Capitals vs. Penguins: Game 2 prediction

The Penguins are looking to win their second-straight conference semifinals against the Capitals, and find themselves up 1-0 going into Game 2.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are on the fast track to repeating as Stanley Cup champions, and will look to break this series against the Washington Capitals open to head back to Pittsburgh up 2-0.

Game 1 wasn’t perfect for the Penguins, but they got production from their most important pieces throughout. Marc-Andre Fleury showed that he’s going to be capable of holding down the net while Matt Murray remains out, as he made 33 saves in Game 1. Six of his 33 saves came in just the last three minutes of the game, as he helped the Penguins squeak by on the road.

On the offensive side, Sidney Crosby is finding his form for Pittsburgh, as he tallied two goals for the Penguins in Game 1. While two goals would seem like enough for the game, Crosby showed his dominance and how important he is to his team’s success as he did it just 1:04 apart in the second period.

The Capitals did show some promise in Game 1, as they came back from a 2-0 deficit behind goals from their leader Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov. The key for the Caps in Game 2 will be their defense, as they’ll need to slow down big names like Crosby and the high-scoring pair of Phil Kessel and Nick Bonino to survive. Braden Holtby has been solid in net for the Capitals, but can’t make every save on every breakaway attempt, as seen late in Game 1.

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Prediction: Capitals 3, Penguins 2

I think the home-ice advantage plays a big factor in this second game, as the Capitals hope they don’t blow this golden opportunity to make some noise in the later rounds. This will all depend on their defense and ability to help Holtby out in net, but I believe their offense breaks through Fleury’s wall to even the series.