Pittsburgh Penguins Vs. Washington Capitals Preview And Prediciton
By Larry Snyder
The Pittsburgh Penguins (4-4-0, eight points) look to get over the .500 mark this evening as they battle Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals (6-1-0, 12 points) in Washington.
The Black and Gold are 21-12 in 33 match-ups since Sidney Crosby and Ovechkin came aboard their respective teams over a decade ago. This marquee rivalry remains one of the best in the National Hockey League.
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The two superstars have contributed some interesting numbers in their meetings over the years. Crosby has 18 goals and 33 assists for 51 points while Ovechkin has found the back of the net with 22 goals and 16 assists for 38 points in those 33 contests.
Marc-Andre Fleury has been solid in net with a 1.60 goals-against average over his last five games. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound netminder from Sorel, Quebec owns a 3.04 GAA in his last four versus the Caps after making 21 saves in a 4-3 victory Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015.
The Red, White, and Blue, with 29 goals scored, are just two points behind the first place New York Rangers in the Metropolitan Division with a 6-1-0 mark and 12 points. Barry Trotz’s crew sits tied for fourth place in the NHL’s Eastern Conference with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
It is the first of three visits that the Black and Gold will make to the nation’s capital this season. Washington claimed three out of four match-ups from the Penguins in 2014-2015. Pittsburgh comes to center ice tonight with four victories in their last five games.
Here is your Game Day roundup:
When: Wednesday, Oct. 24
Puck Drop: 8:00 p.m. ET
Site: Verizon Center in Washington D.C.
Television: NBC Sports Network
Radio Coverage: 105.9 FM – The X
Announcers: Mike Lange and Phil Bourque
Audio Stream: Penguins Radio 24/7
Live (Pay) Video Steam: NHL GameCenter LIVE
Sirius XM Satellite Radio: XM Internet 942
Penguins Social Media – Twitter/Facebook: @penguins / Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins Apps: iPhone/iPod Touch Users / Android / Blackberry
Odds: Penguins +1.5 as per the Odds Shark Online Sportsbook with the Over/Under at five. The total has gone under in nine of the Black and Gold’s last 11 match-ups.
My Prediction: The Pens claim a 3-1 victory on the road against the Caps tonight.
Washington’s 23-year-old center Evgeny Kuznetsov put up three goals and two assists for a career-high five points Friday, Oct. 23 against the Oilers in Edmonton, It was the Chelyabinsk, Russia native’s first career hat trick.
“I expect it to be a ramped-up game and I expect both teams to bring their ‘A’ games,” says Trotz on his team’s website. “I know we’re going to have to bring our ‘A’ game. I think the Penguins got off to a little bit of a slow start, but I think their game has rounded out pretty well and they’re probably playing pretty good hockey right now. We need to not get fooled by a good trip. What you have to do is improve on what we need to do to be a better hockey team, and we’re going to play a real good hockey team [Wednesday] night.”
Up Next: The Black and Gold come back to CONSOL Energy Center Thursday, Oct. 29 when they clash with former Pens coach Dan Bylsma and the Buffalo Sabres. You can catch every puck drop starting at 7:00 p.m. on ROOT Sports Pittsburgh.
From The Clipboard: Penguins defenseman Kris Letang will appear in his 500th game this evening…If, right wing Beau Bennett gets clearance to play, it will be his 100th NHL game…Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel are tied for the team lead in goals with three each…Malkin and Crosby lead the squad with one power play goal apiece.
Next: Steelers: Week Seven Grades Vs. Chiefs