Caps Finish Homestand vs. Pens

December 10 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins at Capital One Arena
Time: 7:00 p.m.
TV:ESPN+/Hulu
Radio:Capitals Radio 24/7, 106.7 FAN
Pittsburgh Penguins (12-8-5)
Washington Capitals (16-4-6)

For the second and final time this season, the Pittsburgh Penguins are in town on Friday night. Just under a month after their first visit here, the Pens are back in the District to close out Washington's season-long four-game homestand.
The Capitals are 2-0-1 on the homestand to date, and they downed the Pens here by a 6-1 count on Nov. 14. Washington has a seven-game point streak (6-0-1) at home and is 9-1-4 at Capital One Arena in 2021-22.
Most recently, the Caps took a 4-3 shootout decision over the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night at Capital One Arena. Washington had a scheduled day off on Tuesday, but with a trio of players in COVID-19 protocol, the Caps opted to keep their practice facility closed on Wednesday as well before reconvening on Thursday for a practice session in preparation for the Penguins' arrival.
The Caps came through Thursday's COVID-19 testing with no new infections, but they didn't get through practice unscathed. Evgeny Kuznetsov - one of only four remaining Washington forwards who have played in all 26 games - left the ice early with a lower body injury. Caps coach Peter Laviolette termed Kuznetsov's departure "precautionary," and we'll learn more of his status at Friday's morning skate.
Washington's three-day gap between the Anaheim and Pittsburgh games came at a good time, and it marks the first time this season the Caps have had the luxury of more than two days between games, a distinction only held by two other teams, San Jose and Vancouver. The Sharks will get their first extended break next week while the Canucks won't have one until the League shuts down for the Christmas holiday break from Dec. 24-26. Aside from that, Vancouver's first break of as many as three days between games won't come until just after the turn of the calendar.
"It's nice to get everyone a couple extra days of rest," says Caps winger T.J. Oshie. "Get guys healthy that are in the (COVID-19) protocol and just get ready for another run of games here."

"I'm glad to have that rest," echoes center Lars Eller. "Two days of rest after 25 games, the body can always use that. We welcome that when we have that opportunity."
While the extra day of rest was welcome, so was Thursday's practice.
"We got out of it what we needed to get out of it," says Laviolette. "We got moving up and down the ice again, and tried to get some battle level in. I know it's going to be a battling game [Friday], so we've got to make sure that our minds are right for that. I think that we'll be ready to get on the ice [Friday] morning and have our minds right, and get ready to play the Penguins."
Friday's game against Pittsburgh is the front end of a set of back-to-back contests; the Caps travel to Buffalo immediately after the game against the Pens. After Saturday's game against the Sabres, the Caps will enjoy another three-day break between games before road contests in Chicago and Winnipeg on Wednesday and Friday, respectively.
With Monday's win over Anaheim, the Caps are 11-2-2 in their last 15 games. As well as they've played over that span, the Capitals don't own the best record in the NHL over that span, and they can't even lay claim to the best mark in the Metropolitan Division over those 32 days. The New York Rangers' 11-2-0 mark (.846 points pct.) and Colorado's 10-2-1 (.808) both come in north of the Caps' .800 points pct. over the same stretch.
Washington is fifth in the NHL in goals for (3.60 per game), fifth in goals against (2.33 per game) and fifth in shots allowed (28.9 per game) over its last 15 games, but the Penguins have been better in both goals against (2.27) and shots against (28.5), ranking third in both categories over that period of time.

"We've been doing good all season," says Eller. "No matter what's been thrown at us, someone has been able to step in and do somebody else's job really well, and we've still been able to win games. I think we'll be a better team when everybody's healthy, and we want everybody to be healthy. I look forward to that, but until then it's an opportunity for someone else, and we've been finding a way to get the job done."
Friday's game is the finale of a five-game road trip for the Pens, and it is also the front end of a set of back-to-back games for Pittsburgh. After facing the Caps, the Pens will head home where they open a three-game homestand against Anaheim on Saturday night.
Pittsburgh is 2-1-1 on its trip to date, and it comes into the District on the heels of consecutive victories in Vancouver and Seattle on Saturday and Monday, respectively. The win over Seattle was costly; the Pens lost leading scorer Jake Guentzel to an upper body injury. Guentzel, who had seven goals in four games at the time of his injury, is week-to-week.
The Penguins were scuffling when they came to town last month on the second night of back-to-backs. This time around, the Pens - like the Caps - have also had three days between games, and they're 7-3-1 in their last 11 games.