This season, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals have easily been two of the best teams in the NHL. And now, the two are set to meet in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs — meaning, unfortunately for viewers and hockey fans, only one of these teams will make it to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Penguins and Capitals aren't strangers; they met four times this season, splitting the series. And the games weren't exactly low-scoring, either, with Pittsburgh winning ... Read More
Ovechkin, Capitals break Penguins’ five-game win streak
With their five-game win streak on the line, on Wednesday night the Pittsburgh Penguins (26-8-5) went on the road to the divisional-rival Washington Capitals (26-9-5). Entering the game with good news that goaltender Matt Murray was cleared to dress, Pittsburgh looked to upset the Capitals on their own ice. However, things didn't go as the Penguins had hoped, and they lost this game 5-2. Although starting goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has been on a roll lately, giving up only eight goals ... Read More
Penguins begin road trip against bitter rivals
Washington Capitals (9-4-2) The Capitals aren't far behind the Penguins for the divisional lead, and that shouldn't come as any surprise. Much like for Pittsburgh, the playoff window is narrowing, and, so far this season, Washington looks like a contender for the Cup. Braden Holtby has been a major catalyst for the Capitals' strong beginning, posting a 5-1-0 record in his last six starts. However, Washington's powerplay has been pretty bad in its last seven games, going one for ... Read More
Penguins win penalty-filled affair in Washington
Given the tenor of the last game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals, a penalty-filled affair in the teams’ final regular-season meeting in Washington on Wednesday night was hardly unexpected, but the way the penalties were handed out in the Penguins 4-3 victory over the Capitals was anything but expected. Instead of fights and roughing, it was hooking, holding, tripping and cross checking as referees Kelly Sutherland and Justin St. Pierre called an extremely tightly ... Read More
Pens faced two opponents on Tuesday…and lost both
It’s not a surprise that the Pittsburgh Penguins lost to the Washington Capitals Tuesday night. Despite entering the third period tied at one, the Penguins never had a chance after Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin two-handed slashed Kris Letang in the back of the leg seconds into the final frame. The Penguins, after all, were playing the wrong game. Rewind 48 hours to the Penguins' 2-1 shootout loss against the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday, when Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was whistled ... Read More
Pens hopes slashed by Ovechkin, Caps
The Washington Capitals continued their dominance of the Penguins this season, as they beat Pittsburgh for the third consecutive time this season, this time by a score of 3-1 at Consol Energy Center on Tuesday night. The Capitals used their power play to victimize the Penguins, scoring each of their first two goals with the man advantage. The Penguins, on the other hand, could not find the net with their new-look power play, going scoreless on three chances. The Capitals got the scoring ... Read More
Penguins back in Metro Division for showdown with Capitals
In the Metropolitan Division, the four teams currently ranked in the top four– the New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals – are very likely going to make the playoffs. The fourth-place Capitals hold a 12-point lead over fifth-pace Philadelphia and a 10-point lead over the Florida Panthers for a wild-card spot. The four Metropolitan opponents will spend the next month and a half jockeying for position in order to see who will be first-round ... Read More
Ovechkin scores twice as Caps blank Pens
In the Pittsburgh Penguins last six games, they’ve played three Metropolitan Division opponents and two of the top teams from the Western Conference. The Pens looked like one of the top teams in the league when they came down from a 2-0 deficit to take the Chicago Blackhawks to a shootout and easily handled the Winnipeg Jets without the services of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Marc-Andre Fleury. In the three previous games against divisional foes, the closest they came to a victory ... Read More
Crosby returns versus Ovechkin and the Captials
The Pittsburgh Penguins had better have done a good job of resting up over the all-star break, as their second test in just over 24 hours awaits them in the form of the Washington Capitals tonight. After <a href=http://www.pittsburghsportingnews.com/letangs-five-assists-lead-pens-past-jets/19318> Winnipeg Jets 5-3 at home on Tuesday night</a>, the Penguins boarded a plane for the nation’s capital where they’ll take on the Capitals tonight at 8:00 p.m. Meeting them was will be ... Read More