Capitals at Penguins
The Washington Capitals previously have seen the Pittsburgh Penguins up against the ropes only to fall victim to a spirited barrage and find themselves on the canvas. The Capitals aim to prevent that scene from repeating itself on Monday as they bid to land the knockout blow in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series at PPG Paints Arena.
Two-time reigning Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh is no stranger to trailing 3-2 in a series, having done so against Tampa Bay in the 2016 Eastern Conference final while avoiding elimination on two separate occasions in 2017 with a 2-0 win over Washington in Game 7 of the conference semis before posting a 3-2 double-overtime victory versus Ottawa in the following round. "Everybody understands the situation," Penguins superstar captain Sidney Crosby said. "It brings out everyone's best. You don't have anything to save it for, so you go out there with one focus, and that's win a hockey game and get to a Game 7. That's our mindset here." Washington goaltender Braden Holtby was quite clear with what his team's mindset needs to be if it wishes to build off Saturday's 6-3 win in Game 5 and put itself in position to advance to the Eastern Conference final for the first time since 1998. "Where it's at right now doesn't matter at all. All that matters is the next game," the former Vezina Trophy winner said. "That's got to be our mindset if we want to have success and take a mature approach to it."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, Sportsnet, TVAS
ABOUT THE CAPITALS: Nicklas Backstrom is expected to play in Game 6 despite sitting out Sunday's practice, one day removed from using his hand to block a shot with his team short-handed during the first period. The 30-year-old Swedish Olympian's 10 assists are tops on the team while his 13 points trail only captain Alex Ovechkin, who rebounded from failing to muster a shot on goal in Game 4 by joining Evgeny Kuznetsov in setting up Jakub Vrana's go-ahead tally with 4:38 remaining in the third period. Ironically, the Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Vrana grouping was Washington's top line at the onset of the season as Tom Wilson served a four-game suspension from the league.
ABOUT THE PENGUINS: Crosby reached the 20-point plateau (nine goals, 11 assists) in the playoffs for the franchise-best fourth time in his career and pushed his overall point total to 184 with his second-period power-play goal in Game 5. The two-time reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner would pull even with Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman for 10th place all-time with another point on Monday. Linemate Jake Guentzel (team-leading 21 points) saw his eight-game point streak end on Saturday, a postseason stretch that was the NHL's longest since Los Angeles' Anze Kopitar's 10-game run in 2014.
OVERTIME
1. Washington's John Carlson scored his third power-play goal late in the first period on Saturday to become the first defenseman to reach double digits in power-play points since Nicklas Lidstrom and Sergei Gonchar in 2009.
2. Pittsburgh is 5-for-13 with the man advantage in the last three contests after going 0-for-11 in the previous four dating back to Game 6 of the first-round series versus Philadelphia.
3. Wilson will serve the final contest of his three-game suspension on Monday for his illegal check to the head of Zach Aston-Reese.