Game Preview: 11.06.25 vs Washington Capitals

The Penguins return home to take on the Washington Capitals at PPG Paints Arena on Pittsburgh Night, presented by U. S. Steel. The night will be a celebration of the city we love with many local mascots in attendance. Puck drop is set for 7:30 PM. Doors open at 6 PM.

This game will be available to watch on ESPN+ and Hulu. Fans can listen to the game on 105.9 The X and on the Penguins app.

Team Records: PIT (8-4-2), WAS (6-5-1)

Since the beginning of the 2015-16 campaign, no team has defeated Washington more than Pittsburgh (24 wins). Pittsburgh has points in seven of its last 11 games versus Washington (6-4-1) dating back to Nov. 9, 2022. Tomorrow's game begins a stretch where the Penguins will play five of their next eight games at home.

Related Links

Recent News

• Penguins Have Point Streak Snapped Against Jets
• New Dad, New Perspective
• Where You Come From Matters: Ben Kindel
• Rookie Ben Kindel Checks Another Box
• Where You Come From Matters: Parker Wotherspoon
• Rakell Out 6-8 Weeks, Koivunen Recalled
• Rakell Undergoes Successful Hand Surgery
• Penguins Induct Four Legends into Relaunched Hall of Fame
• Big Line, Big Impact
• Legend! Legend! Legend!
• Crosby Passes Lemieux for Most Total Points in Penguins History

Game Notes

Evgeni Malkin has 81 points (27G-54A) in 66 career games against the Capitals. It’s the third-most points he’s scored against any one team.

Philip Tomasino has six points (2G-4A) in eight career games against Washington. It’s the highest total versus any opponent in his career. He has four points (1G-3A) in his last two games against the Capitals.

Bryan Rust has 24 points (15G-9A) in 36 career games against the Capitals. It’s the third highest career point total versus an opponent (New Jersey – 33; Philadelphia – 26) and second highest career goal total versus an opponent (New Jersey – 18). The Penguins are 11-4-2 when Rust has a point against Washington, and 5-0-1 when he records two or more points.

Pittsburgh’s penalty kill has allowed just one power-play goal against over its last six games (16-for-17, 94.1%).

Danton Heinen has goals in back-to-back games against the Capitals (2G) and has 11 points (4G-7A) in 21 games against Washington.

ROSTER UPDATES

The Penguins announced on Tuesday Sergei Murashov, Danton Heinen and Ryan Graves were recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Tristan Jarry, Noel Acciari and Justin Brazeau were placed on Injured Reserve, and Owen Pickering was re-assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).

Murashov has played in seven games with WBS and has a 5-2-0 record with a 1.73 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage with one shutout. He helped the Penguins win their first seven games of the season. The goaltender was named the AHL Goaltender of the Month for October for his efforts.

Heinen had 14 points (5G-9A) in 10 games this season in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. At the time of his recall, he led the AHL in points (14) and led the WBS Penguins in every major category; goals (5), assists (9) and points (14). The forward also leads the team in power-play goals (3) which is tied for third in the AHL.

Graves notched seven points (1G-6A) in 10 games in the AHL. He leads all WBS Penguins defensemen in points (7) and ranks fourth overall on the team. The defenseman leads the team in plus/minus (+9) which ranks tied for fifth overall in the league and is tied for first among defensemen at the time of his recall. Graves ranks second on the team with 29 shots, which ranks third among defensemen in the AHL.

CROSBY VS. OVECHKIN

The 2025-26 season marks the 21st season that generational talents Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin face off. The two have taken part in 73 head-to-head matchups, where Crosby and the Penguins have gone 42-27-4 against Ovechkin and the Capitals.

Not only is the Crosby/Ovechkin rivalry one of the NHL’s best, but it’s also the league’s longest-standing rivalry. Crosby and Ovechkin are the only two players in the NHL to play for the same team since the beginning of the 2005-06 season, and are two of just four players that are still active that also played in 2005-06 (also Corey Perry and Brent Burns).

The 2024-25 season marks the 21st consecutive season that Crosby and Ovechkin have played one another. Only one forward-duo in NHL history has played against each other in more consecutive campaigns: Ron Francis and Mark Messier (23 seasons).

The two have combined to win four Stanley Cups, five Hart trophies (regular-season MVP) three Art Ross trophies (most points), 11 Rocket Richard trophies (most goals), three Conn Smythe awards (playoff MVP) and six Ted Lindsay awards (most outstanding player) among other awards.

POWER PLAY QUICK HITS

The Penguins have gone 11-for-34 on the power play this season, and the team’s 32.4% success rate is second in the NHL. Below are a few tidbits on Pittsburgh’s power play:

Only Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl (6), Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov (5) and Vegas’ Pavel Dorofeyev (5) have more power-play goals this season than Sidney Crosby (4).

Evgeni Malkin’s seven power-play points are tied for 12th in the league.

The Penguins are 5-2-1 when notching a power-play goal.

Seven different players have scored on the man advantage for the Penguins. Only the Ottawa Senators (8), Minnesota Wild (8), Florida Panthers (8) and Dallas Stars (8) have more players with a power-play goal on their teams.

Only the Columbus Blue Jackets (26) have received fewer power-play opportunities than Pittsburgh (31), but only five teams (Minnesota, 17; Dallas, 14; Edmonton, 14; Ottawa, 13; Montreal, 12) have scored more power-play goals than the Penguins (11).

Pittsburgh has scored multiple man-advantage goals in a game three times this season (3-0-0).

MALK-A-MANIA

Evgeni Malkin continues to defy physics, logic and father time. After recording an assist on Saturday in Winnipeg, Malkin boosted his point total to a team-leading 19 (3G-16A) on the year. Malkin’s 19 points are tied for fourth in the NHL.

Malkin has picked up points in all but two games this season (12/14, 85.7%) and has recorded multiple points nearly half of his games played (6/14, 42.9%). His 16 assists are second in the NHL.

CHIPPING IN

Six rookies have dressed for the Penguins this season – Harrison Brunicke, Filip Hallander, Ben Kindel, Ville Koivunen, Owen Pickering and Arturs Silovs – and have played a big roll in the Penguins hot start. Kindel (5G) leads Pittsburgh’s rookies in points and he also paces all NHL rookies in goals.

Kindel notched two goals in Toronto on Saturday night, making him just the fifth 18-year-old in Penguins history to record a multi-goal game joining Sidney Crosby (6), Jaromir Jagr (4), Jordan Staal (2) and Craig Simpson (1). It marked the first instance of this since Feb. 10, 2007 (Staal).

Overall, only the Montreal Canadiens have gotten more goals from their rookies this season.

HOW SWEDE IT IS

Erik Karlsson has 10 assists (10A) over his last 10 games dating back to Oct. 16. In that span, only one NHL player has more assists than him.

FRANCHISE STAPLE

Kris Letang enters tomorrow's game one point from tying Hall-of-Famer Doug Wilson for the ninth-most points by a defenseman with one team in NHL history.

DOMINANT D-MEN

Defensemen Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson have been productive in their careers against the Capitals as they rank first and second, respectively, in points against Washington among active defensemen.

Meet the Penguins

As part of the Penguins Pledge, and in partnership with the National Aviary, Aviary experts and some of their live penguin ambassadors will visit PPG Paints Arena for today's game. A permanent display on the FedEx Level of PPG Paints Arena will be home to the visiting penguins and also feature footage of the National Aviary’s Penguin Point habitat for the games when the birds aren't at the arena. The National Aviary is a global leader in the conservation efforts to save endangered African Penguins from extinction. More info can be found here.

Home Game Triggers