On Wednesday November 9th, 2022 the Washington Capitals went head-to-head with the Pittsburgh Penguins

The Washington Capitals faced off the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday November 9th, 2022, at the Capital One Arena. These two Metropolitan Division teams have a long-standing rivalry that began in 1990 and has been fueled by the two facing off in eleven different playoff series. The long-standing rivalry has been heightened over the years by the incredible matchup between the teams’ legendary captains: Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. The two rival captains came into Wednesday night’s game with an incredible 1,423 points each, but Crosby came out on top, ending the game with 1,424 points.

Some positive news for the Capitals, Alex Alexeyev has been activated from long-term injured reserve and defenseman Lucas Johansen has been loaned to the Hershey Bears. Unfortunately, John Carlson and Dimitri Orlov remained out of the lineup.

Wednesday night’s lineups were as follows:

The Penguins came out on top with a 4-1 win, effectively ending their seven-game losing streak. Let’s take a closer look at Wednesday night’s highlights:

The first period was scoreless for both teams, however, the Penguins came back strong in the second.

At 7:43 in the second, Jason Zucker nestled one in behind Darcy Keumper scoring the first goal of the game. 

Then at 12:53 in the second, Jeff Carter stole possession of the puck as the Capitals attempted a turnover. Off of this change in possession, Brock McGinn slipped one into the net making it 2-0 Penguins. 

With 4:58 left in the second, Jeff Petry fired one home, furthering the Penguins lead and diminishing the hopes of a comeback from Capitals fans. The second period ended 3-0 in favor of Pittsburgh.

With 7:38 remaining in the third period, a centering pass from Sonny Milano led to a goal by Marcus Johansson. This cut the Penguins’ lead and revived some hope for Washington fans. Unfortunately, that hope was short lived. With 1:38 left in the third period, Jake Guentzel scored on the Capitals empty net, finalizing a 4-1 win for the Penguins. 

The rivalry lives on, and the Capitals will get their shot at redemption on January 26th, 2023 at the PPG Paints Arena.

Sources:

“Capitals–Penguins Rivalry.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Aug. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitals%E2%80%93Penguins_rivalry.