minutes and one second in, Jake McCabe tied the game with his 3^rd of the season, a short-handed goal, as Pittsburgh was on the power play. The Penguins took back their lead as Marcus Pettersson tallied his 2^nd at the 12:26 mark. With less than two minutes remaining in the first, the Pens went on the penalty kill, and were successful. At the 12:31 mark of the second, Johan Larsson was called for goaltender interference, and 61 seconds later, Patric Hornqvist made it 3-1 for Pittsburgh. Heading into the third and final frame, the Penguins led by two. Early in the third, however, Marcus Johansson brought the Sabres within one with his 9^th of the season. Sidney Crosby made it 4-2 at the 6:02 mark with his 15^th of the season. The Sabres vacated their net in favor of the extra skater, but the Penguins would end up the winner of this one. Pittsburgh is 23-6-4 at home, and their 19^th ranked power play overall is tied for 9^th most power play goals at home with 25. Matt Murray allowed just two goals on 30 shots to tally his 19^th win of the season. Murray is confirmed to get the start for Pittsburgh.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are without Dominik Simon (OUT, upper body), Jake Guentzel (DL, upper body), Zach Aston-Reese (OUT, lower body), and Anthony Angello (OUT, upper body).

Coverage of the game begins at 12:00pm with Caps Faceoff Live, followed by Caps Pregame Live at 12:30pm, all on NBCSN/NBCSWA, with puck drop shortly after 1:00pm.

References:

TheScore. (2020). Pittsburgh Penguins Stats & News. Retrieved from https://www.thescore.com/nhl/teams/10.

TheScore. (2020). Washington Capitals News & Stats. Retrieved from https://www.thescore.com/nhl/teams/15.

Washington Capitals (37-19-5) vs Pittsburgh Penguins (37-18-6)

For the second game of this back-to-back, the Washington Capitals will take on the Pittsburgh Penguins for just the second time this season. It’s hard to believe we get so deep into the season before we face the Pens, but we now get to watch the top two teams in the Metro battle it out. Pittsburgh defeated the Capitals 4-3 back on February 2^nd, and unfortunately, the home team will be donning their alternates once again.

The Washington Capitals took on the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, where they lost a fourth straight game, 3-2, after giving up a late power play goal. Ilya Samsonov, on his 23^rd birthday, got the start, and had an opportunity to extend his road win-streak to 11. He would fail to do so, though. The Capitals received back-to-back power plays in the first period, but were unable to convert on either. At the 12:55 mark, Jesper Bratt, on yet another breakaway courtesy of an offensive zone turnover, got the Devils on the board first. For the 7^th time in eight games, the Capitals have allowed the first goal. Halfway through the second period, Brenden Dillon was called for hooking to give the Devils their first power play of the afternoon. Ilya Samsonov made a great point-blank save that kept the game just 1-0 in favor of the home team. Moments later however, thanks to another botched play by Nick Jensen, the puck squeezed through and Wayne Simmonds nudged it right off the goal line into the back of the net. A rocket from the point off John Carlson’s stick on Washington’s third power play of the afternoon ended up in the back of the net, spoiling MacKenzie Blackwood’s shutout hopes. Tom Wilson was credited with the goal, which marks his second in two consecutive games, and 19^th of the season. With the primary assist on Wilsons’ goal, John Carlson officially tied Calle Johansson for most points by a defenseman in franchise history (475). The road to 700 career goals for Alex Ovechkin has been a long one, but at the 4:50 mark of the third period, the milestone was reached. Ovechkin’s 42^nd of the season served as the game-tying goal, on the anniversary of the Miracle on Ice, and the Russian winger is just the 8^th player in NHL history to score 700 goals. The ‘Great 8’ is the second fastest, and second youngest, to reach the 700-goal mark, behind Wayne Gretzky, with 1,144 games played. He is also the fastest to go from 600 to 700 goals in NHL history (154 games).

Play would resume as 4-on-4 after matching penalties were doled out to Evgeny Kuznetsov and Colton White. The Devils were called for an additional penalty, so for just over 40 seconds, Washington would play 4-on-3, and then have a standard man-advantage for 61 seconds. New Jersey was then called for another offensive zone penalty, with Tom Wilson being hit up high again, so the Caps then received a two-man advantage for fourteen seconds. New Jersey then, as expected, would receive a late power play as Kuznetsov was called hooking. Michal Kempny would then be called, so the Devils would play with a two-man advantage just as Washington had. The Devils made it 3-2 with two minutes remaining, and one more Cap in the penalty box, and Nicklas Backstrom without a stick. Washington would fail to tie it up and force the game to overtime with the goalie pulled. Ilya Samsonov would drop his first road game of the season, after allowing three goals on 28 shots. Braden Holtby will get the start for the Capitals against Pittsburgh.

The Pittsburgh Penguins fell to the Buffalo Sabres, 5-2, also on Saturday. Just 14 seconds into the first period, Zach Girgensons scored for the Sabres, with his 11^th of the season. Heading into today’s game, Pittsburgh held a 22-5-4 record at home, but were recently shutout 4-0 by the team (Toronto Maple Leafs) they had defeated by a score of 5-2 just two days earlier. Short of the seven-minute mark, Seth Reinhart added to Buffalo’s lead, making it 2-0 in favor of the road team. With Evgeni Malkin in the box for slashing, Jack Eichel scored his 34^th goal of the season, improving the Sabres lead 3-0.  Matt Murray will get the start versus the Capitals. Just about halfway through regulation, Evgeni Malkin finally got the Penguins on the board with his 19^th goal of the season. Jeff Skinner made it 4-1 with just over 14 minutes remaining the game. Jack Eichel scored his 2^nd of the game seven minutes later on the Sabres power play (Brandon Tanev, cross-checking). Malkin then tallied his 2^nd of the game with just about two minutes remaining. Despite dropping their last two games, Pittsburgh was able to hold on to the top spot in the Metro division. The Penguins’ 8th ranked power play were unable to convert on either of their two man-advantages, and their 8th ranked penalty kill gave up two Buffalo power play goals (of three opportunities). Bryan Rust leads the Penguins with seven power play goals, although deadline acquisition Jason Zucker has six of his 17 goals coming on the power play. Tristan Jarry finished the match with five goals allowed on 26 shots, dropping just his first game in five starts. Matt Murray will get the start versus the Capitals.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are still plagued with injury, though Sidney Crosby has returned. The Pens are still without Brian Dumoulin (DL, ankle), Nick Bjugstad (DL, abdomen), Jake Guentzel (DL, upper body), Zach Aston-Reese (OUT, lower body), and John Marino (DL, face). Dominik Kahun is listed as day-to-day with a lower body injury.

Coverage of the game begins at 11:00pm with Caps Faceoff Live, followed by Caps Pregame Live at 11:30pm, all on NBCSN/NBCSWA, with puck drop shortly after 12:00pm.

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References:

TheScore. (2020). Pittsburgh Penguins Stats & News. Retrieved from https://www.thescore.com/nhl/teams/10.

TheScore. (2020). Washington Capitals News & Stats. Retrieved from https://www.thescore.com/nhl/teams/15.