Capitals vs. Penguins: Keys to Victory for Both Teams in NHL Playoff Series

The NHL has a glamour matchup on its hands as Sidney Crosby and the streaking Pittsburgh Penguins meet Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals in their second-round matchup.

While the Capitals won the Presidents' Trophy, the Penguins easily disposed of the New York Rangers in five games after ending the regular season with 14 wins in their last 16 games.

This high-profile series could prove to be the key to Washington going all the way and winning its first Stanley Cup. Since high-profile teams in the Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings have already been eliminated, an argument can be made that beating the Penguins will be the toughest assignment the Capitals have if they are going to win the franchise's first Stanley Cup.

In this feature, we look at what each team must do to survive and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Can They Continue Their Scoring Prowess?

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Take a look at the way the Penguins rolled over the Rangers in the first round of the playoffs. They scored 21 goals in their five-game victory, including 11 goals in the last two games.

They averaged 4.2 goals per game against New York, and that comes on the heels of averaging 2.939 goals per game in the regular season, which ranked third in the league.

The Penguins are led by Crosby, who scored three goals and had eight points in the series against the Rangers, but he had plenty of help from Evgeni Malkin (seven points), Phil Kessel (six points), Patric Hornqvist, Kris Letang and Nick Bonino (five points each).

The Penguins are firing on all cylinders as they move to the second round, and head coach Mike Sullivan is counting on his big guns to continue to create excellent scoring chances and continue to produce.

Sullivan told Penguins radio and TV host Josh Getzoff that he views the explosive Malkin as a "difference maker." 

If both Crosby and Malkin have productive and consistent performances against the Capitals, Pittsburgh should have an excellent chance to pull off the win in the series.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Team Speed

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The Rangers could not keep up with the Penguins in the first round.

The Penguins won races for the puck and that allowed them to create plays and scoring opportunities.

It is difficult to quantify how much faster the Penguins are than their opponents, but the end of season run coupled with their runaway against the Rangers provides compelling evidence that when players like Letang, Kessel, Malkin, Crosby, Conor Sheary and Bryan Rust are flying up and down the ice, it's difficult for opponents to keep up with them for anything more than a shift or two.

When that speed is coupled with the kind of battle level the Penguins have shown over the last two-plus months, it has been a nearly unbeatable combination.

"Playing with speed I think is something that does transition well to the playoffs because there is so little ice to play on, and being able to stretch the rink, being able to create space with speed is really a benefit to us," Penguins defenseman Ian Cole told ESPN hockey writer Scott Burnside.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Goaltending Must Continue to Perform at a High Level

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Penguins goalie Matt Murray

The numbers are brilliant for goalie Matt Murray, who started and won three games for the Penguins against the Rangers. 

The 21-year-old rookie has a 1.33 goals-against average along with a .955 save percentage for his small sample size. Murray played 12 regular-season games and recorded a 9-2-1 mark with a 2.00 GAA and a .930 save percentage.

Those numbers offer a glimpse at how well Murray has been playing and what his potential is, but they offer no guarantee against the Capitals.

He will be up against a dominant team when he faces Ovechkin & Co.

But here's the good news for the Penguins. With a rookie like Murray in the lineup, they don't have to turn to Marc-Andre Fleury (concussion symptoms) to backstop them at this point.

That may seem strange on the surface, since Fleury had a 2.29 GAA and a .921 save percentage during the regular season. Fleury is a talented athlete who has been brilliant when he has been at his best.

However, Fleury's recent playoff history has ranged between ordinary and disastrous. He had a run of four consecutive seasons with a save percentage of less than .900 between 2010 and 2013, and while he was better the last two years, the Penguins won just one of three playoff series in that time.

Whether they admit it or not, Fleury has struggled in the postseason, and the Penguins may be better off with a fresh but unproven player in Murray between the pipes.

Washington Capitals: Offensive Depth and Clutch Scoring

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The Capitals (56-18-8, 120 points) were the dominant team in the league this season, and they were led by one of the game's greatest superstars in Ovechkin.

The "Great 8" reached the 50-goal mark for the third consecutive season and the seventh time in his career. Ovechkin's ability to unleash his wicked slap shot or unfurl his wrists and catch the top corner with his twisted wrister should never be taken for granted.

But Ovechkin has plenty of help from his teammates. Nicklas Backstrom has been Ovechkin's primary set-up man for years, and he enjoyed an excellent first round against the Flyers with two goals and five assists to lead the Caps.

Marcus Johansson, T.J. Oshie, Jay Beagle and Justin Williams are all capable of stepping up and scoring big goals as well.

However, if there was a negative in the first round, it was the play of Evgeny Kuznetsov. After scoring 20 goals and 57 assists for a team-leading 77 points during the regular season, Kuznetsov had just one goal against the Flyers and appeared lost on the ice.

If the Penguins continue to hit on all cylinders, the Caps can't afford to have one of their big guns skating in mud during this series. They need to get back to their regular-season form when they averaged 3.0244 goals per game, which was second-best in the NHL.

Washington Capitals: The Defense Is Dominant

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John Carlson

The Capitals have changed their on-ice personality during the two years that head coach Barry Trotz has been behind the bench.

In the past, the Capitals either paid lip service to the concept of effective defense or tried and fell short of their goal. They were often a one-dimensional team that was capable of lighting up the scoreboard but did not play the kind of defense that would allow them to win in the playoffs.

Ovechkin has never been past the second round with this team, and if that finally changes this year, it's likely because of the consistency of the defense.

The Caps allowed just six goals in six games against the Flyers, and one of those goals was into an empty net. During the regular season, the Caps allowed just 2.3293 goals per game, and that ranked second in the league.

John Carlson, Matt Niskanen and Karl Alzner are three of the best and most consistent defensemen in the league. The Capitals don't allow opposing forwards to camp out in front of the crease and screen goalie Braden Holtby, and that's one of the reasons the Washington defense has been so effective.

The Caps also know that Carlson (39 points) and Niskanen (32 points) are very effective on the offensive end and can turn any game around with a big shot from the point.

Washington Capitals: Braden Holtby's Sensational Skills

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When the conversation centers on the best goaltenders in the league, the usually starts with Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens, Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers and Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings.

There are many other good goaltenders, but none of them seem worthy enough to break into that trio as a truly elite goaltender. Except for one: Braden Holtby of the Washington Capitals.

Holtby has been excellent throughout his six years in the NHL, the last four of which has seen him start a minimum of 36 games each season (66 in 2015-16).

His 2015-16 season has been sensational as Holtby is one of the favorites to win the Vezina Trophy with a 2.20 goals-against average, a .920 save percentage and a 48-9-7 regular season record.

Holtby had two shutouts in the opening round against the Flyers, and he continues to be on top of his game. The Capitals appear to have all the weapons needed to win the Stanley Cup, and Holtby's consistent and sensational play may be the most important of all of them.