Sun. April 1 Washington Capitals @ Pittsburgh Penguins
Place: PPG Paints Arena
Time: 7:30 p.m.
TV: NBCSN
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, Capitals Radio 24/7
NHL.COM for Live Box Score
Pittsburgh Penguins 96-45-28-6 Last Game: Mar 31 Won 5-2 Against Canadiens
Washington Capitals 96-45-28-6 Last Game: Mar 30 Lost 4-1 Against Hurricanes
8-Ovechkin 92-Kuznetsov 43-Wilson
65-Burakovsky 19-Bäckström 77-Oshie
13-Vrana 20-Eller 25-Smith-Pelly
18-Stephenson 83-Beagle 10-Connolly
6-Kempny 74-Carlson
9-Orlov 2-Niskanen
44-Orpik 28-Jerabek
31-Grubauer (starter)
70-Holtby
-- SCRATCH --
39-Chiasson
63-Gersich
29-Djoos
-- INJURED RESERVE --
-- 1st Powerplay Unit --
77-Oshie 19-Bäckström 92-Kuznetsov
8-Ovechkin 74-Carlson
-- 2nd Powerplay Unit --
13-Vrana 20-Eller 65-Burakovsky
2-Niskanen 9-Orlov
Referees: xxxxxxxxxxx (#xx), xxxxxxxxxxx (#xx)
Linesmen: xxxxxxxxxxx (#xx), xxxxxxxxxxx (#xx)
1st Period06:25 GOAL 77-Oshie, assists 65-Burakovsky & 74-Carlson 1-0 WSH
2nd Period13:46 GOAL 9-Orlov, assist 92-Kuznetsov 2-0 WSH (Wicked snapshot!)
3rd Period00:23 GOAL 43-Wilson, assist 2-Niskanen 3-0 WSH (Most AWESOME tip in EVER!)
16:15 Hens GOAL Hornqvist 3-1 WSH
FINAL: 3-1 WSH
by Isabelle Khurshudyan April 1 at 2:54 PM
With division crown on the line, Caps to start goaltender Philipp Grubauer in Pittsburgh
Philipp Grubauer will get the start for the Capitals. (Julie Jacobson/AP)
PITTSBURGH — Washington Capitals Coach Barry Trotz has denied he has a “goaltending controversy,” but in a game that could win Washington the Metropolitan Division title for a third straight year, Trotz will start Philipp Grubauer against the Pittsburgh Penguins, perhaps showing how much confidence he has in the netminder once considered the Capitals’ No. 2.
Trotz said starting Grubauer rather than Braden Holtby is related to keeping both goaltenders rotating, as they’ve largely alternated over the past month, and it’s not an indication that Trotz intends to play Grubauer in the playoffs. Holtby will start in St. Louis in the second game of the back-to-back set on Monday night.
“Really just staying with the plan of getting both our goalies ready for the playoffs,” Trotz said. “Philipp hasn’t had a start [in Pittsburgh]. I think it’s a good opportunity. He’s played well, and Holts is in tomorrow. With the injuries that we’ve had, we feel we can get both guys going. There hasn’t been much of a difference between the two of them, so we’re going that way. We’re going to need both goalies, and they’re both playing good right now, so I’m very happy with our goaltending situation.”
The Capitals moved to a goaltending rotation after Braden Holtby struggled through February — an .873 save percentage and a 4.52 goals against average in nine games — and then was pulled from a start in Anaheim on March 6, the third time he’d been yanked from net in his past six starts. Washington then turned to Grubauer for four straight games, allowing Holtby a “reset” so he could work through what had caused the decline in play. But Grubauer impressed, so outside of each goaltender missing a pair of games because of a minor injury recently, Trotz has flipped back and forth between them.
This marks Grubauer’s ninth start since the start of March, while Holtby has started six games in that span. In 52 games this season, Holtby has a 32-16-4 record with a 3.01 goals against average and a .907 save percentage. Grubauer has a 14-9-3 record in 33 appearances with a 2.34 goals against average and a .923 save percentage. Since late November, his numbers are the best in the league: .938 save percentage and 1.88 goals against average in 25 games.
It’s notable that in a back-to-back situation where the Capitals would have split the goaltenders over the two games, Trotz chose to go with Grubauer against the division rival. A regulation win secures first place in the Metropolitan Division for Washington. With Holtby starting every game against Pittsburgh over the past three seasons, perhaps Trotz is curious to see how Grubauer would fare against the Penguins.
“Just another game,” Grubauer said. “There’s too much going on around it, so you’ve got to focus on one thing and that’s my goal — next puck, next shot, next situation. And that’s where I’m going from. … I don’t know if I need to prove myself. I just want to be solid for the guys back there.”
