The Capitals host the Pittsburgh Penguins today at Capital One Arena for the team's final home game of the regular season. Today’s game marks the second half of a home-and-home, back-to-back set between the two teams. Rookies Ilya Protas (1g-2a–3p), Ryan Leonard (2g-0a–2p) and Cole Hutson (0g-2a–2p) each recorded multiple points and Tom Wilson scored his 30th goal of the season to propel the Capitals to a 6-3 win over the Penguins on Saturday at PPG Paints Arena. Washington is 10-1-2 (.846 P%) in its last 13 home games.
Alex Ovechkin, who is expected to make a decision this summer regarding his playing future, scored his 32nd goal of the season on Saturday. Ovechkin (32g-30a–62p in 80 GP) leads the Capitals in goals and points this season. Ovechkin, 40, captained the Capitals to their first Stanley Cup championship in 2018 and is the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer. This season, Ovechkin has continued to add to his list of individual accolades:
- Became the first player in NHL history to score 900 regular-season goals
- Scored his 1,000th career goal (regular season + playoffs)
- Passed Joe Sakic for the 10th-most points in NHL history
- Recorded his NHL-record 20th 30-goal season and his 21st 20-goal season
- Became the third player in NHL history to record two hat tricks in the same season at age 40 or older
- Played in his 1,500th career game
Should Penguins captain Sidney Crosby play today, it would mark the 100th all-time head-to-head meeting (including playoffs) between the two former No. 1 overall picks.
