Capitals–Penguins rivalry

Capitals–Penguins rivalry
	The Capitals and Penguins in game seven of the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs second round
	Washington Capitals Pittsburgh Penguins
First meeting	November 16, 1974
Latest meeting	April 4, 2024
Next meeting	TBD
Statistics
Meetings total	315
All-time series	163–129–16–7 (PIT)
Regular season series	123–101–16–7 (PIT)
Postseason results	40–28 (PIT)
Largest victory	PIT 12–1 WSH; March 15, 1975
Longest win streak	WSH W9
Current win streak	PIT W1
Postseason history
	1991 Division finals: Penguins won, 4–1; 1992 Division semifinals: Penguins won, 4–3; 1994 Conference quarterfinals: Capitals won, 4–2; 1995 Conference quarterfinals: Penguins won, 4–3; 1996 Conference quarterfinals: Penguins won, 4–2; 2000 Conference quarterfinals: Penguins won, 4–1; 2001 Conference quarterfinals: Penguins won, 4–2; 2009 Conference semifinals: Penguins won, 4–3; 2016 second round: Penguins won, 4–2; 2017 second round: Penguins won, 4–3; 2018 second round: Capitals won, 4–2;

The Capitals–Penguins rivalry is an ice hockey rivalry between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Both teams have played in the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference since 2013. This rivalry stems from the 11 playoff series that the two teams have met in, which is second most between NHL expansion teams behind the Dallas Stars and the St. Louis Blues (who have met each other in 14 playoff series). Pittsburgh won in every series except for the 1994 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals and 2018 Eastern Conference second round. There is also only a 250-mile drive between the cities of Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh, allowing visiting fans of both teams to attend each other's games in fairly large quantities. In addition to the geography and deep playoff history, the emergence of Alexander Ovechkin (Washington) and Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh) as two of the NHL's biggest superstars has fueled the rivalry.

The rivalry reached new heights in the late 2010s, as the teams won three consecutive Stanley Cups between them: in 2016 and 2017, the Penguins defeated the Presidents' Trophy-winning Capitals en route to the championship, while in 2018 the Capitals eliminated the two-time defending champions in the second round on their way to winning their first Stanley Cup. In fact, all six Stanley Cup championships combined between Washington and Pittsburgh have required defeating the other in the playoffs.

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