Penguins Report: Game Day at Washington
Wednesday, 11.20.2013 / 9:00 AM / Penguins Report
Pittsburgh Penguins
SID AND GENO VS. OVI
Tonight isn't just a rivalry between two teams; it's also a rivalry between two NHL superstars who are both at the top of their games and dominating the league.
Pens captain Sidney Crosby enters tonight’s contest tied with Alexander Steen of the St. Louis Blues for the NHL point lead with 26; while Ovechkin and Steen are tied for the league lead with 17 goals. Since the beginning of last season, Crosby leads all NHL players with 82 points (25G-57A), while Ovechkin is tied for second with 80 points (49G-31A). Ovechkin’s 49 goals lead all NHL players, while Crosby’s 1.44 point-per-game average is tops in the league.
Crosby and Ovechkin have gone head-to-head 25 times in their career. During those games, Crosby has outscored Ovechkin, 43-32. Pittsburgh has a record of 16-7-2 in those 25 games.
The two of them have dealt with a lot of personal ups and downs since they entered the league together as rookies back in the 2005-06 campaign. But Crosby told us this morning that no matter where he and Ovechkin are in their careers, he has no problem getting motivated for the head-to-head matchup with the Caps left winger.
"No matter where we stand and those things, it’s kind of built up as a rivalry here since we started playing against each other," Crosby said. "The fact that we started well early on might add to it, but I think it’s always kind of been there no matter where the teams were or where we were individually. Kind of always got up for those ones."
Although we've been talking a lot about the Sid-Ovi matchup going into this game, it's important not to forget about Evgeni Malkin, who joined the league a season after they did. The three players have amassed the highest point-per-game averages of all NHL players during that span: Crosby's is 1.41, Ovechkin's is 1.22 and Malkin's is 1.21. And since the 2005-06 season, the trio has combined to win 5 of 8 Hart Trophies (Malkin, 2; Ovechkin, 2; Crosby 1); 6 of 8 Ted Lindsay Awards (Ovechkin, 3; Crosby, 2; Malkin, 1) and 4 of 8 Art Ross Trophies (Malkin, 2; Ovechkin, 2; Crosby, 1).
"Since they got into the league, people are always saying who’s the best player, Sid or Ovi, Sid or Ovi? 'Geno' is in the mix too," Penguins winger Pascal Dupuis said. "It’s one of those nights where definitely Sid raises his level. Geno as well. I think Ovechkin has got some good games against us too, so we definitely want to win this one."
Malkin enters tonight’s game leading all NHL players with 10 assists during the month of November and has collected at least one assist in seven of his past eight games. He recorded his team-leading 16th and 17th helpers against Anaheim on Monday to give him a pair of multiple-point games over his previous three contests, and this season the Penguins are 5-0 when Malkin collects two or more points. He's been setting up everyone's goals and hasn't been able to put in any of his own lately, but that could change tonight. It's certainly something to watch for.
Stick tap to Pens PR for the numbers!
--Michelle Crechiolo
PENSTV INTERVIEWS
Sidney Crosby
--Michelle Crechiolo
QUOTE 'EM
Hear from Bylsma, Crosby, Dupuis, Orpik and Martin about tonight's matchup...
--Michelle Crechiolo
LINEUP UPDATES
Coach Bylsma said following morning skate that Marc-Andre Fleury will start in net and the rest of the lineup is a game-time decision.
In terms of injury updates, Bylsma was asked about goalie Tomas Vokoun, who underwent surgery to dissolve a blood clot in his pelvis on Sept. 21 and was given 3-6 month timetable for recovery, as well as defenseman Rob Scuderi, who had surgery to repair a broken ankle on Oct. 30 and was given a 6-8 week timetable for recovery.
Bylsma said there will not be an update on Vokoun until at least three months have passed (which will be in late December). For Scuderi, he said "his rehab is still off the ice and not in a high-impact way yet. We're just after the three-week mark of 6-8 weeks on Rob."
--Michelle Crechiolo
PENS PICS
Bennett and coach Bylsma stretch/talk prior to the morning skate
Malkin is back on the ice after his Tuesday maintenance day
Any time Crosby comes to Washington it's a big deal
D'Agostini tapes up on the bench
Fleury stretching for his practice punts
Super Duper
Joey V looks on at a drill
Martin in full concentration
--Michelle Crechiolo & Sam Kasan
MORNING SKATE INFO
All Pens were present for morning skate at Verizon Center, including Evgeni Malkin -- who had a maintenance day on Tuesday. They did not do line rushes, but as I talked about in my previous entry, coach Dan Bylsma said yesterday the plan is going to stick with the adjusted combinations for tonight, at least to start.
The Pens' first power-play unit remained the same: Letang, Malkin, Crosby, Neal and Kunitz.
The personnel on the second unit changed, but the guys used were Martin, Niskanen, Bennett, Sutter, Dupuis and Jokinen.
--Michelle Crechiolo
PENS WILL USE SAME ADJUSTED LINESThe Pens practiced Tuesday with the same lines they used in Monday’s 3-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks, and coach Dan Bylsma said he is going to stick with those adjusted combinations on Wednesday against the Washington Capitals.“We’re on the road, so the matchup is going to be a little bit different in terms of them getting the last change and putting their players in the positions they want offensively,” Bylsma said “So there’ll be some adjustment throughout the game knowing those situations, but yes, it’s the same lines to start the game.”
