Saturday, April 30, 2016

Game 2 Notes: Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

 After a epic Game 1 the Caps look to take a 2-0 series lead tonight as they will host the Penguins in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Here is the projected lineup for tonight.











Forwards:

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Oshie
Johansson-Kuznetsov-Williams
Chimera-Richards-Burakovsky
Winnik-Beagle-Wilson

Defense and Goalies:

Orpik-Carlson
Alzner-Niskanen
Schmidt-Chorney


Holtby
Grubauer


Other Notes:

*First thing for Game 2 is it looks like Dmitry Orlov will be a healthy scratch tonight after having a subpar Game 1. Barry Trotz has stuck with Orlov all season but now with a pivotal game, Orlov will sit. Taylor Chorney who was a part of the Pens last year will play in is 3rd game of the playoffs this year.

*Braden Holtby may have given up 3 goals in Game 1, but he still made 42 saves. Also, Holts made some big saves when he needed to.

*I thought the Caps got to Matt Murray a little bit in Game 1, I think the Caps have to continue to try to put pressure on him. Despite the Pens getting 45 shots on net, the Caps got 35 which isn't bad either. I think if the Caps can score early it will help them.

*Andre Burakovsky stepped up on Thursday, I am still waiting for the 2nd line to get going. They did get a couple of chances in Game 1, but they have to hit pay dirt soon.

*The Caps power play needs to continue to shot the puck, I thought in the last game that a power play they had in the 1st period help turn around the start even though they didn't score it got some momentum going.

*I expect the Pens to come out even harder tonight, they had a good first 4 minutes or so in Game 1, but with them being down in the series they will be coming hard. The Caps just have to play sound defense, and have to have solid positioning.

*Overall this game is going to be more important than the first one. I strongly believe that if the Caps can go up 2-0 in this series, it will be tough for the Pens to win this series. Yes, I know the Caps had a 2-0 lead in 2009 but that doesn't matter at all. I know one thing, ever game in this series is must see TV.


Gametime 8:00 p.m on NBC

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