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NHL Extra: Breaking down Penguins vs. Capitals

Marc-Andre Fleury, Alex Ovechkin

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8), of Russian, greets Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (29) after the Penguins’ 6-2 win in Game 7 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series, Wednesday, May 13, 2009, in Washington. (AP Photo/Bruce Bennett, Pool)

AP

Looking for the numbers breakdown for how these two teams stack up? Look no further as we’ve got you covered.

Team scoring

The Penguins are fifth in the league with 164 goals scored, good for an average of 3.02 goals per game, a mark that is sixth best in the NHL. Of course, those numbers also factor in both Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby who will be out of today’s game. Stepping in as Pittsburgh’s leading scorer now? Defenseman Kris Letang and his seven goals and 34 assists, good for 41 points. The Penguins top producing forward now is Chris Kunitz who has 36 points (18 goals, 18 assists).

Washington has scored 147 goals this season which puts them 16th in the NHL. Their goals scored per game average is a pedestrian 2.74, a mark that puts them 15th in the league. If you’re hoping the high-flying Caps offense you’ve become accustomed to is what you’ll see today, you’ll likely be disappointed. The Capitals are led by Alex Ovechkin and his 55 points (20 goals, 35 assists) and Nicklas Backstrom’s 50 points (14 goals, 36 assists). One guy the Caps will miss today is Alex Semin. Semin is the team’s second-leading goal scorer with 18 but he’s been out with injury.

Goaltending

Look for Semyon Varlamov to get the start this afternoon. Varlamov has been outstanding this season for the offensively wonky Caps. In 21 games, Varlamov has a 9-7-4 record with a 2.13 goals against average and a .928 save percentage. Think about that for a second, that record is technically below .500 and he’s giving up just over two goals per game. On the upside, Varlamov has two shutouts this season. Varlamov missed a good part of the start of the season with injury while Michal Neuvirth held down the fort well. Neuvirth is out with injury and Braden Holtby is now working as the Caps backup and spot starter. If Varlamov doesn’t go for some reason, Holtby gets the call. Holtby in eight games this season is 4-2-2 with a 2.47 goals against average and a .908 save percentage.

For Pittsburgh, it’s the Marc-Andre Fleury show as always. This season, Fleury has been stellar going 25-11-2 with a 2.20 goals against average and a .924 save percentage. After a rough start of the season, Fleury’s settled down in a big way and is one of the keys to why the Penguins are just three points behind the Flyers in the Eastern Conference. Making life easier on Fleury is having a very solid backup in Brent Johnson. You might’ve heard a little bit about him this past week.

Special teams

Each team is middle of the road when it comes to their power play effectiveness. Pittsburgh scores at a 17.7% rate while Washington scores at a 17.6% clip. For Pittsburgh that puts them 14th while Washington is tied with the Islanders for 15th. The penalty kill is where both teams make their mark on a game, however. Pittsburgh has the NHL’s top PK killing off 88.7% of the penalties they take. Washington is right behind them killing off 86.2% of the penalties they take. If penalties become a factor in this game, you can’t count on the man advantage to provide more scoring opportunities.

Streaks and standings

The Penguins go into today’s game riding a five-game win streak. For the Penguins to do all this without Crosby and Malkin is outstanding and shows that despite the losses in the lineup, they’re still a team to be reckoned with. Pittsburgh sits in second place in the Atlantic Division and fourth overall in the Eastern Conference behind their rivals from Philadelphia. The Flyers hold a three point lead on Pittsburgh in both races.

Washington is looking to build off their 5-2 win against Tampa Bay on Friday night. The Caps are chasing the Lightning still in the Southeast Division and sit three points behind them heading into action today. The Caps are also in a curious place in the standings because they’re sitting in fifth in the East, a spot that would have them facing the Penguins in the first round of the playoffs.

NHL Extra

If you’d like to ask James and I questions and get our thoughts on today’s game, you can join us for NHL Extra online and follow along with the action that way. To join us for NHL Extra click here. We’ll be kicking things off at 12:30 p.m.