The Washington Capitals have traveled up north to play Game Three against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins currently lead the series 2-0 and it won’t help the Capitals that the next two games are at PPG Arena. What will the good guys need to do to flip the switch? Pretty much everything. This will include (but not limited to) a stronger defense, getting the puck past an unstoppable Marc-Andre Fleury, having more confidence in their game, and stopping their dumb mistakes.
You’re going to want to tune in to see where the hell this series ends up going.
Puck drop is a pinch after 7:30 PM on NBCSN. Peter will help you recover with the recap.
Penguins lead the series 2-0.
| Team | Record | SA% | PDO | Power Play | Penalty Kill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Capitals | 55-19-8 | 53.2% | 102.7 | 23.1% (4th) | 83.8% (7th) |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 50-21-11 | 50.7% | 101.6 | 23.1% (3rd) | 79.8% (20th) |
Projected Lines
Karl Alzner will take warmups tonight, and will be a game-time decision.
Ovechkin – Backstrom – Oshie
Johansson – Kuznetsov – Williams
Burakovsky – Eller – Wilson
Winnik – Beagle – Carey
Orlov – Niskanen
Schmidt – Carlson
Orpik – Shattenkirk
Holtby
The Penguins also have some players nicked up.
Sullivan says Hagelin, Hornqvist and Dumoulin will all be game-time decisions.
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) May 1, 2017
The baddest boys:
Guentzel – Crosby – Hornqvist
Rust – Malkin– Kessel
Wilson– Bonino– Sheary
Kunitz – Cullen– Kuhnhackl
Dumoulin – Hainsey
Maatta – Daley
Cole – Schultz
Fleury
Justin Williams
Every once in a while, I just need to double check if I am still in love with Justin Williams…and yes I do.
Enjoyed this from Justin Williams: “I hate when you say that after a game — ‘Well, we played well enough to win.’ You didn’t win. They won.”
— Adam Vingan (@AdamVingan) April 30, 2017
Justin Williams said he’s been down 2-0 and 3-0 and they’ll draw on that. Said Backstrom stepped up and talked in locker room afterwards.
— Ed Frankovic (@EdFrankovic) April 30, 2017
Justin Williams: “You’re not going to get me to say, ‘Woe is me’ and ‘Oh, I can’t believe it.’ Hey, you make your own breaks.”
— Brian McNally (@bmcnally14) April 30, 2017
Storylines
- With Hershey off until Saturday, Chandler Stephenson has been called up from Hershey juuuuuust in case.
- Sometimes, hockey is the worst sport of all time. The morning after numbers for Game Two help to prove this.
- Braden Holtby will “absolutely” start for Game Three, after he was pulled in Game Two. If he wasn’t going to start, I might have made a scene.
- Look at the best dressed man in the crowd at the Nats-Mets game on Sunday. Also, did you see that final score? Unreal.
What in the world pic.twitter.com/nqvTYcGkKg
— Erika S. (@rinkrebel) April 30, 2017
- The Hershey Bears are moving on to round two after their Game Five win against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms! Seems kind of ridiculous to be playing against phantoms when they aren’t even real, but whatever!
- Edmonton Oilers fans sang the Star-Spangled Banner after the singer’s mic broke. It was definitely a cool thing to see, but stay woke because Edmonton does like to go “viral” with these “crowd singing” videos and I’m getting sick of it.
- What is the absolute WORST thing the Capitals can do right now? Hit that panic button.
- Did you pick up your copy of the Frederick News Post yesterday? Did you go to the sports section and recognize the handsome boys on the front? That’s right, there was an RMNB feature on the front page!
- People are getting crazy with their accusations. Penguins players actually thought Alex Ovechkin tried to hurt Ron Hainsey on purpose.
- Karl Alzner will be a game-time decision tonight, so stay alert.
Get Pumped
Now is the time that we should all start posting our favorite “pump up” speeches. What song or speech gives you hope and gets you hyped? Help me and help everyone else.
Headline photo: Patrick McDermott
