The Pittsburgh Penguins
Speaking of the Pens, while they’re not as scary as a few seasons ago and it may be tougher to keep their playoff streak going now more than ever, this is still a team to not look past. This is a team and franchise that has had the Capitals number, especially in the playoffs, at least until a couple of years ago.
From the small amount I’ve seen them though this is still a pretty fast team. They are also one of the best defensive teams according to the stats. Up to this date the Penguins have allowed 61 goals while 5v5, seventh best in the league.
All the other stats point to this team being an in your face team as well. They have the fourth best Corsi% in the league at 52.98%, and they have the fifth best scoring chance percentage at 53.41%. Pittsburgh has allowed 628 scoring chances that’s fourth best in the NHL. Their 239 high danger attempts against are also towards the top ranking third.
Just to let you know, the Capitals have allowed 724 scoring chances, 17th on the circuit and 305 high danger attempts which is 22nd.
It might not be the Penguins of a few years ago but they will still have Crosby, Malkin and Letang. We’ll see how the rest of the season goes and we’ll get to see these teams head to head a couple of times so those will be games to watch to see if this is a Penguins team that can give the Capitals some trouble.