The Pittsburgh Penguins face the Washington Capitals with both teams hoping to rebound from slow starts to the season. The Penguins have a 4-6-2 record and with seven consecutive losses, are near the bottom of the Metropolitan Division while the Capitals are 6-6-2 to start the season. Both teams are looking to improve in the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference, making the upcoming game a pivotal one for both teams.
The Penguins are having a rough start to the season despite their offense stepping up and scoring 3.50 goals per game. Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, and Bryan Rust have scored 16 goals and 16 assists to lead the top line but the rest of the offense has also stepped up this season. Evgeni Malkin, Jason Zucker, and Rickard Rakell have combined for 12 goals and 14 assists while defensemen Kris Letang and Jan Rutta have added two goals and nine assists from the blue line to help open up the offense.
The offense has looked great but the defense has struggled, allowing 3.67 goals per game including 33 goals in the last seven games. Jan Rutta and Marcus Pettersson have combined for 1.4 defensive point shares but the rest of the unit has been awful, allowing opponents to find open shots on the net at will. In addition, goaltender Tristan Jarry has struggled in the net with a .903 save percentage a nd a 3.38 goals-against average on 279 shots.