About the Capitals - 01-11-12
A preview of the Capitals.
When and where: 7:30 p.m., EST. Verizon Center.
TV: Versus NBC Sports Network, TSN2 .
Record: 21-17-2, 44 points. The Capitals are in 10th place in the Eastern Conference and in third place in the Southeast Division.
Leading Scorer: Nicklas Backstrom, 42 points (13 goals, 29 assists).
Last Game: 5-2 road loss to the Kings, Monday. Marcus Johansson (right) scored two goals for the Capitals.
Last Game against the Penguins: 2-1 home loss, Dec. 1. Marc-Andre Fleury made 16 saves for the Penguins.
Capitals Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Mike Knuble. Other than Ron Burkle or Mario Lemieux, no one owns the Penguins more than Knuble.
Ex-Penguins on the Capitals: Jim Johnson, assistant coach.
Ex-Capitals on the Penguins: Matt Cooke, LW; Brent Johnson, G.
Useless Capitals Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: The only defenseman to lead the Capitals in single-season scoring was Kevin Hatcher. He had 74 points in 1990-91.
Best Capitals Video We Could Find: An oldie but a goodie. Hockey Night in Canada's pregame montage from Game 7 of the 2009 Eastern Conference quarterfinals:
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Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (19-11-2, 2.32 GAA, .911 SV%) for the Penguins and Tomas Vokoun (16-10-0, 2.66 GAA, .912 SV%) for the Capitals.
Injuries: For the Penguins, For the Penguins, defenseman Simon Despres ("lower body") and Paul Martin (illness) are questionable. Centers Sidney Crosby (head), Dustin Jeffrey (knee), Jordan Staal (knee) and defenseman Kris Letang (head) are on injured reserve. For the Capitals, center Nicklas Backstrom (head) is day to day. Defenseman Mike Green (groin) is doubtful. Defenseman Tom Poti (groin) is on injured reserve.
Potential lines and defensive pairings: The Penguins' primary lines against the Senators last night were:
Chris Kunitz - Evgeni Malkin - James Neal
Eric Tangradi - Pascal Dupuis - Tyler Kennedy
Matt Cooke - Richard Park - Steve Sullivan
Arron Asham - Joe Vitale - Craig Adams
Brooks Orpik - Deryk Engelland
Simon Despres - Zbynek Michalek
Matt Niskanen - Ben Lovejoy
The Capitals primary lines and defensive pairings against the Kings Monday were
Alex Ovechkin - Brooks Laich - Troy Brouwer
Alexander Semin - Marcus Johansson - Mike Knuble
Jason Chimera - Jeff Halpern - Joel Ward
Matt Hendricks - Mathieu Perrault - Jay Beagle
Karl Alzner - John Carlson
Roman Hamrlik - Dennis Wideman
John Erksine - Dmitry Orlov
Notes:
-Penguins-Capitals isn't quite what it used to be.
-The last time the Penguins played the Capitals, this happened:
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-The NHL deemed the hit a "get out of my way, I have to get up ice" motion. (PG+)
-With a win tonight, Dan Bylsma will break a tie with Michel Therrien for second-most coaching wins in franchise history. Each has 135. Eddie Johnston holds the record with 232.
-Martin has 198 career points.
-Park has 97 career goals.
-The Penguins waived Steve MacIntyre.
-The Capitals have recalled defenseman Tomas Kundratek from Hershey of the AHL.
-Our live blog, direct from the nation's capital, begins at approximately 6:30 p.m. Please tune in.
(Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)