Gameday 40: Today’s forecast, Capital Showers

PITTSBURGH (26-8-5) VS WASHINGTON (26-9-5)

VERIZON CENTER, WASHINGTON, DC.

8:00 PM EST, NBCSN

First of all, congratulations to NBC Sports Network for actually having a rivalry game on rivalry night, something they have only pulled off a handful of times in the last 6 seasons. And what a showdown this one is. The last time these two teams met the Caps gave the Pens a presidential golden shower, properly pissing on them 7-1. After that whipping the Pens stumbled to a 3-3-1 finish to the month of November and Pittsburgh Media decided they were no longer good. December was a different story for both teams, however, and if you go ahead and ignore the Avalanche Panthers Blue Jackets there is no doubt these are the two heavy weights of the Metro right now, as for their last 10?

Overall records, goal differentials, current winning streaks and last 10 games are all damn near identical. But what is that stat that is just glaring at you?? The Penguins are 8-6-3 on the road this year. This has gone mostly under the radar, because it is easy to brush it off when the team is 18-2-2 at home and playing the way it is. However, they have played 5 extra games at home, so when that evens out eventually the team needs to become better on the road in order to stay where they are. The Capitals are 1-4 in the shootout, which means that Holtby is a really good goaltender with a defense in front of him.

Alex Ovechkin is sitting at 999 career points, so be ready to have that shoved down your throat the entire night, also be prepared for a cheesy video montage by NBCSN when he gets his 1000^th point tonight. For the first time in years, if not ever, we get to witness Ovechkin, Crosby and Malkin all playing near the top of their games. This means that NBCSN will have to do their absolute best to undermine all three players and showcase Daniel Winnik or some other clown as the “best player.” They couuullllldddddd build up hype for the All-Star Game by talking up the potential of an Ovechkin-Crosby-Malkin line, but it is NBCSN so I highly doubt they will do this.

PROBABLY INCORRECT PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS:

The Penguins have been passing around the flu like it’s a Russian prostitute, and currently have 8 players that have either been affected or are currently sick. On top of this, Mike Sullivan hasn’t started the same forward lines in 2 games since early December so don’t hold any stock into this projection. Letang is questionable for this one as well due to the flu that was previously mentioned, making Ruhwedel the most likely to fill in. Also, Murray is still injured so Tristan Jarry is Fleury’s backup in this one. Also Also, Jarry was just sent down so Murray must be the backup now. Ruhwedel also called up so in my mind Letang is doubtful.

Moment of joy for Sullivan and crew acknowledging that the Derrick Pouliot Experiemnt is over:

As for the Capitals, American zero Tiny Johnson Oshie is out for this one, which I would say doesn’t matter because he is extremely overrated but for some reason people like him.

The rest of the Capitals lines should be pretty close to what is above, but who cares.

WHO TO WATCH:

Let’s take a moment and realize that the players I am about to name have been doing this thing for a decade. They have been the face of the league for a decade and for the majority of every season they have been in the top of the league. It is unreal how long these two have dominated, and even though the NHL and NBCSN don’t want to push player vs player hype, this game will always be one thing in a lot of people’s eyes.

FOR WASHINGTON:          ALEX OVECHKIN

A chance to hit a milestone on a nationally televised game probably has Pierre’s vagina soaked right now with excitement. Do asexuals have vaginas? With a point tonight, Ovechkin will get his 1000^th point in his 880^th game, which though it isn’t as good as Crosby, it is extremely respectable since he has had to play for Washington and some horrible coaches over the years.

FOR PITTSBURGH:          SIDNEY CROSBY

NBCSN will love to put up the stat that Ovechkin has 999 points and Crosby has 982 points, and then some douche will get on Twitter talking about how Ovi has more points and is better. So here’s the deal: Crosby has played 147 less games and is 17 points behind Ovechkin. ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY SEVEN less games. With his career P/G of 1.327 (unreal), Crosby could have potentially 195 more points.

FINAL WORDS:

This game features two superstars that have been the head of the league for over a decade, they are both close to hitting 1000 points in the same season, they are still the face of the league to many people. Will the league do anything to build on this, probably not. These two teams are playing some fantastic hockey right now, and you have to think this isn’t going to be a 1-0 or 2-1 game tonight. Overall we should be in for a really good hockey game tonight, just mute the television to avoid giving yourself an aneurysm during intermissions.

Pat and Leah are really hitting their stride here with their podcast, and you should check out that episode as they talk about the all star game and some of the odd choices that are going.