The Penguins are looking to punch their ticket to the Eastern Conference Final, while the Capitals hope to stave off elimination on home-ice when the puck drops at the Verizon Center for Game 5 of this Stanley Cup playoffs second-round series.
Pittsburgh enters with a commanding 3-1 lead in the series and hopes to get to Round 3 for the first time since it was swept out of it by the Bruins in 2013.
Washington, meanwhile, has left itself no room for error as it looks to combat a trend of early playoff exits in its history and another disappointing postseason for a Presidents' Trophy-winning club.
The Capitals took Game 1 of this series in overtime, but the Penguins have rattled off three straight victories -- including a 3-2 overtime triumph in Game 4 on Wednesday. Each game of this series has been decided by one goal.
Patric Hornqvist was the hero for Pittsburgh in Game 4, notching the game-winner 2:34 into the extra frame. It was his fifth marker of the playoffs.
Jay Beagle opened the scoring on Wednesday for the Capitals with his third of the playoffs, while Trevor Daley (1) and Matt Cullen (3) countered for the Penguins. John Carlson (4) tied things late in the second period, leading to Hornqvist's overtime marker.
Hornqvist is tied for third in the NHL in goals and leads the Penguins. Nick Bonino's eight assists pace the club and rank knotted for second in the league. Captain Sidney Crosby is first on Pittsburgh with nine points.
Carlson carries the Capitals in goals, assists (6) and points (10) to this point. Alex Ovechkin, who is trying to help the Capitals get to the third round for the first time in his career, is 4-4--8 this postseason.
Washington's centers have struggled as Nicklas Backstrom (2-6--8) and Evgeni Kuznetsov (1-1--2) have combined for just three goals.
The Penguins have blown a 3-1 series lead in recent history. Back in 2013-14, the Rangers overcame that very same deficit to bounce the Penguins in seven games -- which included winning two contests at Consol Energy Center -- en route to reaching the Stanley Cup Final.
Washington blew a similar lead to New York last year.
Pittsburgh wasn't messing around this year, however, as after taking that same lead against the Blueshirts in Round 1, it eliminated them in five games.
Braden Holtby will be the key factor in all of this as he'll look to help the Capitals force a Game 6 between the pipes. Holtby is 5-5 and ranks second in the league with a 1.59 goals-against average and a .945 save percentage in the playoffs.
The Penguins counter with rookie goaltender Matt Murray who will look to ride this storybook postseason performance into the third round. Murray is 6-1 in these playoffs and ranks third in the NHL with a 1.81 GAA and a .944 save percentage.
Game Preview & Live Stream
Details: Penguins at Capitals Game 5
Venue: Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.
Time: 7:15 p.m. ET
Radio: Pittsburgh (105.9 WXDX); Washington (WTKT 1460)
Series: 3-1 Penguins.
Prediction: Our predictions for this series can be found here.
Betting Odds: The latest betting odds can be found here.
Watch Online: This game can be live streamed for free here.
