Caps (12-10-1, 25 points) vs. Penguins (14-7-4, 32 points)
What – Game #24
Where – Verizon Center
When – 7 p.m.
TV – CSN HD
Radio – WFED-1500 AM
It’s always a fun night at Verizon Center when the Pittsburgh Penguins visit the District. And this time the whole band is back together with star center Sidney Crosby lighting up the NHL in his first five games back and Evgeni Malkin back from knee surgery last February.
Lots of national media here only adding to the circus that has surrounded the Caps this week after the firing of Bruce Boudreau. New coach Dale Hunter is no stranger to this rivalry, however. The names were just different back in his day – though no less prolific. Lemieux. Jagr. Stevens. Recchi. But the tweaks Hunters has already made could pose an issue for the Penguins tonight. They don’t exactly have much to go on save for Hunter’s debut vs. St. Louis on Tuesday.
“It’s tough to know what to expect totally from their team system-wise, but we know we’re playing a good team,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma told reporters at Verizon Center on Thursday morning. “We know we’re playing Alexander Ovechkin and [Nicklas] Backstrom and [Alexander] Semin. We know we’re going to see them on the power play; we know how dangerous they can be. I’m expecting an energized team and we’re expecting a tough, hard fought game against two good teams, two rivals in a tough building to play in.”
Crosby is on fire after returning from a long bout with concussion symptoms on Nov. 21. He has two goals and nine assists and has registered at least a point in four of his five games. He and Malkin both missed the last two games against Washington last season. They’d like to turn around what has been a one-sided series with the Caps in recent years. Pittsburgh is 2-8-3 against Washington in its last 13 games and has not won in regulation since March 9, 2008.
“We played alright last game. We didn’t give up much, but we’d like to get a whole lot more than that for sure,” Caps forward Jason Chimera said. .”We only had maybe a dozen scoring chances, if that. We want to get more than that, obviously. Against St. Louis, they’re a tough team to really start against because they’re one of those trap teams, too. So it’s a grind-out type game. But it’ll be fun tonight.”
Tomas Vokoun starts in goal for the Caps with Marc-Andre Fleury for the Penguins. Mathieu Perreault was the lone Washington player on the ice for the scratches’ skate. That means defenseman Jeff Schultz at least has a shot at cracking the lineup after being a healthy scratch against St. Louis.
Follow me on Twitter @bmcnally14
