WASHINGTON, D.C. — The temperature in Washington is expected to crest in the mid-80s Thursday, and the humidity is hovering in the mid-60s.
Those are not ideal conditions for maintaining a quality sheet of ice, and the playing surface at Verizon Center received mixed reviews from the Penguins after their gameday skate.
Defenseman Brian Dumoulin said that, “for the most part, I thought the ice was really good,” but winger Scott Wilson was a bit less satisfied.
“It was OK,” Wilson said. “It was maybe a little slow. … We’ll see how it is [Thursday night], but it wasn’t too bad.”
The arena was empty when the Penguins worked out Thursday. More than 18,500 fans figure to be on hand when the puck drops shortly after 7:30, and adding all that body heat to the equation won’t help.
“It does make a pretty big difference,” Wilson said. “But it’s nothing that we’re not used to.”
Hagelin not quite ready
Left winger Carl Hagelin, wearing a regular practice jersey, participated in the Penguins’ optional gameday skate but apparently won’t be in the Game 1 lineup.
“[Hagelin] is close,” coach Mike Sullivan said, adding that he “is a day-to-day decision, at this point.”
The next step, Sullivan said, will be for Hagelin to go through a full-contact practice.
“He’s certainly making significant steps in the right direction,” Sullivan said.
Sheary’s line status
Conor Sheary has spent more time on the ice this season with Sidney Crosby than any other Penguins player — even regular starting goalie Matt Murray.
But when the puck drops in Game 1, Sheary could very well find himself separated from Crosby, playing with Nick Bonino and Wilson on the Penguins’ third line.
He ended Game 5 against Columbus there, and has practiced with Bonino and Wilson during the break between rounds.
“Well, if we choose to go with that line, it has the potential to score goals,” Sullivan said. “I think they’re dependable at both ends of the rink. I think Conor adds an element of speed and hockey sense and offensive instincts to that group.”
Sheary has spent only 51:24 of five-on-five minutes this year with Bonino, or 6.1 percent of his total even-strength ice time. Still, he’s confident the two will be able to gel comfortably.
“I think five-on-five, he’s really good defensively,” Sheary said. “He’s a good two-way player and he’s strong on his stick. I think if you give him the ability to make plays off the rush and in the offensive zone, he can be a dangerous player.”
Sheary admitted that his matchups will probably change, no longer playing on the top line with Crosby, but he’s not expecting his game to.
“I’m going to try to do the same things I do every game,” he said. “Use my instincts, play hard and compete as hard as I can. Hopefully it works out.”
Next defenseman up
The Penguins are well aware they can’t fully compensate for the absence of defenseman Kris Letang, who will be out until next season after having surgery recently to repair a herniated disc in his neck, but their other defensemen did a commendable job of filling in for him during Round 1 against Columbus.
They used the same six defensemen — Justin Schultz, Trevor Daley, Ron Hainsey, Ian Cole, Olli Maatta and Dumoulin — in every game and gave them almost equal workloads.
Average ice time from ranged from 21 minutes, 16 seconds for Schultz to 19 minutes, 44 seconds for Dumoulin and Hainsey.
To put those numbers in perspective, consider that Letang averaged 25 minutes, 31 seconds of playing time during his 41 regular-season appearances.
“I think we did a good job,” Maatta said. “We have six defensemen who can play those even minutes. It doesn’t matter what the matchups are. We can play against anybody.”
That doesn’t mean Letang isn’t missed.
“It’s tough, every game, not to have him because of the way he plays and the minutes he plays,” Maatta said. “He’s a big part of it. … We have to be even better than the first round.”
‘It’ll be a tight game’
The Penguins and Capitals have plenty of history to look back on as they prepare for this series. But their four games this season may not be the best examples.
Two of their matchups, especially, got a little out of hand: The Capitals’ 7-1 win at the Verizon Center Nov. 16, and the Penguins’ 8-7 overtime win in Pittsburgh Jan. 16.
“The 7-1 game and the 8-7 games are usually not the games we’re really looking into,” winger Tom Kuhnhackl said. “As long as we’re at the right end of the result at the end, I don’t think we care too much about that.”
Both Kuhnhackl and Sheary pointed to strong starts as an important factor in making sure the Penguins are prepared to play tight-checking games against the Capitals in every game this series.
“If we come out and play our game from the start, we won’t have an 8-7 or 7-1 game,” Sheary said. “It’ll be a tight game, and hopefully a tight series.”
Staying loose
While the tension level figures to rise considerably when Game 1 begins, the Penguins were a decidedly loose bunch during and after their game-day skate.
Part of the reason might be that nearly all of them went through the gauntlet of a long playoff run last spring, and thus aren’t intimidated by performing on such a big stage.
“I think we’re excited about the opportunity,” Sullivan said. “I think we understand that it’s going to be a big challenge.
“We’ve got to go out and earn every inch out there. … They’ve earned this opportunity to get to the second round, but we also understand that we have to continue to earn.
“We have a lot of respect for Washington and how good of a team they are, but we believe we’re a good team, as well.”
First Published: April 27, 2017, 5:50 p.m.
