Last year the Penguins defeated the Capitals in what many people saw as the True Stanley Cup Final - or at least, that's what the Caps fans were telling themselves after being unable to get beyond the second round, again.
The Penguins and their fans don't like to admit this, but the series was one in which the Capitals absolutely dominated and in no way deserved to lose.
So it was with terrible embarrassment that the Capitals lost 3-2 in the teams first meeting of the season back in October.
This game was a pretty even match. The possession was basically even, and both goalies made 27 saves - but the Capitals won 4-1 on the strength of a goal and an assist from John Carlson.
Carlson has been the Capitals best player this season with Niskanen out, and last night was no exception. Along with Holtby, Carlson was the main reason the Caps won, and they main reason they continue to win games.
In fact, every team in the East except for four is between 15-20 points.
In other news, this:
Liam O'Brien was re-assigned to Hershey. Not a surprise with Connolly potentially ready to play tomorrow.
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) November 11, 2017
Liam O'Brian totally sounds like a made up name. But he's a real guy, and he's going to go back to the AHL. He did get in a fight last night though, so that's pretty cool. The important thing here is that Brett Connolly is back, and Brett Connolly is a really good player. Very underrated.
The Caps next game is Sunday against the Oilers.