5 Keys: Penguins at Capitals, Game 1

PENGUINS AT CAPITALS
7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS
WASHINGTON -- The Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins meet in the Eastern Conference Second Round for a third consecutive season when they play Game 1 at Capital One Arena on Thursday.

RELATED: [Capitals vs. Penguins playoff preview | Complete Capitals vs. Penguins series coverage]
Pittsburgh has won nine of 10 playoff series between the teams, including each of the past two seasons on the way to winning the Stanley Cup. The Capitals' only series win against the Penguins was a six-game victory in the 1994 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.
Here are 5 keys for Game 1:

1. Special teams

The series features two of the best power plays in the NHL. Pittsburgh ranked first (26.2 percent) with the man-advantage and Washington was seventh (22.5 percent) during the regular season. The Capitals killed 17 consecutive Columbus Blue Jackets power plays in the first round and allowed 19 shots when a man down during that streak. Washington led all teams in power-play goals (nine, in 27 attempts) and percentage (33.3 percent) in the first round.
"The threats are going to be coming from different spots than they were against Columbus," forward Tom Wilson said. "It's going to be a bit of a different structure for us. We're going to have to change a little bit."

2. Missing Malkin, Hagelin

The Penguins will be without
center Evgeni Malkin (lower body), who led them in points (98), and forward Carl Hagelin (upper body) in Game 1. That is two-thirds of their second line. The Capitals failed to take advantage of Sidney Crosby's absence last year in a Game 4 loss, and goalie Matt Murray and defenseman Kris Letang didn't play in that series, either.
Malkin could be close to returning. He took part in Pittsburgh's optional morning skate Thursday and tried hard stops and quick turns without incident. The extra day off with Game 2 on Sunday helps.
"You can't really replace a guy who scored 40 goals," Penguins center Derick Brassard said. "But I think as a team we can do a better job and are trying to do a better job."

3. Murray vs. Holtby

Matt Murray helped Pittsburgh win the Stanley Cup in two years in a row. He had a .926 save percentage against the Capitals in six games in 2016, but missed the series in 2017.
Braden Holtby has found his form after replacing Philipp Grubauer in Game 2 against Columbus. He stopped 137 of 147 shots (.932 save percentage, 1.92 goals-against average).

4. Star power

Even with Malkin out for at least one game, this series has plenty of firepower. The Capitals' top players dominated the Blue Jackets. Defenseman John Carlson had nine points (one goal, eight assists) in six games. Alex Ovechkin (five goals, three assists), Nicklas Backstrom (two goals, six assists) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (four goals, four assists) each had eight points.
The Penguins received 13 points from Crosby (six goals, seven assists) and Jake Guentzel (six goals, seven assists) against the Philadelphia Flyers. Patric Hornqvist (two goals, four assists) had six points in four games. Malkin had five (three goals, two assists) in five games.

5. Fast start

The Capitals have fallen behind 2-0 by losing the first two games at home in their past two playoff series. They rallied against the Blue Jackets to win four in a row and pushed the Penguins to seven games last year before losing. But it would be difficult to dig out of that hole again.

Penguins projected lineup

Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Patric Hornqvist
Dominik Simon -- Riley Sheahan -- Phil Kessel
Conor Sheary -- Derick Brassard -- Bryan Rust
Zach Aston-Reese - Carter Rowney -- Tom Kuhnhackl
Brian Dumoulin - Kris Letang
Olli Maatta -- Justin Schultz
Jamie Oleksiak - Chad Ruhwedel
Matt Murray
Casey DeSmith
Scratched:Matt Hunwick
Injured:Evgeni Malkin (lower body), Carl Hagelin (upper body)

Capitals projected lineup

Alex Ovechkin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Tom Wilson
Chandler Stephenson -- Nicklas Backstrom -- T.J. Oshie
Brett Connolly -- Lars Eller -- Devante Smith-Pelly
Jakub Vrana -- Jay Beagle -- Alex Chiasson
Dmitry Orlov -- Matt Niskanen
Michal Kempny -- John Carlson
Brooks Orpik -- Christian Djoos
Braden Holtby
Philipp Grubauer
Scratched:Jakub Jerabek, Travis Boyd](https://www.nhl.com/player/travis-boyd-8476329), Madison Bowey, Shane Gersich, Pheonix Copley, Nathan Walker
Injured:Andre Burakovsky (upper body)

Status report

Burakovsky, injured in Game 2 against Columbus, is recovering from surgery, but has not been ruled out for the second round. … Sheahan will again take Malkin's spot at center on the second line with Simon playing on the left wing for Hagelin.