Who: Washington Capitals (40-30-9, 89 points, 6th place Metropolitan Division) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (41-22-16, 98 points, 2nd place Metropolitan Division)
When: 3:00 p.m. ET
How to Watch: National broadcast on ABC and TBS
Pens’ Path Ahead: Today is the final home game of the regular season (but not the last home game of the season, now that the Pens have clinched a playoff spot with Thursday’s 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils). The Penguins are headed to D.C. tomorrow to complete the home-and-home
back-to-back with what could be the final matchup between Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin recently said he will wait until after the season to confirm whether he is retiring from the NHL, which caused ticket prices to spike ahead of the matchup in D.C. The Pens then get a day off before wrapping up the season on Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues.
Opponent Track: The Philadelphia Flyers’ loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night didn’t just help the Pens clinch home ice advantage— it also kept the Capitals’ hopes of sneaking into the third spot in the Metro alive. The Caps have a path to the postseason if they can win out their final three games, starting with this back-to-back set against the Pens, as long as the Flyers, New York Islanders and Columbus Blue Jackets keep losing. If the Caps lose today to the Penguins, however, their playoff odds drop to next to nothing. Per MoneyPuck:
Season Series: The Penguins blew an early three-goal lead with Arturs Silovs in net, but rallied with a late power-play goal from Bryan Rust to secure a 5-3 win over the Caps in these teams’ last meeting in Pittsburgh on Nov. 6.
Hidden Stat: This game is set to mark the 75th time Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin have played one another, according to Penguins PR. Crosby and the Penguins have gone 43-27-4 in those previous 74 matchups.
Hidden Stat II: This weekend could potentially mark the end of an era that has shaped both franchises. The Ovechkin/Crosby era has last for just over 40 percent of the Capitals’ franchise history and more than a third of the Penguins’ history (h/t WashingtonCaps.com’s Mike Vogel).
Getting to know the Capitals
Projected lines
FORWARDS
Alex Ovechkin – Dylan Strome – Anthony Beauvillier
Aliaksei Protas – Ilya Protas – Tom Wilson
Connor McMichael – Pierre-Luc Dubois – Ryan Leonard
Brandon Duhaime – Justin Sourdif – Ivan Miroshnichenko
DEFENSEMEN
Martin Fehervary / Rasmus Sandin
Jakub Chychrun / Trevor van Riemsdyk
Cole Hutson / Matt Roy
Goalies: Logan Thompson, Mitchell Gibson
Potential scratches: Hendrix Lapierre, Ethen Frank, David Kampf, Declan Chisholm, Dylan McIlrath, Timothy Liljegren, Charlie Lindgren (upper body)
Injured Reserve: None
- Ilya Protas, the 19-year-0ld brother of Caps winger Aliaksei Protas, made his NHL debut on Wednesday. The Capitals are currently running both brothers, who each measure in at 6’6” on either side of Tom Wilson (6’4”). The trio weighs more than 300 pounds combined.
- Ilya Protas isn’t the only young Capital making his NHL debut down the stretch. Nineteen-year-old defenseman Cole Hutson has eight points (three goals, five assists) in 11 games since making his NHL debut in March.
- Goaltender Charlie Lindgren was a full participant in practice Friday and is traveling with his team to Pittsburgh, Caps coach Spencer Carbery told reporters. Logan Thompson, who most recently backstopped the Caps to a 4-0 shutout of the Toronto Maple Leafs, is likely to get the start today in Pittsburgh, but having Lindgren back for Sunday could determine who starts the latter half of the back-to-back.
Season stats
via hockeydb
- Tom Wilson is one goal shy of hitting the 30-goal plateau for the second time in the NHL career. Ovechkin already hit that mark in 75 games to mark his NHL-record 20th season with at least 30 goals.
- Is this Ovechkin’s last game in Pittsburgh? The Washington captain recently announced he won’t be deciding whether to return for another NHL season until after the Caps’ run this season is over. How soon fans find out could depend at list in part on whether the Pens are able to play spoilers for the Capitals’ playoff chances today at PPG Paints. The Caps are at the very least honoring his last home game of the season by giving out special rally towels to fans in attendance on Sunday in D.C.
And now for the Pens
Projected lines
FORWARDS
Egor Chinakhov – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust
Tommy Novak – Rickard Rakell – Evgeni Malkin
Anthony Mantha – Ben Kindel – Justin Brazeau
Elmer Soderblom – Noel Acciari – Avery Hayes
DEFENSEMEN
Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson
Sam Girard / Kris Letang
Ryan Shea / Connor Clifton
Goalies: Stuart Skinner, Arturs Silovs and Sergei Murashov
Potential Scratches: Ilya Solovyov, Blake Lizotte (injured), Kevin Hayes, Ryan Graves, Jack St. Ivany, Connor Dewar (day-to-day)
IR: Filip Hallander, Caleb Jones (season-ending shoulder surgery)
- Connor Dewar missed Thursday’s win over the New Jersey Devils with what the Penguins described as a day-to-day lower-body injury. The team didn’t practice Friday, so an update on his injury status will come today.
- The Penguins could also potentially decide to rest some players now that the team has been locked in as the No. 2 seed, although this could still be a first-round preview if the Caps win out while the Flyers, Jackets and Isles spiral.
