Capitals will play Penguins in Eastern Conference Second Round

The Washington Capitals advanced to the Eastern Conference Second Round and will play the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third straight season.
The Capitals defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-3 in Game 6 on Monday to win that best-of-7 series and will have home-ice advantage against the Penguins.
Game 1 is at Washington on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS).

RELATED: [Complete Capitals vs. Penguins series coverage]
Pittsburgh defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 8-5 in Game 6 on Sunday to end that first-round series. It was the ninth straight series win for the Penguins, who are seeking their third consecutive Stanley Cup championship.
Washington has played Pittsburgh 10 times in the playoffs, including second-round losses in each of the past two seasons (six games in 2016, seven games in 2017). The Capitals have lost nine of the 10 series, including the past seven.
Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin has 26 points (12 goals, 14 assists) in 20 career playoff games against the Penguins, including two goals and five points in 2017.
Penguins center Sidney Crosby has 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in 19 playoff games against the Capitals, including two goals and five assists last season.
"I said it before, I can't wait," Ovechkin said. "It's a huge opportunity for us to take a step forward. Obviously, it's the Stanley Cup champion back-to-back. They know how to play. They know how to handle the pressure. It's going to be a huge series for us."

The Capitals and Penguins split four regular-season games. Ovechkin led the Capitals with three goals and five points. T.J. Oshie and Dmitry Orlov each scored twice, and Evgeny Kuznetsov had four points (one goal, three assists).
Capitals goalie Braden Holtby was 1-2-0 with a 3.60 goals-against average and .897 save percentage. Philipp Grubauer made 36 saves in a 3-1 win on April 1.
Penguins center Evgeni Malkin had six points (two goals, four assists), forwards Phil Kessel and Patric Hornqvist each had three goals and one assist, and Crosby had three assists for the Penguins.
Pittsburgh goalie Matt Murray started the four games and was 2-2-0 with a 3.01 GAA and .899 save percentage.