Washington Capitals at Pittsburgh Penguins
These two teams played last night and it seemed like we were in for a very high scoring game; it was 2-1 after the first four minutes of the game but only ended up a 3-2 final for the Penguins. Both teams scored a power play goal but to my surprise, there were only 53 shots on goal in this one.
Washington finally has three (well, maybe two and a half) good scoring lines and this helps take the pressure off of Alex Ovechkin. Not that it really helps the team that much; Ovechkin has gone goalless in three straight games and the team has managed just five goals in those three games. In fact, he only has one goal and one point in three games against the Penguins this year.
Pittsburgh had a shake-up in their lineup last night as Lee Stempniak has found his way to the top line with Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz while Taylor Pyatt has supplanted Jussi Jokinen on the second line. This team had better figure out its offense quickly because they are averaging under 20 shots on goal in their last four games. That is beyond brutal.
I think this is a game where Pittsburgh can break out offensively. The Caps did everything they could to beat the Penguins last night (and Pittsburgh is 3-0 in this season series this year) and still could not. That is deflating for a team. I think the Penguins fill the net tonight and I would look to the top line to break out.
Top RW Value |
Top LW Value |
Top C Value |
Top D Value |
Bargain Bin |
Lee Stempniak |
Taylor Pyatt $1500 |
Sidney Crosby $17,813 |
Olli Maatta $7738 |
(WSH) $5374 |