Why Tuesday’s Capitals-Penguins game could decide the Stanley Cup

Posted July 16, 2019

As the Capitals travel to Pittsburgh to take on the rival Penguins Tuesday (Coverage starts 6 p.m., NBC Sports Washington), there may be significantly more on the line than just two points in the standings.
The champions of the last three Stanley Cups will fulfill in Tuesday’s match as the Caps won last season and the Penguins won in 2016 and 2017. In each of the three seasons, Washington and Pittsburgh had to play with one another in the postseason on their way to the championship. However, as divisional competitions, the two teams had lots of matchups from the regular season too.
The Caps have fared fairly well against their opponents in the regular season over the previous 3 decades. At the 2015-16 season, Washington handled a 2-2-1 record against the Penguins. That improved to 2-0-2 in 2016-17. Still, the leads to the postseason remained exactly the same with the Caps falling at the next round every year. In 2017-18, Washington went 2-2-0 from Pittsburgh, but conquered them at the playoffs for only the second time in franchise history.
While the overall records don’t shed much light, should you look a little closer you find that the last matchup of the season has shown key.
The Caps fell on April 7. Marcus Johansson scored twice for Washington, but Sidney Crosby scored the overtime winner. In 2017, both groups met for the final time earlier in the season on Jan. 16 with the Caps losing in overtime again, now 8-7. Washington gave up a 3-0 lead as Evgeni Malkin tallied a hat trick along with Connor Sheary scored in overtime.
Things were different, however, in 2018. With the Metropolitan Division very much up for grabs, Philipp Grubauer was brilliant in net to lead the Caps to the 3-1 win.
Why does this matter? Since in each of the previous 3 seasons, the winner of this final regular-season meeting between these two teams has gone on to win the Stanley Cup.
Perhaps it is a coincidence and it doesn’t matter. But perhaps a late-season match with significant implications against a bitter rival at a playoff atmosphere is a fantastic test of where a team stands heading into the postseason.
The New York Islanders sit just two points behind Washington for first place in the Metropolitan Division. Behind these, Pittsburgh is tied for third with the Carolina Hurricanes. Not only would a reduction for your Caps hurt them at the division race, but it also produces a first-round matchup from the Penguins quite possible.
Tuesday’s game is huge in terms of the standings, but make no mistake, this game is all about a whole lot more than simply those 2 points.