We’re 53 games into the regular season, and at long last the Washington Capitals will meet the Pittsburgh Penguins. The schedule-makers, in their infinite wisdom, decided to have the two best teams in the division wait until Super Bowl Sunday before they’d play one another.
This game is gonna be good.
12:30 PM. Capital One Arena. National coverage. Let’s do this.
 |
 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Record | 32-14-5 | 35-12-5 |
| Shot Attempt % | 51.7% | 52.4% |
| PDO | 100.8 | 101.1 |
| Power Play | 20.7% (11th) | 20.5% (13th) |
| Penalty Kill | 81.8% (12th) | 84.0% (2nd) |
Projected Lines
No changes. Big game for Sammy.
Ovechkin – Backstrom – Wilson
Vrana – Kuznetsov – Oshie
Hagelin – Eller – Panik
Leipsic – Dowd – Hathaway
Kempny – Carlson
Orlov – Jensen
Siegenthaler – Gudas
Samsonov
About the Pens
Pittsburgh has been, by far, the most injured team in the league this season.
Injury breakdown through 31 January when weighted by 3+ year WAR pic.twitter.com/M7NhF8VQn5
— NHLInjuryViz (@NHLInjuryViz) February 1, 2020
And yet, despite going without Crosby, Rust, Dumoulin, Guentzel, Bjugstad, and more for long stretches of the season, they’ve remained a darn good team. Their record over the past ten games is identical to Washington (7-3-0), and they control the third highest percentage of expected goals during five-on-five play. They’re really good. Don’t sleep.
Storylines
- Sammy starts.
- Ovi was first star of January, obviously. He’s in his hottest streak ever right now and keeps climbing the all-time list.
- Sid on Ovi: “We’re not best buddies.“
- John Carlson is now the most assist-y defender in Caps history.
- The power play is a mess. The Caps lead the league in shorties allowed.
- Friday was hat trick night on the farm. Connor McMichael got one, and so did Shane Gersich.
Best Website on the Internet Right Now
It’s unnamedtemporarysportsblog.com, a short-term resurrection of the very best writers from the late great technically undead Deadspin. For example, a love letter to Dusty Baker, this meta-meta media analysis, and whatever the heck this is. Only bad part is it’s over after tonight. Support workers.
