The Washington Capitals vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins has emerged as one of the most bitter hockey rivalries in the NHL over the past three decades.
There are a lot of elements that add to the narrative:
- Their tendency to meet what seems to be every single year in the playoffs
- Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin
- The fact they are only a four and a half hour drive apart
The list goes on, but the fact of the matter is that the Pens-Caps clash always promises to be entertaining.
The one problem with the rivalry is that success almost always seems to fall on the side of Crosby and company. In fact, the two teams have met in the playoffs ten times, with the Penguins winning nine of those meetings.
Heading into this post-season, the Caps have made the playoffs a total of 27 times. This means that the Penguins have eliminated the Capitals from one third of their total playoff appearances.
Reddit user veritas_lux_mea91 compiled each of the meetings to further exemplify the Penguins dominance of the Capitals in the post-season.
Although this does not bode well for the Capitals, the one time that they did win did come in their first meeting after a back-to-back Stanley Cup victory from the Pens. So if the pattern continues, maybe this is the year the Caps can finally get the monkey off their back.
