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Thursday, 23 December 2010 10:00

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

A preview of the Capitals.

When and where: 7 p.m. Verizon Center.

TV: FSN Pittsburgh, CSN Washington, NHL Network (United States).

Record: 20-12-4, 44 points. The Capitals are in second place in the Eastern Conference and first place in the Southeast Division.

Leading Scorer: Alex Ovechkin (right), 39 points (12 goals, 27 assists).

Last Game: 5-1 home win against the Devils, Tuesday. John Carlson and Andrew Gordon each had a goal and an assist for the Capitals.

Last Game against the Penguins: 6-3 road win, April 6. Jordan Leopold had two goals for the Penguins.

Capitals Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Ovechkin. We really dont need to explain that choice.

Ex-Penguins on the Capitals: Matt Bradley, LW.

Ex-Capitals on the Penguins: Matt Cooke, LW; Brent Johnson, G.

Useless Capitals Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: The Capitals franchise is the only one-time member of the NHL's old Patrick Division which has never won a Stanley Cup title. The Rangers (1927, 1932, 1940, 1994), Flyers (1974, 1975), Islanders (1980, 1981, 1982, 1983), Flames (1989), Penguins (1991, 1992, 2009) and Devils (1995, 2000, 2003) have at least one title.

Best Capitals Video We Could Find: Ovechkin > Nicklas Backstrom:

Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (15-7-1, 2.30 GAA, .917 SV%) for the Penguins and Michal Neuvirth (14-6-2, 2.59 GAA, .910 SV%) for the Capitals.

Injuries: For the Penguins, forward Arron Asham ("lower body") is questionable. Goaltender Brent Johnson (groin) is doubtful. Forwards Mike Comrie (hip), Jordan Staal (hand) and defenseman Alex Grant (wrist) are on injured reserve. For the Capitals, forward Matt Hendricks (undisclosed) is probable. Forward Matt Bradley (finger) is out. Forwards Boyd Gordon (undisclosed), D.J. Kings (undisclosed) and defenseman Jeff Schultz (thumb) are on injured reserve.

Potential lines and defensive pairings: The Penguins' primary lines and defensive pairings against the Panthers last night were:

Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Pascal Dupuis
Matt Cooke - Maxime Talbot - Evgeni Malkin
Chris Conner - Mark Letestu - Chris Conner
Mike Rupp - Craig Adams - Arron Asham

Brooks Orpik - Kris Letang
Zbynek Michalek - Paul Martin
Alex Goligoski - Ben Lovejoy

-The Capitals' primary lines and defensive pairings, in Monday's game against the Devils were:

Alex Ovechkin - Nicklas Backstrom - Alexander Semin
Brooks Laich - Mathieu Perreault - Mike Knuble
Jason Chimera - Marcus Johansson - Andrew Gordon
Jay Beagle - David Steckel - Matt Bradley

Scott Hannan - Mike Green
John Erskine - Tom Poti
Karl Alzner - John Carlson

-Either Eric Fehr or Hendricks are expected to replace Bradley.

Notes:

-With Johnson suffering an injury last night, Dan Bylsma said the team would likely recall a goaltender - either John Curry or Brad Thiessen - from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL.

-Martin has 148 career assists.

-Knuble has 497 career points.

-"It's a great barometer to see where we're at because [the Penguins are] playing the best hockey of arguably any team in the NHL right now. So when you play against the best, you find where you have to go and where you have to be." - Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau.

-Crosby sent Andrew Gordon, a fellow Nova Scotian, a congratulatory text message for scoring his first career NHL goal Monday. Said Gordon: "I hate to break all your hearts, but he's a good guy. I don't have a bad thing to say about him, other than that crest on his jersey."

-"I thought they were saying, 'We want pizza' or chicken wings or something." - Knuble reacting to Capitals fans chanting "We want Pittsburgh" during Monday's game.

-Our live blog, direct from Washington, is scheduled to begin at approximately 6 p.m. Please tune in.

(Photo: Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

Comments (1)

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written by eman41, December 23, 2010 - 09:34 AM

forward Matt Hendricks (undisclosed) is probable.

I think he's probable with a missing eye. That thing is scary looking.

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