Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images
One more time, it’s a hockey night in Pittsburgh!
Who: Washington Capitals (51-21-9, 111 points, 1st place Metropolitan Division @
Pittsburgh Penguins (33-36-12, 78 points, 7th place Metropolitan Division)
When: 7:00 p.m. ET
How to Watch: Nationally broadcast game on ESPN, streaming on ESPN+
Pens’ Path Ahead: Today is the end of the line for the 57th team in Penguin history who will miss the playoffs for a third straight season. The team gets ready for breakdown day and a long summer to rest, rehab and start training to do it all over again next fall.
Opponent Track: It’ll be a mostly meaningless game tonight for the Caps too but for a very different reason. As the No. 1 seed in the East Washington will be focused on what they need to do for the playoffs and their main goal for tonight should be making sure no one gets hurt and the team is ready to go for the postseason.
Season Series: The Pens won the first PIT/WSH game back in early November, but since then the Caps beat them 4-1 in January and 8-3 in February. Tonight offers a small measure of revenge and a chance to split the season series at two wins a piece if the Pens can get the victory.
Getting to know the Capitals
Projected lines (based on Tuesday’s game)
FORWARDS
Alex Ovechkin - Dylan Strome - Anthony Beauvillier
Connor McMichael - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Tom Wilson
Andrew Mangiapane - Lars Eller - Ryan Leonard
Brandon Duhaime - Nic Dowd - Taylor Raddysh
DEFENSEMEN
Rasmus Sandin / Matt Roy
Alex Alexeyev / Trevor van Riemsdyk
Martin Fehervary / Dylan McIlrath
Goalies: Charlie Lindgren and Clay Stephenson
Scratches: Jacob Chychrun (playoff maintenance), John Carlson (playoff maintenance), Logan Thompson, Aliaksei Protas, Ethen Frank
IR: Nicklas Backstrom, TJ Oshie, Sonny Milano
—The Caps have taken their foot off the gas, Ovechkin, and Carlson have gotten games off recently. But there’s been some involuntary misses with Thompson, Chychrun and Protas a little banged up (or “ill” in Chychrun’s case) at this time of year when absences to key players becomes scary. Taking only an optional practice yesterday, we don’t know much about who the Caps may or may not dress tonight.
Player stats
(via
hockeydb)
—As is the case most first place teams in the division and conference, plenty of players have had career-seasons. Strome, Protas, Dubois, Wilson, McMichael and Chychrun all have set highs in goals and/or points this season. Ovechkin’s out here scoring 43 goals in 64 games at age-39, truly incredible best case scenario situation almost all the way across the board for the Caps to have so many players perform so well together and at the same time. The result has been a force multiplier to turn a team that barely made it into the playoffs last season into the top seed in the East this time around.
—Catching up with old friends: Beauvillier got off to a nice start after his trade deadline day move to Washington but has no points in his last eight games and 0G+1A in the last 10, but still has been playing in a 12-14 minute lower line role (aside from scrambling around during end of season rest games)...Similarly, Eller has no points in his last nine games and only 0G+1A in the last 10 and hasn’t done much as of late either. Saving it for the games that count, no doubt.
—By the way, the highest the second round pick the Pens will receive from the Caps in this draft for the Beauvillier trade will be 59th overall, which will happen if the Caps are eliminated during the first two round of the playoffs...The pick moves to 61 or 62 if Washington loses in the Conference Final (depending on whether or not Winnipeg makes it to the SCF or not). The pick turns into No. 63 if the Caps lose in the Stanley Cup Final and it would be 64 if..well let’s not even think about it moving to 64.
And now for the Pens
Projected lines (from practice yesterday)
FORWARDS
Ville Koivunen - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Danton Heinen - Evgeni Malkin - Rickard Rakell
Connor Dewar - Joona Koppanen - Philip Tomasino
P.O. Joseph - Vasily Ponomarev - Valtteri Puustinen
DEFENSEMEN
Matt Grzelcyk / Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea / Conor Timmins
Ryan Graves / Vladislav Kolyachonok or Filip Kral
Goalies: Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic
Potential Scratches: Kevin Hayes, Vladislav Kolyachonok or Filip Kral, Tommy Novak (lower body, out for season), Boko Imama (bicep surgery, out for season), Blake Lizotte (out for season), Noel Acciari (out for season), Rutger McGroarty (foot, out for NHL season), Kris Letang (heart surgery)
—Kevin Hayes missed both days of practice since Sunday’s game and is officially day-to-day, per Mike Sullivan yesterday. Being as today’s the last day left in the season, who even knows?
—After missing the last 19 games, P.O. Joseph might be back in time for the finale. Good on him for working to get back and maybe one more chance to play a game with the Penguins. Joseph worked nominally as a forward during line rushes yesterday in practice, so again it’s a who knows situation. The Pens might dress 11F/7D if Hayes is out, but they may or may not play Joseph that much as a swing forward or a defender. It’s the last day, so to match the note from above, who knows!
—The good news, or I suppose as good as news can be regarding a heart surgery, is that the procedure Kris Letang had done on Monday was an on-going topic that he and his doctors had been considering for some time and not a sudden or emergency procedure that abruptly popped up.
Mike Sullivan said Kris Letang is doing well and was at the rink today. "I think he's pleased that he ultimately made the decision to do it, and move by it." More from the Penguins head coach on the defenseman's procedure
https://t.co/7eflSS4QiO pic.twitter.com/yvzBS29Yhl
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop)
April 16, 2025
Draft ramifications
Today is the last day of the NHL regular season. We know the Penguins are locked into a seventh place finish in the Metropolitan Division, even if they lose and the Flyers win today to have both teams end up at 78 points, Pittsburgh will stay ahead on the tiebreaker. Via
Tankathon:
Here’s the latest scenarios for how the Pens could end up. Long story short, for the best draft slot, Pens’ fans should be cheering hard for the Sabres tonight. And they’re playing the Flyers anyways so that won’t be too difficult to do.
7th spot
—Pens lose in regulation tonight AND Buffalo wins or loses in overtime/shootout (vs PHI)
—Pens lose in OT/SO AND Buffalo wins
8th spot
—Pens win in OT/SO
—Pens lose in regulation/OT/SO AND Buffalo loses in regulation
9th spot
—Pens win in regulation
The lottery draft will set the final order. The Pens are going to have between a 5.0 - 6.5% chance of winning the lottery and moving up to the first or second pick regardless of where they finish.
One more for Sid..
From the Pens:
Sidney Crosby is statistically having one of the best seasons in NHL history by a player in their age 37 season or older as his 89 points are the sixth most in a single season in league history:
Most Points in Single Season at Age 37 or Older, NHL History
Player Age Year Points
Gordie Howe 40 1968-69 103
Joe Sakic 37 2006-07 100
Johnny Bucyk 37 1972-73 93
Mario Lemieux 37 2002-03 91
Wayne Gretzky 37 1997-98 90
Sidney Crosby 37 2024-25 89
Jean Ratelle 37 1977-78 84
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