April 4 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins at Capital One Arena
Time: 7:00 p.m.
TV: MNMT
Stream: MonSports.net/Stream
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, Capitals Radio 24/7
Pittsburgh Penguins (34-30-11)
Washington Capitals (36-28-10)
Over the past two decades, the Caps and the Pittsburgh Penguins have stoked up quite the rivalry, right from the outset of the careers of the teams’ two captains – Washington’s Alex Ovechkin and Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby – in 2005-06. In the seasons since, the two teams have played a number of critical games against one another in the regular season and playoffs alike.
The Caps and Pens will renew acquaintances once again on Thursday night in Washington, and they will do so in a late-season game with playoff implications for both sides. There are two Eastern Conference playoff berths at stake in the final two weeks of the 2023-24 NHL regular season, and both Washington and Pittsburgh have designs on securing one of them. Third place in the Metropolitan is up for grabs, with the Caps and Penguins vying alongside Philadelphia, the New York Islanders and New Jersey for that berth. Each of those teams – plus Detroit – is also in the running for the second wild card playoff berth in the East.
As they get set to face-off on Thursday night in Washington for the last of their four meetings this season, only three points separate the Capitals and the Penguins in the standings. And while Washington enters the game on a three-game slide (0-2-1) – its longest in nearly two months – the Pens are coming in on the heels of consecutive victories. Pittsburgh is also riding a six-game point streak (4-0-2) that has resuscitated the Pens’ once fading playoff hopes.
For the Caps, Thursday’s game is also the front end of a set of back-to-backs; Washington plays on Friday night in Carolina against the Hurricanes.
Washington hopes to get a lift from the return of right wing Tom Wilson from a six-game NHL suspension. The Caps went 3-2-1 in Wilson’s absence, winning the first three before dropping the last three. Most recently, the Caps dropped a 6-2 decision to the Sabres in Buffalo on Tuesday night, a game in which they played without both Wilson and T.J. Oshie (upper body).
The Caps are 1-1-0 in the two games this season that both Wilson and Oshie have missed.
“Similar to Osh,” says Caps’ coach Spencer Carbery of what the Caps are missing when Wilson is out of the lineup. “When Osh isn’t in our lineup like Willy, you lose two right shots, right wingers, and our right side becomes really thin. The way I feel it as a head coach is that you feel it in a lot of different scenarios that those guys play in. They’re Swiss army knife type players, so what I mean is 4-on-4, penalty kill, situations coming off of power plays, penalty kills, first shift. A defensive zone start against a top line, where you really need a reliable shift.
“Those situations throughout a game – which come up a lot – where you need a Swiss army knife type player, when Osh and Willy aren’t in the lineup, it definitely has a huge impact.”
Oshie’s status for Thursday’s game is still unknown. The veteran winger has missed 10 of the Caps’ last 19 games.
But getting Wilson back in time for Thursday’s game against the Pens is crucial for the Caps. In taking just one of the last six points available to them, the Caps’ hold on a playoff spot has become much more precarious, and teams such as Pittsburgh are pulling closer to them in the rear view.
“As it went through, it’s just about him staying ready from a physical and mental standpoint,” says Carbery of Wilson’s impending return. “My focus is more on trying to get through those games, and the team that’s on the ice. And then as he gets ready to roll [Thursday], we’ll get him back integrated with the group and then the things that he needs to do individually to help the group. But he’ll be a huge boost to our team without a doubt.”
“I feel like with the Penguins, it’s always a rivalry game,” says Wilson. “For the last decade or so, you just know it’s going to be a big game. No matter what time of year and no matter what the standings are, it’s two teams that are always competing to be good, and always competing against each other for spots. It’s no different right now.”
Throughout this season, the Caps have done a good job of responding from lopsided losses such as the one suffered against the Sabres on Tuesday.
“Learn from last game, forget about it, and move on,” says Caps’ defenseman Rasmus Sandin. “We know what’s at stake. We’ve got to be prepared for [Thursday], and be well prepared and hopefully have a good outcome.”
At this time last month, the Penguins were in the midst of a skid in which they dropped seven of eight games (1-6-1), a stretch that saw them tumble down the Metro Division and Eastern Conference standings. But the chase for those last two playoff berths in the East has been a race of turtles rather than gazelles; several teams who were given up for dead have been able to mount charges up the standings, but time is running short now.
Heading into Wednesday night’s light slate of NHL activity, Washington is the only team in the group with as many as eight games remaining. Pittsburgh, the Islanders, Detroit and New Jersey each have seven games remaining while Philadelphia – now in the midst of a poorly timed five-game slide (0-3-2) – is down to its last half dozen games. The Caps conclude the regular season with an April 16 visit to the City of Brotherly Love to face the Flyers.
For the Penguins, Thursday’s game is the finale of a four-game road trip. The Pens are 2-0-1 on the journey to date, and Pittsburgh will conclude the campaign with four of its last six games on home ice.
