Hello, Old Foe

For the second straight season and for the third time this decade, the Capitals are facing the defending Stanley Cup champions in the playoffs. Washington upset and ousted the Boston Bruins in a seven-game, first-round series in 2012, but lost in seven games to the Pittsburgh Penguins last spring. Now they'll face Pittsburgh in the second round for the third straight season.

The battle-tested Penguins have won nine consecutive best-of-seven playoff series, quite a feat in this era of salary caps, expansion and parity. Washington is vying to win two straight series for the first time since 1998.

The two Metropolitan Division rivals have seen plenty of one another both recently and over the last three decades; the Caps have played the Penguins 26 times in the last three seasons, and this is the 11thmeeting between the two teams in the Stanley Cup playoffs over the years. Pittsburgh has won nine of them; Washington's lone series win over the Pens came in 1994.

Washington ousted Columbus in six games in the first round while Pittsburgh eliminated Philadelphia in six games.

"Pittsburgh is always a rivalry for us," says Caps defenseman Dmitry Orlov. "The last couple of years we played against them, and we know each other a lot. So it's going to be fun. They have a lot of skill, so we need to be smart in our zone and don't make a lot of turnovers. I watched [the Penguins in Game 6] in Philly, and when Philly gets stuck in the [defensive] zone, Pittsburgh right away scores, so we need to be smart and be the right team, how we've always been this season."

"We've seen a lot of them the last couple of years," says Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, "and both teams know each other well. I think both teams know what to expect."

As is always the case in the modern NHL, there have been changes on both rosters since last spring. But there are still a few players on both sides whose tenure dates back to the 2009 second-round meeting between these two teams.

"I think they have similar personnel," says Pens coach Mike Sullivan of the Caps. "Their core is still intact, and they're a really good hockey team, very much like our team. I don't think there are drastic differences. I think they're a little bit more evolved, they're a little bit more mature - as our team is. But other than that, they're a very competitive team as they have been year in and year out with the core of players that they have."

"Nobody has been able to beat them," says Caps defenseman Matt Niskanen of the Penguins. "They have a lot of experience, they're talented and it's quite the challenge. I think we're excited for that challenge. Somebody is going to beat them eventually, so let's get excited about our opportunity. Maybe we're the team to do it."

Both Washington and Pittsburgh should expect a stiffer test than it faced in the first round of the playoffs this spring. The Caps spotted Columbus the first two games of the series, losing both in overtime before reeling off four straight wins - three of them on the road - to win the series. Once they neutralized the Blue Jackets' top scoring line, the Capitals thrived. They'll have their hands full with Pittsburgh, which scored 28 goals in its first-round win over the Flyers.

"It's going to be different," says Orlov of facing the Pens. "But I think in the playoffs, everybody can score because everybody is working hard and trying to make a difference in the game. You can see in those other series that third lines on some teams make big results, and the same thing happened in our games with our third line. So we need to play five-on-five in all three zones to take care of it, help each other. If somebody falls or got beat, you need to come back and help. That's how we try to play and I think if we do this, we're going to have success."

"Like we've said in the past, you have to face the best teams going forward," says Pens defenseman Kris Letang. "If you want to win it all, you have to face those big teams, and the Capitals are the next team that we have on our path. We have to bring our 'A' game; they're a good team."

Only five points separated the Caps and the Pens over the grind of a six-month, 82-game regular season schedule. The two teams needed seven games to settle their series last spring, and overtime of a sixth game in 2016. This year's series is also expected to be tight and long.

Special teams are expected to be a factor, too. The Penguins had a 26.2% power play success rate during the 2017-18 regular season. You have to go back to 1987-88 to find the last time a team (the '87-88 Calgary Flames) had a higher rate over a season of at least 80 games in length. Staying out of the box will be a key for the Caps in this series.

"They have good offensive players who can make a play from nothing," says Orlov of the Pens. "I think we had a lot of penalties in the Columbus series and it was both ways - the PP and the PK. Against Pittsburgh, maybe it's going to be less; you never know how the referees are going to be. So we just need to be smart and don't take stupid penalties in the offensive zone. Work, use our feet and don't use our sticks. We need to be smarter than that. If we're going to be playing more with the puck and in the offensive zone, it's going to be harder on them."

Washington rolled up a 33.3% power play success rate in the first round, scoring at least once with the extra man in all six games. Pittsburgh boasted the third-best penalty kill in the first round, snuffing out 19 of 21 (90.5%) extra-man chances against the Flyers.

"I think just putting pressure on their guys," says Pens center Riley Sheahan, of handling the Washington power play. "They've got a lot of skilled guys who can make plays, and obviously [Alex] Ovechkin can shoot it. So just try to limit their time with the puck and pressure them if you can. Just be on the same page - I think that was the most important thing we did against Philadelphia. We had some good chemistry on the penalty kill, and we'd just like to continue that."

Washington's best players were is best players in the Columbus series. With nine points (one goal, eight assists), John Carlson led the Caps - and tied for the lead among all NHL defensemen - in scoring in the first round. Ovechkin (five goals, three assists), Evgeny Kuznetsov (four goals, four assists), and Nicklas Backstrom (two goals, six assists) had eight points each.

The Caps got offensive contributions from all four lines, and all seven of the defensemen they deployed in the first round recorded at least one point as well. In addition to its power play prowess, the Caps became more adept at five-on-five scoring as the first round wore on, and as they developed a greater net presence.

