Penguins well acquainted with Capitals in playoffs

CRANBERRY, Pa. -- There was a feeling of déjà vu in the Pittsburgh Penguins locker room Tuesday.
After defeating the Philadelphia Flyers in six games in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference First Round with an 8-5 win Sunday, the Penguins practiced for the first time since advancing to the second round, where they will play the Washington Capitals for a third straight season.

RELATED: [Complete Capitals vs. Penguins series coverage]
"We've seen them a lot over the last couple of years," Penguins center Sidney Crosby said. "Both teams know each other well, so I think both teams know what to expect."
In the past two Stanley Cup Playoffs, Pittsburgh advanced past Washington on its way to the Eastern Conference Final and back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. But the Penguins know they can't afford to dwell on history, with Game 1 at Washington on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS).
"I think [Washington is] the same old dangerous team," Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang said. "Don't get me wrong. Those series went the distance. They went to overtime. It was a tough matchup that could have went either way."
Though the Penguins eliminated the Capitals the past two seasons, the series were tightly contested.
In the second round a year ago, Pittsburgh took a 3-1 series lead with a 3-2 win at home in Game 4. Washington responded by winning the next two games by a combined score of 9-4.
The Penguins were outplayed for long stretches of Game 7 at Capital One Arena, but goalie Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 saves to help them to a 2-0 win.

In 2016, Pittsburgh lost Game 1 of the second round before winning three straight games by one goal, including 3-2 in overtime in Game 4. the Capitals won 3-1 at home in Game 5, but the Penguins won the series with a 4-3 overtime victory in Game 6.
"I think they have similar personnel," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "Their core is still intact. They're a really good hockey team, very much like our team. So I don't think there are drastic differences. I think they're a little more evolved. They're a little bit more mature, as our team is.
"Other than that, I think they're a very competitive team, as they have been year in and year out with the core of players that they have."
Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin is obviously a large part of that core. He had eight points (five goals, three points) in six games, including two goals in Game 6, against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round.
After holding Ovechkin to two goals in seven games during the 2017 series, the Penguins still expect him to be a matchup nightmare.
"He's a pretty big threat out there," Letang said. "Anytime you can do a job against him, and do it right, it's pretty satisfying. He's really tough. He's a big task. He's a big body. He's physical. He has a big shot, obviously. We all know that."

Crosby does, despite eliminating Ovechkin and the Capitals the three times they've met in the playoffs (2009, 2016 and 2017). In the middle of fielding questions comparing him to Ovechkin, which has become a spring tradition in Pittsburgh, Crosby said he doesn't care about the past.
"I'm not worried about that," Crosby said. "I think both of us want to win the series and what's happened in the past doesn't really matter. It's about this series."
Near the end of his interview, Crosby was asked if it would be a shame if Ovechkin never won the Stanley Cup. After saying he didn't know how to answer the question, Crosby did.
"I think he's an amazing player," he said. "Look at what he's done. I don't look at it that way. But I obviously haven't thought that far ahead about anybody, including myself. So I think we're all just trying to do our best in the moment here."