Capitals–Penguins rivalry

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 generational talents has fueled the rivalry. The rivalry reached new heights in the mid and 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. All six Stanley Cup championships combined between Washington and Pittsburgh have required defeating each other in the playoffs.