Capitals Look To Continue To Turn The Tables On Penguins
By SportsDirect Inc.
The visiting Washington Capitals look to continue to turn the tables on the Pittsburgh Penguins and extend their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Tuesday when the Metropolitan Division rivals play Game 6 at Consol Energy Center. The Presidents' Trophy-winning Capitals, who staved off elimination on Saturday with a 3-1 victory, are hoping to avenge last season's playoff failure as they were unable to hold a 3-1 series lead against the New York Rangers.
"Now we're ... feeling pretty good about ourselves and maybe (the Penguins are) not feeling as good about themselves," Washington forward Jason Chimera told reporters Monday. "We have a better feeling going into the game now for sure." Pittsburgh is no stranger to seeing a 3-1 series advantage go by the boards, having lost the last three games of a set in both 2011 (versus Tampa Bay) and 2014 (against the Rangers). "You have to leave that behind you," Pittsburgh forward Patric Hornqvist said of Saturday's disappointing showing. "It's a new day (Tuesday) and a new game, a new opportunity. We have to take that one."
ABOUT THE CAPITALS: Veteran defenseman Brooks Orpik told reporters on Monday that he is ready to move forward after serving a three-game suspension for a hit on Pittsburgh blue-liner Olli Maatta on April 30. "Nothing I can do about it," the former Penguin said. "Just watch. They were three games that could have gone either way. We're not in the position that we foresaw, but we have a good opportunity (Tuesday)." Captain Alex Ovechkin recorded a goal and an assist for the second time in three outings on Saturday, raising his series point total to five and playoff point tally to 10 (five goals, five assists).
ABOUT THE PENGUINS: Coach Mike Sullivan isn't interested in making a switch as rookie goaltender Matt Murray is expected to get the nod over franchise netminder Marc-Andre Fleury. Murray yielded three goals on 19 shots Saturday to drop to 6-2 with a 1.96 goals-against average and .937 save percentage in eight consecutive starts in the playoffs. "The reality is, Marc is a terrific goalie. We know that," Sullivan told reporters of Fleury, who suffered a concussion on March 31. "Unfortunately he suffered an injury late in the season that kept him out for an extended period of time. That's a difficult circumstance. It's nobody's fault. It is what it is."
OVERTIME
1. Captain Sidney Crosby has collected an assist in each of the last two contests after being held off the scoresheet in each of the previous three.
2. Washington went 2-for-5 on the power play in Game 5 after going 1-for-22 in its previous seven contests.
3. Maatta (upper body) will be a game-time decision on Tuesday after sitting out the last three contests due to Orpik's hit.
PREDICTION: Capitals 3, Penguins 2