Tonight at 8 p.m. ET, the Pittsburgh Penguins (34-17-9, 77 points) and Washington Capitals (33-18-10, 76 points) face-off for the fourth and final meeting against each other this season live from the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.
Pittsburgh has won two straight games while Washington had its four-match winning streak snapped last time out.
The Penguins enter play in the third and final playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division while the Capitals own the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and are just one point behind their opponents.
It's a tight race as the New York Rangers (80 points) are in second place and the Islanders (82) are first in the division entering tonight.
Washington has gotten the better of Pittsburgh in all three prior meetings this season including two shutouts and then a 3-1 win last time these clubs met on Feb. 17.
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The Penguins are coming in off of a 5-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on Sunday and hope they have the right strategy to beat their opponents for the first time this season.
"We've got to come in here and play right and play our game," coach Mike Johnston told the Penguins website. "A lot of loose puck battles are going to be the key tonight."
Captain Sidney Crosby has paced Pittsburgh and is fourth in the league with 42 assists while he also ranks fifth in the NHL with a team-best 61 points.
Evgeni Malkin leads the Penguins with 24 goals and is second on the team with 58 points while Kris Letang has found the twine 10 times and added 37 helpers for 47 points.
The Capitals are coming in off of a 3-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers that saw their power play, which is ranked second in the NHL with a 23.7 percent conversion rate, go 0-for-5.
"We're still at the top of the league, so nothing too dramatic," Nicklas Backstrom said of making changes to the man advantage via NHL.com. "We were terrible actually."
Backstrom has been a driving force for Washington as he is tied for the NHL lead with 64 points and 46 assists. Captain Alex Ovechkin leads the league and the Capitals with 38 goals this season.
In net, Washington turns to Braden Holtby and he is 29-13-9 this season while ranking tied for third in the NHL with a 2.16 goals-against average and adding a .924 save percentage.
Pittsburgh counters with Marc-Andre Fleury between the pipes and he is 27-13-6 while ranking tied with Holtby for third in the NHL with a 2.16 GAA and tied for fifth in the league with a .925 save percentage.
Two huge points hang in the balance when the puck drops on the Penguins and Capitals live tonight from the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.
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