Capitals at Penguins
The Washington Capitals bid to keep their perfect postseason road record intact and push the two-time reigning Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins to the brink of elimination on Thursday when they play Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series. The Capitals will look to accomplish the feat without Tom Wilson, however, as the first-line forward was suspended three games by the NHL on Wednesday.
Wilson escaped punishment from the league after his hit to the head of Pittsburgh defenseman Brian Dumoulin (concussion) in Game 2, but wasn't as fortunate after his illegal check broke the jaw of Zach Aston-Reese midway into the second period of Tuesday's 4-3 win in Game 3. "We'll prepare like we always do. The focus is on the next game, and any adjustments or any changes we make, we'll react however we need to," Washington coach Barry Trotz said Wednesday before the suspension was announced. Pittsburgh's Jake Guentzel extended his point streak to seven games (seven goals, eight assists) by scoring and setting up a goal on Tuesday while superstar captain Sidney Crosby also had a goal and an assist for his sixth multi-point performance of the postseason. "I don't think anything (specifically in our game) concerns us," Crosby said. "There are always things that you have to clean up and get better (at) as the series goes on. So there are things we definitely want to improve on, but I think that's pretty typical for any series."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, Sportsnet, TVAS
ABOUT THE CAPITALS: Captain Alex Ovechkin scored his eighth goal of the postseason and fifth in four contests by swatting his own rebound out of the air and past Matt Murray to snap a tie with 1:07 remaining on Tuesday. The three-time Hart Trophy recipient's tally capped the second career three-assist postseason performance for Nicklas Backstrom and effectively sent Washington to its fourth straight road win in the playoffs and ninth consecutive dating to the regular season. "I mean, if you want to be successful in the playoffs you have got to win on the road, and especially because they won the first game," the 30-year-old Swede told the Washington Post. "It's nicer to be up 2-1 than being down 2-1. We're just excited for the next game."
ABOUT THE PENGUINS: Coach Mike Sullivan placed the game-time decision tag on Carl Hagelin, who has been sidelined since Game 6 of the first-round series versus Philadelphia after he sustained an upper-body injury at the hands of Flyers captain Claude Giroux. "I'm definitely feeling better, so that's a good sign. Any time you're out there with the guys, it gives you energy and confidence," Hagelin said after Wednesday's optional skate. Fellow forward Evgeni Malkin returned from his three-game absence due to a lower-body injury to set up Patric Hornqvist for a power-play goal as part of Pittsburgh's three-goal second period.
OVERTIME
1. Washington has scored 10 goals in the series, with seven coming to the glove side of Murray.
2. Penguins D Justin Schultz has notched an assist in all three games of the series.
3. The Capitals have scored a power-play goal in back-to-back contests to increase their total to 11 in nine postseason contests.