Capitals vs. Penguins: Game 1 prediction

For the third straight year, the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins will meet in the second round, but who will draw first blood in Game 1?

Here we are once again. It’s another second-round matchup between the Capitals and Penguins. Game 1 will take place April 26 at 7:00 p.m. in Washington D.C with plenty on the line.

Is it finally the Caps’ year to break the second-round curse? Will the Penguins still be en route to a third straight Stanley Cup? It all starts in Game 1, and whoever sets the tone with a statement performance.

Pittsburgh enters the series as the obvious favorites given the last two years, but it is going to have to overcome some hardships in order to take control of this series in Game 1. Star center Evgeni Malkin will miss Game 1 with a lower body injury that kept him out of Game 6 against the Flyers, but he made the trip to Washington, meaning a Game 2 return is likely. Pittsburgh will also being missing Carl Hagelin for the first two games of the series, as he didn’t make the trip to Washington.

Every single time the Penguins have won the Stanley Cup, they have beaten the Capitals along the way. The Penguins are 9-1 all time in the playoffs against the Capitals, and 3-0 in the Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin era.

After falling behind 2-0 at home to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round, the Capitals battled back and won the next four to take the series in six games to advance to another meeting with the Penguins. Ovechkin came through big time for the Capitals with eight points, and Braden Holtby changed the whole dynamic of the series with four outstanding performances for a .932 save percentage in the series. They will still be missing the services of Andre Burakovsky indefinitely as he recovers from an upper body injury, but Chandler Stephenson has taken over the role admirably in his absence.

Washington has not advanced past the second round since 1998, also the last time any D.C team has done so. The Capitals now have the chance to vanquish their playoff curse and defeat their biggest rival at the same time. Both Ovechkin and Barry Trotz have said how excited this group is for another chance at the Penguins and that they would want to play nobody else — now they get their wish and it’s time to deliver.

The Capitals and Penguins split the regular season series this year, with the Capitals taking the final meeting in Pittsburgh 3-1 to secure the top spot in the Metropolitan division. Both won their respective series in six games and have the proper motivation to take down their rivals en-route to the Conference Finals.

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It’s almost impossible to say how this one could go. If the Capitals are as ready as they say they are, they have no excuse to drop this one. The Penguins can make do without Malkin and Hagelin, but their absences will definitely hurt them. It’s the Capitals’ game to lose, and if they can handle the pressure and stifle the Penguins, they should take this one. Braden Holtby puts up another big performance, and Evgeny Kuznetsov breaks a 2-2 tie early in the third period to give the Capitals a 1-0 series lead.

Game 1 Prediction: Capitals defeat Penguins 3-2