Schedule / Matchup Preview

Washington Capitals vs Pittsburgh Penguins · Matchup Preview Based on 26-27 form — rosters current

Season 26-27
Matchup Preview @ Penguins · MON · JAN 18 · 3:00 PM CT ← Back to schedule
Upcoming
MON · JAN 18 · 3:00 PM CT
PPG Paints Arena
MNMT · TNT · truTV · HBO MAX
Washington Capitals
Capitals
1–1–0
@
Pittsburgh Penguins
Penguins
2–0–0
Upcoming
MON · JAN 18 · 3:00 PM CT
MNMT · TNT · truTV · HBO MAX
Washington Capitals
Away · Capitals
1–1–0
2 PTS
VS
Puck Drop In
The read
The Capitals can't afford penalties against a power play that ranks 2nd, not with a kill that sits 29th. But Logan Thompson has Egor Chinakhov figured out, 18 shots without a goal.
PPG Paints Arena
Pittsburgh Penguins
Home · Penguins
2–0–0
4 PTS
Capitals
GOALIES
Penguins
Logan Thompson
Logan Thompson
Expected
.939 SV% · 2.00 GAA · 1W
.923 SV% L5 · Locked in
VS
Arturs Silovs
Arturs Silovs
Expected
.886 SV% · 2.47 GAA · 2W
.920 SV% L5 · Locked in
Capitals
PROJECTED TOP LINES
Penguins
L1
Alex Tuch · Pierre-Luc Dubois · Tom Wilson
L1
Nicholas Robertson · Sidney Crosby · Rickard Rakell
L2
Alex Ovechkin · Dylan Strome · Ryan Leonard
L2
Egor Chinakhov · Tommy Novak · Evgeni Malkin
L3
Aliaksei Protas · Ilya Protas · Jordan Kyrou
L3
Andrei Kuzmenko · Ben Kindel · Hendrix Lapierre
L4
Boone Jenner · Justin Sourdif · Anthony Beauvillier
L4
Connor Dewar · Blake Lizotte · Filip Hallander
D1
Jakob Chychrun · Matt Roy
D1
Declan Carlile · Erik Karlsson
D2
Cole Hutson · Vincent Desharnais
D2
Samuel Girard · Kaedan Korczak
D3
Martin Fehervary · Timothy Liljegren
D3
Trevor van Riemsdyk · Kris Letang
PP1
Tom Wilson · Dylan Strome · Pierre-Luc Dubois · Alex Ovechkin · Jakob Chychrun
PP1
Ben Kindel · Tommy Novak · Rickard Rakell · Erik Karlsson · Sidney Crosby
PP2
Alex Tuch · Ilya Protas · Ryan Leonard · Cole Hutson · Jordan Kyrou
PP2
Andrei Kuzmenko · Hendrix Lapierre · Egor Chinakhov · Kris Letang · Evgeni Malkin
PK1
Aliaksei Protas · Tom Wilson · Vincent Desharnais · Matt Roy
PK1
Filip Hallander · Connor Dewar · Samuel Girard · Kris Letang
PK2
Boone Jenner · Alex Tuch · Martin Fehervary · Timothy Liljegren
PK2
Ben Kindel · Rickard Rakell · Trevor van Riemsdyk · Erik Karlsson
CapitalsProjected lines
L1
Alex Tuch · Pierre-Luc Dubois · Tom Wilson
L2
Alex Ovechkin · Dylan Strome · Ryan Leonard
L3
Aliaksei Protas · Ilya Protas · Jordan Kyrou
L4
Boone Jenner · Justin Sourdif · Anthony Beauvillier
D1
Jakob Chychrun · Matt Roy
D2
Cole Hutson · Vincent Desharnais
D3
Martin Fehervary · Timothy Liljegren
PP1
Tom Wilson · Dylan Strome · Pierre-Luc Dubois · Alex Ovechkin · Jakob Chychrun
PP2
Alex Tuch · Ilya Protas · Ryan Leonard · Cole Hutson · Jordan Kyrou
PK1
Aliaksei Protas · Tom Wilson · Vincent Desharnais · Matt Roy
PK2
Boone Jenner · Alex Tuch · Martin Fehervary · Timothy Liljegren
PenguinsProjected lines
L1
Nicholas Robertson · Sidney Crosby · Rickard Rakell
L2
Egor Chinakhov · Tommy Novak · Evgeni Malkin
L3
Andrei Kuzmenko · Ben Kindel · Hendrix Lapierre
L4
Connor Dewar · Blake Lizotte · Filip Hallander
D1
Declan Carlile · Erik Karlsson
D2
Samuel Girard · Kaedan Korczak
D3
Trevor van Riemsdyk · Kris Letang
PP1
Ben Kindel · Tommy Novak · Rickard Rakell · Erik Karlsson · Sidney Crosby
PP2
Andrei Kuzmenko · Hendrix Lapierre · Egor Chinakhov · Kris Letang · Evgeni Malkin
PK1
Filip Hallander · Connor Dewar · Samuel Girard · Kris Letang
PK2
Ben Kindel · Rickard Rakell · Trevor van Riemsdyk · Erik Karlsson
Last Game (2026-10-03) · Oct 4 · 6:10 AM CT Last Game (2026-10-03) · Oct 4 · 6:19 AM CT
Capitals
INJURY REPORT
Penguins
Matt Roy
DAY-TO-DAY · Lower body
Bryan Rust
IR · Upper body · Expected back Oct 5
Patrick Thomas
IR · Upper body · Expected back Oct 24
Justin Brazeau
IR · Lower body · Expected back Oct 7
Rasmus Sandin
IR · Right knee (surgery) · Expected back Dec 26
Ryan Graves
IR · Knee · Expected back Oct 24
CapitalsInjury report
Matt Roy
DAY-TO-DAY · Lower body
Patrick Thomas
IR · Upper body · Expected back Oct 24
Rasmus Sandin
IR · Right knee (surgery) · Expected back Dec 26
PenguinsInjury report
Bryan Rust
IR · Upper body · Expected back Oct 5
Justin Brazeau
IR · Lower body · Expected back Oct 7
Ryan Graves
IR · Knee · Expected back Oct 24
Last Game (2026-10-03) · Oct 4 · 6:10 AM CT Last Game (2026-10-03) · Oct 4 · 6:19 AM CT
STORYLINE
The Capitals lost their last game and are 1-1-0 in their first 2 games. The Penguins have won 2 straight and are 2-0-0 in their first 2 games.

