The Penguins go for a sweep on their 5-game road trip this afternoon at the Verizon Center against one of their arch-rivals, the Washington Capitals.
The Penguins have never gone undefeated on a road trip longer than 4 games in the history of their franchise, and are looking to beat Washington for the first time this season.
Sergei Gonchar will be back in the lineup today for Pittsburgh, after missing the last game against Florida to be with his wife while she was in childbirth. Coincidentally, maybe one of the reasons why the Penguins have not been able to beat the Capitals this season is because #55 has been missing from their lineup each game?
Meanwhile, there apparently remains some discontent between Penguins' center Sidney Crosby and Capitals' RW Alexander Ovechkin. Both were quoted yesterday leading up to the game as continuing to express differences of opinion about the way each feels the other acts on the ice, with Crosby feeling that Ovechkin taunts too much and goes over the line with his behavior and some of his hits, and Ovechkin feeling that Crosby yaps and whines too much.
Ovechkin, by the way, is expected to return to the Washington lineup after missing the Capitals' last game with a bruised heel, which was the result of a shot he took there in practice on Wednesday from a Capitals' assistant coach.
If it's not one thing between these two teams, it's another. First, Ovechkin and Penguins' center Evgeni Malkin have their feud while Crosby and Capitals' center Alexander Semin exchange barbs through the media. Now, it's Crosby and Ovechkin kicking that can.
Today's game surely should be interesting. I know a lot of the Penguin players are looking at it as a statement game for them because of how they have fared against the Capitals so far this year and because of the fact that they feel like they are playing much more like themselves in recent weeks. Personally, I think Crosby is going to be incredibly motivated to make an impact, and I'm anxious to see him go about reminding everyone that, when it comes time to talk about the best player in the game, the conversation shouldn't only include discussion about his teammate and Ovechkin, but him too.
More importantly, the Penguins need a win. The Carolina Hurricanes won last night to leapfrog them in the Eastern Conference standings. Carolina has won 7 of their last 9 games and the Penguins need to continue to keep pace with them, as well as with the New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens and Florida Panthers. Florida also won last night.
Penguins' RW Petr Sykora is supposedly ailing with an upper-body injury and is said to be a game-time decision.
Recap tomorrow.
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