Pittsburgh Penguins: Ready For Game One
It’s a Pittsburgh Penguins game day! Round two begins tonight in Washington, D.C., and the well-rested Pens are ready to go against the battered Capitals.
Round two is finally here.
Tonight the Pittsburgh Penguins kick off the next stage of their playoff push against the Washington Capitals. The Pens are coming off a successful first round that saw them eliminate the New York Rangers in five games, while the dominant Capitals were surprisingly pushed to six games by the gritty Philadelphia Flyers.
There’s a few interesting factors to consider before the puck drops on this series. While their first round showings may not necessarily carry over to this one, momentum is always a major, albeit intangible, component of hockey.
The Capitals struggled toward the end of the season after clinching the President’s Trophy, in part because they had nothing more to gain from highly competitive play. On the other hand, we saw in the first round that they’ve struggled to bounce back from that subpar home stretch, still kind of in a funk.
If their captain Alex Ovechkin and his countryman Evgeny Kuznetsov can catch fire again and get back that offensive spark they had during the prime of their season, they’ll be a big threat. If they can’t, then it’s hard to see the Caps succeeding against the Penguins in the end.
This series could easily go to seven games, I’m not saying it won’t. However, I think the Pens would have the upper hand if that was the case. They only played one less game than the Caps in the first round, but that extra bit of rest can be a difference-maker in the exhausting postseason.
More of the Pens’ offensive weapons are firing, and Evgeni Malkin was somehow unsatisfied with his play in the first round and wants to improve even more. That’s a pretty terrifying thought for any opponent. Sidney Crosby, of course, can never be overlooked.
From December 21st through the end of the season – shortly after Mike Sullivan’s hiring on December 12 – the Pens were the best team in the league. They picked up 71 points in that time to the Capitals’ 70. During that time they scored more goals on average and allowed fewer.
Collectively, the Penguins scored 241 goals while allowing 199; the Capitals scored 248 while allowing 191. All things considered, they’re incredibly evenly matched teams.
Last round saw Penguins’ forward Carl Hagelin square off against his former team. He played hard and aggressive against them, often looking like he had something to prove to the Rangers, and in the end it paid off with his first goal against the team that drafted him.
This round, former Capital Eric Fehr will hope to have the same luck and scoring ability against his old team. Fehr has slotted in with Malkin and Chris Kunitz on the second line since Malkin’s return, and has been pretty good there. He’s also got great chemistry with Matt Cullen.
Fehr played three games against the Caps this season and didn’t pick up a point in any of them. No matter where he fits into the lineup, he’ll surely be looking to have the same effect against them that Hagelin did last round.
Former Penguins Brooks Orpik, Matt Niskanen, and Taylor Chorney all wear red now, and probably would love to make an impact against their old team too. However, Niskanen is the only one we can consistently expect in the lineup: Orpik sustained an obvious concussion in the first round against the Flyers and is still injured, while Chorney is a bubble player who may or may not play on any given night.
Matt Murray is the Penguins’ starting goalie from this point on, as Marc-Andre Fleury is still dealing with concussion symptoms. Fleury has been mentoring Murray and trying to give him advice about the Capitals’ tricks, but Murray’s impressive calmness continues to surprise teammates and opponents alike.
Braden Holtby will face off against Murray in the opposite net. When the three Vezina Trophy nominees were announced yesterday, Holtby headlined the list and is generally accepted as the favorite to win. But he’s not perfect; he has his weaknesses just like any player.
Related Story: Penguins: Let's Stop the Crosby-Ovechkin Narrative
One thing is certain: this series is going to be incredibly exciting and full of some great hockey. Game one is set to begin at 8 PM, and you don’t want to miss it.