Pittsburgh is looking to complete the home series tonight and send this thing back to Washington all tied up at two. As you may already know Game 5 is scheduled for tomorrow at the Verizon Center and may carry some extra implications in terms of fatigue and durability as the second half of a back-to-back.
But before we get into tomorrow's game we have to look at tonight's action.
Sidney Crosby is asking the Pens to play like they're desperate again. Hey, it worked in Game 3 and may just be the thing to get them through this series. Sid also feels Pitt has out-worked Washington in every aspect of the series, something that is easil debatable from both fanbases.
In that respect, Pittsburgh's site may have some locker room material to provide:
"They can think what they want to think. It's not about (outplaying a team) ... it's about scoring at the right time, it's about making the big save, it's about coming through in the clutch. ... I'd much rather be where I am right now than where they are."
Bruce Boudreau
Capitals Head Coach
Surely the Pens would like to be where the Caps are too...
Although the Penguins did a better job of limited Alex Ovechkin's scoring chances in G3, OV still managed to pick up the first goal of the game after Marc-Andre Fleury was victimized by a bizarre bounce off the boards. Like it or not, he still managed to get in the right place at the right time to allow Washington to jump out to an early lead.
Pitt's gameplan will likely be similar to that of G3 in terms of shutting down Ovechkin but may even have a few adendums. As in continuing to limit Washington's PP chances, especially in the dying seconds of the third while trying to hold onto a one-goal lead.