Washington will need to replicate that willingness to get to the net in the offensive zone, and it will need to be effective at protecting that same area of real estate in its own end of the ice, as it did against the Jackets. That will be no easy feat against the talent-laden Penguins lineup.

"This is a dangerous team we're playing," says Niskanen, "mostly because they have guys with high, high levels of talent, and they play with speed. They can burn you if they have a lot of free ice. So I think we're going to have to be team-committed to backpressure, having numbers back, and the defensemen are going to really have to work to have good gaps. They're good players, and they get really, really dangerous when they have time and space. So we're going to have to deny that as much as we can."

"I think you have to go to your security blanket and your team play," says Caps coach Barry Trotz. "It has to be paramount. Different teams give you different match-ups, give you different things that you have to defend against. They have different strengths. For us, we have to rely on our five-man game to have success, especially with the depth that [Pittsburgh] has. And there has to be a commitment to if you have the puck, make good decisions. And if you don't have the puck, make sure that you're making really good reads and decisions away from the puck as well, because they will make plays."

The Caps catch an early break in the series because of the expected absence of Pittsburgh center Evgeni Malkin (lower body injury) and winger Carl Hagelin (upper body) for at least the first game of the series. With 42 goals and 98 points during the regular season, Malkin finished fourth in the league in both categories. Hagelin was a thorn in Washington's side in the playoffs two springs ago, and he is one of the Pens' most frequently deployed penalty-killing forwards.

"Losing a guy who has almost scored 100 points this year and 40 goals, you can't really replace that, the way he plays and everything," says Pens center Derrick Brassard. "But I think as a group, we're all going to have to step up and try to play some big minutes, and try to play our different roles. But you can't lose a guy like that; you can't replace [him]. As a group, we're going to have to step up like we did in Philly."

Washington believes it has learned from its inability to move past the Pens in each of the last two seasons, and it hopes to use that experience and that knowledge to push through to the conference final for the first time since 1998.

"I think the way they played - and the way they still do in some ways - but I think the rest of the league has kind of matched it in some areas," says Caps goalie Braden Holtby of the Penguins. "It's probably why they are finding different ways to play. They kind of sat back in the [defensive] zone and drowned you out, and then waited for you to make a mistake - and it would be boom, a two-on-one or a breakaway or something like that.

"They wait for their Grade A chances instead of just hope chances. I think we've learned a lot from that; you can tell by the way we're scoring goals and the amount of shots compared to chances this year. I think it's a good sign that we learn from them, so that we can use that as another weapon on our side, in addition to the other ones we have."

Although the Caps finished 13 points south of their lofty standings perch from 2016-17, and although they may not be as good a team on paper this year as they were last, they believe they may be better suited as a group to finally get past Pittsburgh this spring.

"I think we match up really well against Pittsburgh this year," says Caps right wing Tom Wilson. "We're confident in our group and we're confident in the matchups and the lines we have. Obviously Pittsburgh is a different team than Columbus. Give Columbus credit - they're a very hard-working team and they battle, and it was a gritty series. But Pittsburgh is going to have more skill. It is what it is. They're probably a more complete team and they definitely have more threats. We've got to be ready for that.

"Each team has a different identity, and Pittsburgh in the past years has been depth - it's been having guys on every line that can produce. We're starting to have four lines that are playing, and three that really contributed last series. And with [Jay Beagle], we had goals from every line. That's what you need in the playoffs."

Wilson also believes that the Caps' difficult first round will put his team in better position for success in the Pittsburgh series. The Pens had a rather easy time of it against the Flyers - there were no one-goal games in that series - and Pittsburgh won its four games by a combined margin of 19 goals.

Meanwhile, Washington had four overtime games in its series with Columbus. The Caps and Blue Jackets played 277 minutes of their series with the score within a goal either way, more by far than any of the other 14 playoff teams. Pittsburgh played 143 such minutes in its series, or about half the Caps' total.

"Every series, every game takes on a different [tone]," says Wilson. "Those games with Philly where [the Pens] were up 5-0, those games happen in the playoffs. It's a two-goal game, it's a tight game and they get another one, maybe the other team is like, 'Ugh.' And then they get another one, and it's like 4-0 in a playoff game. Maybe it kind of takes the wind out of Philly's sails a little bit.

"It was good that we were in close games. It's probably an advantage. It's kept us sharp, it's kept us playing really good, tight-knit hockey the whole way through. We know how [the Penguins] generate their offense; we're definitely going to address that. We're pretty familiar with them. I think our defensive structure is going to have to be huge. If we're going to win, we're going to have to keep those guys off the scoresheet. It is what it is.

"I think each line should take pride in their match-up, and they can kind of look at it as a head-to-head, and some side duties if need be. It's something we talked about in Columbus when Barry said, 'Hey, you guys need to beat [Artemi] Panarin's line.' That was what the match-up was going to be, it was apparent - [Jackets defensemen Seth] Jones and [Zach] Werenski. I think as the series went on, Jones started to look a little more tired and Werenski started to make his plays a little quicker. And Panarin, you learn how to play against him. That happens in a playoff series.

"When you play five games in a row or six games in a row against someone, you're going to learn a lot about the way they play and how to neutralize it. We've played more than five games against Pittsburgh in the playoffs the last couple of years. We're familiar with them. Each year, we say the same things. It's time to go out there and do it."