Players looking forward to ‘fun’ series
Here we are again. Penguins-Capitals, in the second round of the playoffs, for the third year in a row.
“Not overly surprised,” Penguins winger Bryan Rust said. “They’re a good team, we’ve been a good team, so I think it’s going to be a fun series.”
That was the general sentiment in the Penguins dressing room Tuesday about the upcoming series against the Capitals that will start Thursday night in Washington. Sure, the NHL playoffs are pretty unpredictable, but if the Penguins want to win their third consecutive Stanley Cup, the road likely was going through Washington.
“We’ve seen them a lot the last couple of years,” Sidney Crosby said. “Both teams know each other well, so I think both teams know what to expect.”
The Penguins, of course, won the past two postseason meetings between these teams, eliminating the Capitals in six games in 2016 and seven a year ago. They’re 9-1 against Washington all time in playoff series, and all five of their Stanley Cup runs have involved beating the Capitals.
All that being said, the Penguins don’t exactly expect the ghosts of playoffs past to do much heavy lifting in this series.
“It’s a new year,” defenseman Kris Letang said. “The series is going to play out differently. The games are going to be won differently. You don’t know how it’s going to go. The only thing I know is it’s a good rivalry. Two really good teams, two teams that have a lot of punch offensively. It’s going to be fun to be a part of it, a lot of emotion. It’s going to be cool.”
Most Penguins players pointed out that the teams are slightly different from the ones that matched up over the past two seasons. Rosters have been retooled, lineups shuffled. But these teams know each other as well as any two in the league, so this series could very well hinge on staying one step ahead of your intimately familiar opponent.
“I think you make subtle adjustments,” Crosby said.
“You have to be aware of your opponent, their strengths. I think that ultimately you trust your game, try to play your own game, but you’re always aware of who you’re playing and what they do.”
Brassard on the PK
As the next center on the depth chart, Derick Brassard will play a role in making up for the loss of Evgeni Malkin for however long Malkin is out with a lowerbody injury. But Brassard also might help chip in for Carl Hagelin.
With Hagelin out, the Penguins are down one of their key penalty-killers. Brassard, who averaged 25 seconds of penalty-kill time per game in the first round against the Philadelphia Flyers, could see some time in a short-handed role.
“He’s a versatile player, and that’s one area of the game where we can utilize him,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said.
“It all depends on how the game is being played out. It gives me the ability to maybe spread the minutes a little bit so that I don’t overtax certain guys, depending on how many penalties we take or how many power plays we have.”