Game #61 Preview: Washington Capitals at Pittsburgh Penguins

Where: CONSOL Energy Center, Pittsburgh, PA

When:  February 21, 2011, 7:30 PM

History:           

Caps Record on this Date: 5-6-2-1

Caps Game 61 Record: 14-14-4-2

All-Time vs. PIT: 85-86-16-5

All-Time at PIT: 35-51-7-1

Last Season vs. PIT: 4-0-0

Last Meeting: 2/6/11, WAS 3 PIT 0

Season Series: 2-0-1

This Year:

WAS Record: 31-19-10

Standings Points: 72

Division Rank: 2nd

Conference Rank: 5th

Last Game: 2/20/11, WAS 2 BUF 1

Streak: Win 1

PIT Record: 36-19-5

Standings Points: 77

Division Rank: 2nd

Conference Rank: 4th    

Last Game: 2/20/11, PIT 2 CHI 3 (OT-SO)

Streak: Loss 1

Probable Line-Ups:     

Washington

Forward Line 1: 8 OVECHKIN, 19 BACKSTROM, 22 KNUBLE

Forward Line 2: 21 LAICH, 90 JOHANSSON, 28 SEMIN

Forward Line 3: 26 HENDRICKS, 85 PERRAULT, 25 CHIMERA

Forward Line 4: 39 STECKEL, 15 GORDON, 10 BRADLEY

Defense Pair 1: 23 HANNAN, 55 SCHULTZ

Defense Pair 2: 27 ALZNER, 74 CARLSON

Defense Pair 3:89 SLOAN, 4 ERSKINE

Goalie: 1 VARLAMOV

Back-up Goalie: 30 NEUVIRTH

Pittsburgh

Forward Line 1: 12 STERLING, 11 STAAL, 23 CRAIG

Forward Line 2: 24 COOKE, 25 TALBOT, 9 DUPUIS

Forward Line 3: 18 CONNER, 27 ADAMS, 48 KENNEDY

Forward Line 4: 17 RUPP, 46 VITALE, 22 WALLACE

Defense Pair 1: 7 MARTIN, 4 MICHALEK

Defense Pair 2: 3 GOLIGOSKI, 5 ENGELLAND

Defense Pair 3: 44 ORPIK, 58 LETANG

Goalie: 29 FLEURY

Back-up Goalie: 1 JOHNSON

Injuries:

Washington – 3 POTI (upper body) IR, 16 FEHR (upper body) IR, 52 GREEN (inner ear) DTD

PIT – CROSBY (concussion) IR, MALKIN (knee) IR, TANGRADI (concussion) IR, JEFFREY (upper body) IR, KUNITZ (lower body) IR, ASHAM (upper body) IR, LETESTU (lower body) IR, COMRIE (hip) IR, GRANT (wrist, neck) IR

Caps Milestones:

Jason Chimera needs 4 goals to reach 100 in his career.

Brooks Laich needs 4 goals to reach 100 in his career.

Alex Ovechkin needs 2 assists to reach 300 in his career.

Preview:

In the final game of the Capitals five game road trip the Capitals will take on the rival Pittsburgh Penguins. The Pens have been devastated by injury but continue to hold the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference. Washington is looking to come off of their road trip with a winning record after splitting the first four games. The Capitals appear to be coming around on the power play as they have connected in two consecutive games. This game should be a grinding physical affair with the Pens trying to slow the offense of the Capitals, which doesn’t have all that much pop recently, and keep the scoring chances to minimum. The Caps will need to exploit the experience gap between the two squads and they will need to connect with the man advantage. The Capitals have been playing a better all-around game lately but they still need work on their finishing. The team has allowed the opposition to dictate play in the final period and ended up on the losing end more times than is acceptable. I expect the Caps will push the offense early and try to break out in the first period. Look for a big game from Alex Ovechkin who is getting back on his normal scoring track.

Joe’s prediction: Caps 4 PIT 1

Official Preview