Penguins at Capitals
The Pittsburgh Penguins are facing a matchup on the road with the reigning Stanley Cup champions, but that may not be a bad thing given their ongoing struggles overall and at home. Pittsburgh has stumbled badly after completing a perfect four-game road trip through Canada and has dropped four in a row (0-3-1) entering Wednesday night's game at the Washington Capitals.
While team captains and resident superstars Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin going head-to-head is always a headline attraction, the Penguins are more concerned by their recent slump that culminated with back-to-back losses at home by a 10-1 margin. "It's not a good feeling when you're in these types of situations, but we have to rely on one another to get out of it," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan told reporters. "We believe we have what it takes to be a very good team in the league." Ovechkin helped Washington end a two-game slide of its own, scoring a late goal to provide the icing on a 4-2 win over Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night. It will mark the first meeting between the Metropolitan Division rivals since the Penguins edged the defending Stanley Cup champion Capitals 7-6 in overtime on Oct. 4.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, TVA, Sportsnet
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (6-4-3): Pittsburgh has yet to lose in regulation away from home and pumped in 23 goals in its dominating four-game road trip, but it has been limited to six tallies during its current slide - including back-to-back drubbings by Toronto and New Jersey. "We have high expectations of ourselves and on our teammates and everything and no one is playing up to those expectations right now," forward Patric Hornqvist told reporters. "But we need to stop the bleeding next game." Sullivan juggled his lines at Tuesday's practice, moving Evgeni Malkin between Hornqvist and Carl Hagelin.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (6-4-3): Washington received a boost from its newly configured fourth line to jump-start the win over Edmonton, getting goals from Jakub Vrana and Devante Smith-Pelly within the first six minutes of the game. Vrana was demoted to the fourth line after struggling in the previous game and was joined by Travis Boyd, who collected a pair of assists in his season debut. "We had a couple of good shifts and were able to capitalize right away," Boyd told reporters. "Overall, it was a good first night back for me and a great night for the team to get back in the win column, too."
OVERTIME
1. Washington has yet to win back-to-back games this season.
2. The Penguins are 2-for-19 on the power play in the past five games.
3. Ovechkin is tied for eighth on the all-time list with 234 power-play goals - two behind Mario Lemieux.