PITTSBURGH PENGUINS VS WASHINGTON CAPITALS
Capital One Round Only Center. Washington, DC
7:30 PM EST. NBCSN
The Penguins take their show back on the road to our nation’s capital in good ole Washington DC. The Penguins arrived in DC yesterday to celebrate their day at the White House and it went over just about as well as everything else does now that everyone has Twitter and a correct opinion. Besides some interesting pronunciations of players names, “EvJenny” anyone? The day went pretty much as expected.
There was a little bit of stirring when the Penguins didn’t give Drumpf a 45 jersey (or any jersey), but that’s because a 45 Penguins jersey is already submitted in Washington’s history:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIDKTeB5lIU]Exactly one mile from the White House rests the Verizon Center Capital One Center. That one mile has remained untouched by Capital players since they joined the NHL in 1974. One mile in space, one lifetime of agony in time for Capitals fans.
It can’t be all that bad being a Capitals fan. For example, you get to cheer on a generational talent, you have a bunch of free museums to go to, and you haven’t had to purchase a new rally shirt since 2010:
Last year the Capitals went all in (yes, I know I said that last year also) but like really really this time. They went and landed Kevin Shattenkirk at the deadline, and they were poised to make a yuge run in the playoffs. Then they ran into an old friend:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_airMgUX4c]What a save. Fast forward 8 years and it was Marc-Andre Fleury in his swan song with Pittsburgh, purchasing one more acre of real estate in the Capitals heads:
— www.pens.hockey (@PensHockeyBlog) May 12, 2017
So here we are, a regular season game in Washington. One of 5 or 6, I honestly don’t know/care against the team that is once again finding regular season success (through 3 games)… shocker. The Capitals are 2-0-1 so far this year despite only having 4 defenders. Their record is mainly due to Alex Ovechkin scoring 204 goals in the first 3 games and Timothy Jimothy Oshie has also scored a goal or two, I suppose we should get excited about that because everyone else seems to. Since Ovechkin came into the league the Capitals have always had a threatening offense except for when Dale Hunter was the coach. Getting excited about a 2-0-1 start is a waste of time. The Vegas Golden Knights are 3-0 and they have everyone’s scraps on their roster. The Canadiens started last year 10-0-1 or something. The first week of the regular season has as much meaning as the Twilight Saga.
Starting Lineup
Mike Sullivan made adjustments prior to game 3 when he dropped Conor Sheary to the third line and moved Bryan Rust up to the top line. Rust and Crosby are tied for the team lead with four points through three games. Patric Hornqvist participated in full contact practice Monday and was listed as a possibility tonight, but it is still too early to tell. One interesting note is that during Mondays practice Sullivan replaced Sheary with Archibald on the third line and had Conor join in every third rush, somebody is in the dog house…
There is no doubt the Capitals will come out with something to prove tonight, after all it is yet another regular season Stanley Cup final against the Pens. Hell they might even win 10-1. It won’t matter. After last season the Penguins have solidified their place in Washington history, they invaded long ago, but last season was it. After a home game 7 loss to a Letang-less Penguins team, there isn’t a regular season game that will ever take that sourness away. Not until the Capitals can finally knock a Crosby captained Penguins team out of the playoffs will it matter. The Caps have president trophies, the Penguins meet presidents.
Make sure you check out Pat & Leahs podcast from last night, where Pat announces he started the Greg McKegg fanclub. He forgot to mention that I’m club president but whatever, I’m not salty.
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