Game 3 Pre-Game

Are jobs on the line tonight for Washington?

If they lose in Game 3 to go down 0-3 that leads to a quick exit, how can the team bring Barry Trotz back? He was brought in to get the Capitals over the hump in the playoffs and this would be three straight years of not advancing past the second round.

A round 2 exit and a lot of eyes would also be on the center position with Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov in that the Capitals have to do something and move one of them.

Year after year Backstrom and Kuznetsov are getting outplayed in the playoffs from Derek Stepan and the Rangers to Pittsburgh last post-season and the Penguins again through two games.

— One former NHL assistant coach on Barry Trotz pulling Braden Holtby in Game 2.

“He punted the game,” the coach said of Trotz.

All eyes are on Holtby tonight to get the Capitals back in the series.

Much of the talk surrounding Holtby is how the Penguins have identified a weakness with Holtby’s glove hand.

If anything, Holtby looks like a goaltender whose confidence is just shaken that has him off his angle and it’s led to Pittsburgh’s elite shooters smelling blood and smoking him glove side.

— Mike Sullivan on lack of net-front presence for Game 3 if Patric Hornqvist doesn’t play tonight:

“I think we’re preaching to all of our guys to get to the net. That’s sound hockey, create scoring chances. Get in sight lines, limit mobility, make it difficult.”

—Conor Sheary last post-season began to hit a wall in the conference finals that led to him being a healthy scratch in a Game 5 loss. He returned to the lineup in Game 6 and got rejuvenated a bit the final two games of the series and early in the Stanley Cup Final where he scored in Games 1 and 2 vs the Sharks.

Sheary would be scratched tonight if the Penguins weren’t banged up at forward.

He is so much in Mike Sullivan’s dog house right now, Sullivan benched Sheary minutes into Game 2 but was forced to keep playing Sheary due to the Patric Hornqvist injury.

Sheary, though, played just 8:50 in Game 2.

There’s still a lot of hockey to be played and could be two more rounds for the Penguins, but if this is the Sheary the Penguins get the rest of the post-season, it will obviously give the Penguins some pause and impact talks on a new deal this summer.

Pittsburgh had viewed Sheary as a $3 million a year player next season if the sides reached a short-term deal.

If the Penguins decide to commit to all three key pending RFA’s on deals ranging three years or more, the Penguins in fact have been bracing for new deals for Justin Schultz, Conor Sheary and Brian Dumoulin to tie up potentially $11-$12 million against the cap for next season.

There are conflicting opinions inside the organization on J[hide]ustin Schultz when it comes to committing the type of long-term deal it would take for Schultz and his reps at Newport Sports to avoid testing free agency.

Schultz is the more pressing decision than Sheary and Dumoulin because he’s a year away from free agency. His camp isn’t accepting anything under $4 million per.

Despite Olli Maatta being made available in trade talks for Matt Duchene prior to the deadline, some teams now believe the Penguins will eventually decide to move forward with Letang/Dumoulin/Maatta, and actively listen to offers for Schultz prior the expansion draft by selling high.

The buzz on Schultz is the Penguins like him but not at the $5 million per he could command.

If Hornqvist, Hagelin and Dumoulin don’t play tonight, the Penguins are looking at the following lineup:

Chad Ruhwedel would be the next man up on the blueline.

Jake Guentzel – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust
Chris Kunitz – Evgeni Malkin – Phil Kessel
Scott Wilson – Nick Bonino – Conor Sheary
Tom Kuhnhackl – Matt Cullen – Carter Rowney

Ian Cole – Justin Schultz
Olli Maatta – Trevor Daley
Ron Hainsey – Chad Ruhwedel

For the Capitals, Karl Alzner dealing with a groin injury will take warmups and is getting close, Barry Trotz said. [/hide]

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