Matchup Intel

The Capitals can't afford penalties against a power play that ranks 2nd, not with a kill that sits 29th. But Logan Thompson has Egor Chinakhov figured out, 18 shots without a goal.

Alex Ovechkin has quietly owned this matchup, 5 points in the last 4 meetings. The Capitals have found Arturs Silovs beatable: .869 on 61 shots.

The numbers behind it
Special Teams
Pittsburgh's power play ranks 2nd while Washington's penalty kill ranks 29th.
2nd / 29th PP vs PK
Matchup
Andrei Kuzmenko has 4 goals on Logan Thompson (11 shots).
(Pittsburgh)
4 goals on Logan Thompson
Matchup
Egor Chinakhov has 18 shots on Logan Thompson without a goal.
(Pittsburgh)
0/18 vs Logan Thompson
Player
Alex Ovechkin has 5 points in his last 4 games against Pittsburgh. See the games →
(Washington)
5 pts, last 4 vs PIT
Player
Dylan Strome has 5 points in his last 4 games against Pittsburgh. See the games →
(Washington)
5 pts, last 4 vs PIT
Goaltending
Arturs Silovs has struggled against Washington — a .869 save % on 61 shots.
.869 SV% vs WSH
Milestone
Nick Robertson is 2 goals shy of 100 career goals.
98 career goals