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Capitals vs. Penguins: Game 5 prediction

By Griffin Youngs

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 29: Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby (70) makes a third period save on shot deflected by left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) made on pass from Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Bryan Rust (17) to defenseman Kris Letang (58) on April 29, 2018, at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. in the Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Washington Capitals defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-1. (Photo by Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 29: Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby (70) makes a third period save on shot deflected by left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) made on pass from Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Bryan Rust (17) to defenseman Kris Letang (58) on April 29, 2018, at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. in the Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Washington Capitals defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-1. (Photo by Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Capitals and Penguins are down to a best of three series after splitting the first four games. Who will take control of the series in Game 5?

The third straight series between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins is delivering in every possible fashion. Story lines galore have emerged once again, and the hockey world has once more been sucked in by the amount of utter hatred these two teams possess for one another.

Both teams have split the first set of home games in this series, and now we head back to Washington D.C. with the series even at two games a piece after a 3-1 win by the Penguins in Game 4.

Pittsburgh didn’t play poorly in Games 2 and 3 of the series, but Game 4 was far and away their best performance of the series. The Penguins are finally getting healthier by the day, and you can see the difference it makes on the ice. Matt Murray has shown himself to be a little shaky, especially on the glove side, but had his best game since Game 4 against Philadelphia with 20 saves on 21 shots.

While Pittsburgh is looking for increased production from their depth, Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel have picked up the slack. Crosby has been on the ice for every goal for the Penguins, and Guentzel has scored 21 points in just 10 games. They are absolutely carrying Pittsburgh, but if one of them is off for just one game, the Penguins are in serious trouble.

Washington did not play close to their best game on Thursday in Game 4. Aside from a few anomalies, they just looked relatively uninterested and a step slow. Missing Tom Wilson for a suspension and still lacking Andre Burakovsky definitely had made a difference, but surely they can do better. When trailing 2-1 in the third period, the Capitals managed just three shots on Matt Murray and took a baffling too many men penalty once Holtby was pulled. These are mental mistakes they will have to clean up right now, because they can and will be down 3-2 and on the ropes again before they know it.

Braden Holtby has still been utterly sensational in these playoffs, but he can’t do it alone. Ovechkin has had a tremendous series, but he did not register a shot in Game 4, and you could see the difference in the team without him at his best. Everybody will need to be at their best to slow down the momentum of the Penguins in order to take regain control of this series.

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Eventually with how remarkably even these games are, 60 minutes isn’t going to be enough. Game 5 will be the first overtime match up between these two after both goalies make 30-plus saves, and it’ll take a breakaway from Evgeny Kuznetsov to end it after a back and forth affair. The Capitals simply cannot put themselves in position to be eliminated by the Penguins again, and if they can’t properly motivated for this one, you can call this series over.

Game 5 Prediction: Capitals defeat Penguins 3-2 in Overtime

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