When the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals square off in game one of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night, they’ll be meeting under a different format. Instead of playing at Capital One Arena near DC’s downtown area, this year’s games will take place almost entirely at PPG Paints arena in Pittsburgh.
The “penguins vs capitals” is a matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals, two teams that are in first place. This game will be aired on ESPN+.
6:59 a.m. Eastern
-
ESPN personnel
The rivalry between Sidney Crosby’s Pittsburgh Penguins and Alex Ovechkin’s Washington Capitals has enthralled NHL fans for the last 15 seasons. But the two superstars are still going strong, with Ovechkin pursuing Wayne Gretzky’s goal-scoring record and Sid encouraging the league’s next generation of players.
The tale continues on Friday night when the Penguins take on the Capitals, which will be broadcast exclusively on ESPN+ and will include the Star Watch experience as an alternative streaming option.
We’ve put up a primer on all the important players to watch for both teams, as well as in-depth statistical data on the Penguins and Capitals from ESPN Stats & Information, to help you get ready for the battle.
ESPN+ will broadcast 75 exclusive regular-season games this season, while ABC and ESPN will show a combined 28 exclusive regular-season games for a total of 103 games. You can see the whole broadcast schedule here.
Subscribe to ESPN+ and watch NHL games on ESPN.
Watch live on ESPN+ at 6:55 p.m. ET | Line: Washington -140 | 6 (over/under)
ESPN Power Rankings for the Penguins: 13 Goalkeeper’s self-assurance is a ten on a scale of one to ten Jake Guentzel is the team’s leading scorer with 27 points in 24 games. The team’s 2021-22 record is 12-8-5, enough for fourth place in the Metro Division.
2 Related
-
Jake Guentzel, the Penguins’ top goal (15) and point (27) scorer, will be sidelined for a week with an upper-body ailment. Guentzel was on a 13-game point run, the NHL’s longest current streak and the third-longest of the season. Guentzel has a point in each of his 12 road games this season, and his 19 road points are tied for fourth in the NHL with Connor McDavid.
-
On their five-game road trip, the Penguins are 2-1-1. The Penguins were tied with the Minnesota Wild for the sixth-best road point percentage this season as of Wednesday (.654, 7-3-3)
-
Crosby has an assist in six straight games, tying him with Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov for the second-longest current string, following only Rangers defender Adam Fox’s seven-game record. Crosby’s 11 points since Nov. 26 were one point short of the most in the NHL over that time period as of Wednesday.
-
After having the worst power play in the league until Nov. 15, the Penguins have converted 26.9% of their power plays in their past 11 games, ranking seventh after Nov. 16.
-
This season, Pittsburgh hasn’t lost in regulation while leading after two periods (11-0-1), but it hasn’t won when behind after two periods (0-7-2).
-
Tristan Jarry of the Penguins is fourth in the league in goals saved above expectation, with a +9.2 rating (meaning he has prevented 9.2 goals vs. expectations based on shot quality and quantity). Jarry was 55th in that category last season, with a -7.3. (minimum 10 games).
ESPN Power Rankings for the Washington Capitals: 4 14th in goalie confidence. Alex Ovechkin leads the team with 41 points in 26 games. The team’s 2021-22 record is 16-4-6, good for first place in the Metro division.
This season, ESPN, ESPN+, Hulu, and ABC will broadcast 103 exclusive regular-season games, with more than 1,000 out-of-market games accessible on ESPN+. • • Subscribe to ESPN+ to watch. • Watch NHL games on ESPN.
-
The Capitals defeated the Penguins 6-1 in their season opener on November 14, their second-largest margin of victory against the Penguins since Crosby and Ovechkin joined the league in 2005-06. (Caps won 7-1 on Nov. 16, 2016). The clubs will battle for the sixth time in a row on Friday in Washington (Caps are 2-1-2 in the previous five).
-
The Capitals are in first position in the division by points (38), while the Rangers (37) have a superior points percentage (37). (.771 vs .731). The Capitals’ 38 points are tied for third most in team history through the first 26 games.
-
On Monday, in his 26th game, Ovechkin surpassed the 20-goal and 20-assist mark for the season, the fastest he’s done in a single season. His previous best was 29 games in 2009-10, when he was second in the Hart Trophy voting for MVP behind Vancouver’s Henrik Sedin (Crosby was third).
-
Ovechkin has also been a playmaker, leading the NHL in 5-on-5 assists with 16, his highest in a season since 2018-19. (he had 20 over the previous two seasons combined). This season, he has eight main 5-on-5 assists, one more than in 2020-21 and 2019-20. (seven each).
-
Since 2005-06, Ovechkin’s first season in the NHL, the NHL has kept count of hits. In that time period, Ovechkin’s career hit total ranks fourth among all players. Dustin Brown, Cal Clutterbuck, Matt Martin, and Milan Lucic, the other players in the top five since 2005-06, have less career goals than Ovechkin.
-
The Capitals have had a good second period this season, as they enter Wednesday with the most goals (34) and the best goal difference (+11) in that stanza.
Watch This Video-
The “Viewers guide to Pittsburgh Penguins at Washington Capitals on ESPN+” is a television show that airs every Sunday. It provides viewers with the latest information and news about the Pittsburgh Penguins and their upcoming games. Reference: steelers.
Related Tags
- penguins schedule
- espn plus
- hulu
- ovechkin
- pitt football