Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Round 1: Capitals Victory Or Bust For Playoffs
On April 11, the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins are set to face off in Pittsburgh. There are many levels to this matchup, with a historic rivalry and a last-minute scramble for playoff qualification from the Capitals.
Penguins Into Playoffs, Capitals Holding On
Pittsburgh has officially qualified for the playoffs after a rollercoaster season, clinching a 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on April 9 and securing a 17th consecutive playoff berth. The last time that the Capitals played a playoff-bound team, they won 6-2 over the Buffalo Sabres as the excitement got to their opponents.
That said, the Capitals have had a rollercoaster season of their own, struggling especially to score on power plays. That’s something that the Penguins have been good at this season, going 11-for-34 for a 32% success rate. That’s ranked second in the NHL. Forward Sidney Crosby has 4 power play goals this season, ranking fourth in the league.
Pittsburgh has won 5 of its last 6 games to surge back and make the playoffs, while the Capitals have been inconsistent, sometimes playing brilliantly over strong teams and other times losing badly to lower-ranked teams. The lowly Rangers dominated the Capitals 8-1 on April 5.
Their playoff chances sit in the single digits, though they did rise slightly in a blowout 4-0 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 8. The Capitals will likely be shut out of the playoffs with a loss, as they sit 3 points and 4 places behind the fourth-place Philadelphia Flyers in the Metropolitan Division standings. With both the Penguins and the Carolina Hurricanes locked into the playoffs, there is still one wild-card spot available for a whole pack of teams to take in the Eastern Conference.
Legends To Clash… Again
Beyond the playoff race for the Capitals, there’s another storyline at play. Forwards Crosby and Washington’s Alex Ovechkin, the only two players in the NHL to play for the same teams since the 2005-2006 season, are set to face off for the 21st consecutive season.
They are only the second duo to do so, with Ron Francis of the Hurricanes and Mark Messier, who played for four separate teams during 25 seasons, being the first.
Both players have been excellent this season, with Crosby scoring 29 goals and Ovechkin scoring 31. Ovechkin leads his team in goals scored and has scored 2 in the last 5 games, though his last goal was back on March 31 in a victory against the Flyers, and Crosby’s was on April 5 in a game where the Penguins beat the Florida Panthers. Crosby has 15 more assists than Ovechkin on the season, with 45.
Crosby has been a key contributor to the Penguins for his whole career and was the first pick back in 2005. Ovechkin is a linchpin for the Capitals, and both are considered to be legends of the NHL.
Crosby is seventh all-time with 1,761 points, while Ovechkin is 10th all-time with 1,684 points. The Capitals captain has the NHL record with 928 regular-season goals and has reached most of the possible milestones in his long career.
Ovechkin is close to retirement, regardless of whether he plays another season, so emotions are running high going into the game. Both told RMNB.com that their rivalry has made them better and the NHL better, especially when they were at their primes.
The Capitals’ Tom Wilson, another veteran, put it best. “There will never be Ovi and Crosby, I don’t think, ever again.”
Penguins Have Dominated Capitals Historically
The Penguins have won 24 times against the Capitals since the 2015-2016 season, the most of any team in the league. It will be a tough battle for Washington to beat Pittsburgh, but it’s certainly possible.
The Penguins have several other top players beyond Crosby. Right wing Anthony Mantha has scored 31 goals and 61 points, and right wing Bryan Rust has 29 goals and 65 points this season. Richard Rackell and Egor Chinakhov have scored over 20 goals so far, with 24 and 21 goals respectively. Goalies Stuart Skinner and Arturs Silovs have been strong, with save percentages of 0.889 and 0.881.
The Capitals will need a clean, sharp game to have a chance at beating the Penguins, who will need to put their excitement at making the playoffs aside and be on the level that they’ve been at for the last few games. It should be a highly exciting game on April 11, and the Capitals and Penguins will switch hosts on April 12 for a double-header weekend.