For a refresher on the line changes and to hear the guys talk about how they feel the switches worked on Monday,the full story is here.
--Michelle Crechiolo
PENS-CAPS PREVIEW
The Caps are absolutely red-hot right now (pun intended, ha). They are 7-1-1 in November and have won six in a row at home. Watch the video below to get the details from Sam Kasan on just why they are doing so well (hint: Alex Ovechkin isn't the only player excelling for Washington; Braden Holtby is playing out of his mind right now). And you can read the NHL.com preview here.
--Michelle Crechiolo
START THE DAY
Good morning from the nation's capital! The Pens are in DC to play the Washington Capitals tonight at Verizon Center, which will be broadcast at 8 p.m. on NBC Sports Network as part of their Rivalry Night.
Games between Pittsburgh and Washington have always been exciting, especially after their playoff series in 2009 which, as coach Dan Bylsma said yesterday, "really set the stage for this rivalry and these two teams." But we are especially looking forward to this game in particular, as there seems to be no shortage of storylines going into it. First and foremost, it's the first meeting of the season between the teams as Metropolitan Division rivals and first place is on the line. The Pens have a one-point lead over the Caps, who won three in a row and seven out of nine to leapfrog them into the top spot on Sunday before Pittsburgh regained the edge on Monday with its 4-1 win over Anaheim.
In addition, Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin both appear poised to battle all season long for the right to be called the ‘best player in the game.’ They've been absolutely dominating the NHL, as Crosby enters tonight tied with Alex Steen of the St. Louis Blues for the NHL point lead with 26, while Ovechkin and Steen are tied for the league lead with 17 goals.
The Pens are scheduled to hit the ice at 11:30 a.m. for morning skate (the Caps held their morning skate at their practice facility, so unfortunately we weren’t able to speak with any of them). While we wait, here's a few more notes going into the game.
We'll elaborate more on the matchup after we speak to the guys following morning skate...
PENGUINS (13-8-0) at CAPITALS (12-8-1)
WHEN: November 20, 2013 - 8:00 p.m. | WHERE: Verizon Center
WATCH: NBC Sports Network | LISTEN: Penguins Radio 24/7, 105.9 FMLast 10: Pittsburgh 6-4-0; Washington 7-2-1
Season series: This is the first meeting between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals. It's also the first time they've met as division rivals since a 4-1 Pittsburgh victory on Mar. 28, 1993, in the final days of the Patrick Division. After the Capitals won nine of 11 meetings following the teams' epic playoff series in 2009, the Penguins have won four straight, including all three meetings in 2012-13.
Big story: One of the best rivalries in the League takes center stage as two teams square off for first place in the Metropolitan Division, and the two players who split the League MVP trophies last season, Alex Ovechkin (Hart Trophy) and Sidney Crosby (Ted Lindsay Award), renew their personal duel.
Team Scope:
Penguins: Pittsburgh has been struggling to score goals of late, but there may have finally been a breakthrough Monday night against the Anaheim Ducks. The Penguins didn't record a shot for nearly 17 minutes to start the game, but broke open a scoreless game with goals on back-to-back shots in the third period en route to a 3-1 victory.
They have 29 goals in their past 13 games. Of those 29 goals, they scored 22 in the 11 contests during that stretch that weren't against Western Conference teams in the final games of long road trips (they beat Nashville 4-1 on Friday in the Predators' sixth straight road game). Crosby did have a goal against the Ducks, and Evgeni Malkin helped set up two goals. Both had been scuffling, at least by their standards.
Capitals: Last season began with a thud for Washington. A 2-8-1 start threatened to derail the campaign early, but the Capitals eventually rallied to claim the final Southeast Division title. This season also started poorly, but Washington has been able to recover more quickly.
The Capitals began the season 5-7-0 before rattling off a 7-1-1 run. They jumped into first place in the division with their win against the St. Louis Blues on Sunday, but the Penguins snatched the top spot back Monday night with the win against Anaheim. It was the only day the Penguins haven't been in or tied for first in the Metropolitan since the start of the season.
Five of Washington's wins have come via the shootout, and the Capitals are 8-1 in it since Adam Oates became the coach at the start of the 2012-13 season. Pittsburgh has won 10 straight shootouts dating back to Nov. 3, 2011. The Penguins have not lost a shootout or overtime game since a 3-2 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Mar. 18, 2012, an 81-game span.
Who's hot: Malkin hasn't scored a goal in 14 games, a career-long drought for him. He does have nine assists in the past eight games, and his individual effort on the first goal against Anaheim was a thing of beauty. … Ovechkin has four goals in the past three games, but even more impressive is his 40 goals in his past 42 regular-season contests.
Injury report: Malkin did not practice Tuesday for the Penguins, but coach Dan Bylsma called it a maintenance day and expects him to play Wednesday. Defenseman Rob Scuderi (ankle), forward Chuck Kobasew (lower body) and goalie Tomas Vokoun (blood clot) are out.
Capitals defenseman Mike Green (groin) completed practice Tuesday but remains a question mark to play Wednesday. He's on injured reserve but eligible to come off.
"He's missed a lot of time," Oates told reporters after practice. "It's a big game. I don't want to put him in a situation where he's behind the 8-ball. He hasn't been able to skate and do a lot of cardio, so I'm a little bit worried about his conditioning."
Washington defensemen John Erskine (knee) and Jack Hillen (leg) are out.
