Harry Lichtman
The Washington Capitals (41-30-9) look to keep their playoff hopes alive with a weekend sweep. They return home to host the Pittsburgh Penguins (41-23-16) at Capital One Arena on Sunday afternoon.
The puck drops at 3:00 p.m. ET.
The Capitals will be playing their final home game of the regular season. They’ll continue fighting for their playoff lives as they look to win three in a row.
On Saturday, the Capitals emerged victorious in Pittsburgh with a 6-3 win. Their quartet of rookies accounted for three goals and eight points in the victory.
Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby didn’t even suit up, along with Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Erik Karlsson. Nevertheless, the Penguins have already secured second place in the Metropolitan Division.
Saturday’s game was supposed to be the 75th regular season (100th including playoffs) meeting between Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. Regardless, Ovechkin scored an empty-netter and was given a standing ovation from the Steel City.
Multiple Capitals players reached individual milestones in Saturday’s win. The biggest one being Ilya Protas recording his first NHL goal, along with three points.
Tom Wilson picked up his second consecutive 30-goal season, while Aliaksei Protas reached 25 goals in back-to-back years. Ryan Leonard became the eighth Capitals rookie – the first since Ovechkin in 2005-06 – to hit 20 goals in a season.
Cole Hutson finished with a pair of assists, while Justin Sourdif picked up an assist on Leonard’s second goal. Meanwhile, Logan Thompson also made just nine saves to record his 30th win of the season.
The Capitals also got some out-of-town scoreboard help with Ottawa shutting out the Senators 4-0. However, both Columbus and Philadelphia won, making Washington’s playoff chances even slimmer.
Expected Capitals Lines
Forwards
Alex Ovechkin – Dylan Strome – Anthony Beauvillier
Aliaksei Protas – Ilya Protas – Tom Wilson
Connor McMichael – Justin Sourdif – Ryan Leonard
Brandon Duhaime – Hendrix Lapierre – Ivan Miroshnichenko
Defensemen
Martin Fehervary – Timothy Liljegren
Jacob Chychrun – Trevor van Riemsdyk
Cole Hutson – Matt Roy
Goalies
Logan Thompson
Clay Stevenson
Expected Penguins Lines
Forwards
Egor Chinakhov – Rickard Rakell – Anthony Mantha
Elmer Soderblom – Tommy Novak – Justin Brazeau
Joona Koppanen – Ville Koivunen – Rutger McGroarty
Noel Acciari – Kevin Hayes – Avery Hayes
Defensemen
Ryan Shea – Connor Clifton
Samuel Girard – Jack St. Ivany
Ilya Solovyov – Ryan Graves
Goalies
Stuart Skinner
Arturs Silovs
How to Watch
TV: TNT, TruTV, HBO Max
Radio: Team 980, 106.7 The Fan [JIP]/Caps Radio Network
