Capitals at Penguins preview

CAPITALS (1-0-0) at PENGUINS (0-0-0)
7 p.m. ET; SN360, SN1, TVAS, ATTSN-PT, NBCSWA, NHL.TV

The Game

The Washington Capitals will look to start their Stanley Cup defense with a second straight win when they play the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday.
After opening their season with a 7-0 win against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday, the Capitals will go on the road to play the Penguins for the first time since the Eastern Conference Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season. Washington won that series with a 2-1 overtime victory in Game 6 on May 7.
Pittsburgh will start its search for a third championship in four seasons with a similar lineup to what the one that finished last season. First-line forwards Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel, who each had eight points in the second round against Washington, will try to pick up where they left off.

Players to watch

Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov scored two goals against the Bruins on Wednesday. He had four points (one goal, three assists) in four games against the Penguins last season.
Defenseman Jack Johnson will play his first game for the Penguins after signing a five-year, $16.25 million contract July 1. He had 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 77 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets last season.

They said it

"We're looking forward to a good start to the season. We showed we're not going to give a team easy ways to beat us." -- Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin
"We're excited to get the regular season started. We're excited to start the process of trying to become the team that we think we're capable of becoming." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan

Capitals projected lineup

Alex Ovechkin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Brett Connolly
Jakub Vrana -- Nicklas Backstrom -- T.J. Oshie
Andre Burakovsky -- Lars Eller -- Chandler Stephenson
Nathan Walker -- Nic Dowd -- Devante Smith-Pelly
Dmitry Orlov -- Matt Niskanen
Christian Djoos -- John Carlson
Brooks Orpik -- Madison Bowey
Braden Holtby
Pheonix Copley
Scratched: Dmitrij Jaskin
Injured: Michal Kempny (concussion), Travis Boyd (lower body)
Suspended:Tom Wilson

Penguins projected lineup

Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Patric Hornqvist
Carl Hagelin -- Evgeni Malkin -- Phil Kessel
Dominik Simon -- Derick Brassard -- Bryan Rust
Matt Cullen -- Riley Sheahan -- Daniel Sprong
Brian Dumoulin -- Kris Letang
Olli Maatta -- Jack Johnson
Jamie Oleksiak -- Justin Schultz
Matt Murray
Casey DeSmith
Scratched: Chad Ruhwedel, Derek Grant, Juuso Riikola
Injured: None

Status report

The Capitals, who did not have a morning skate, are expected to use the same lines and defense pairs that played against Boston. ... Dumoulin, who did not participate in Pittsburgh's optional morning skate, will be a game-time decision after returning to practice Wednesday with an upper-body injury.

Stat pack

Ovechkin is tied with Dino Ciccarelli (608) for 18th on the all-time NHL goals list. He's two goals behind Bobby Hull (610) for 17th. ... Murray is one shutout from tying Johan Hedberg for fourth in Penguins history (seven).