Capitals at Penguins: Lines, Notes, & How to Watch

The Washington Capitals (40-30-9) begin a weekend home-and-home set with the Pittsburgh Penguins (41-22-16). The first game will take place at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon.

The puck drops at 3:00 p.m. ET.

After Saturday’s game, the Capitals will host the Penguins at Capital One Arena on Sunday afternoon. Then, Washington will finish the regular season with a road matchup in Columbus on Tuesday.

Saturday’s game is extra special because it marks the 100th meeting between Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. Both captains have been playing in the NHL since 2005. However, people have been speculating if these next two meetings between Ovechkin and Crosby will be the last.

This past week, Ovechkin recently spoke to Capitals radio announcer John Walton about his future. The Great 8 said that a decision will be made during the offseason this summer.

The Capitals are hoping to keep Ovechkin’s career going into the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. They kept their chances alive with a 4-0 shutout win over Toronto on Wednesday.

Ilya Protas, younger brother of Aliaksei, made his Capitals debut and recorded his first NHL point. Meanwhile, Logan Thompson made 21 saves for his third shutout of the season.

The first time Ovechkin and Crosby met in the regular season was on Nov. 22, 2005 in Pittsburgh. The Penguins won that game 5-4, as they led 4-0 after the opening period.

The Ovechkin-Crosby rivalry is considered one of the greatest in NHL and North American pro sports history. The era accounts for 40 percent of Washington’s franchise history, and more than a third of Pittsburgh’s 58-season NHL history.

Expected Capitals Lines

Forwards

Alex Ovechkin – Dylan Strome – Anthony Beauvillier

Aliaksei Protas – Ilya Protas – Tom Wilson

Connor McMichael – Pierre-Luc Dubois – Ryan Leonard

Brandon Duhaime – Justin Sourdif – Ivan Miroshnichenko

Defensemen

Martin Fehervary – Rasmus Sandin

Jakob Chychrun – Trevor van Riemsdyk

Cole Hutson – Matt Roy

Goalies

Logan Thompson

Mitchell Gibson

Expected Penguins Lines

Forwards

Egor Chinakhov – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust

Tommy Novak – Rickard Rakell – Evgeni Malkin

Anthony Mantha – Ben Kindell – Justin Brazeau

Elmer Soderblom – Noel Acciari – Avery Hayes

Defensemen

Parker Wotherspoon – Erik Karlsson

Samuel Girard – Kris Letang

Ryan Shea – Connor Clifton

Goalies

Arturs Silovs

Stuart Skinner

How to Watch

TV: ABC

Radio: Team 980, 106.7 The Fan [JIP]/Caps Radio Network

By Harry Lichtman

Harry Lichtman is an award-winning journalist who covers the Washington Capitals for Sportsnaut. He also contributes to the sites ... More about Harry Lichtman