how many times have the pittsburgh penguins beat the washington capitals in the playoffs
Capitals–Penguins rivalry The Capitals–Penguins rivalry is a hockey rivalry between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League. 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 (which they have 13 meetings). Pittsburgh has emerged victorious in every series except for the 1994 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals and 2018 Eastern Conference Semifinals. There is also only a 250-mile drive between the cities of Washington 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 of the NHL's biggest superstars has fueled the rivalry.[13] The two rivals have won the last three Stanley Cups, and all six Stanley Cup championship seasons combined between Washington and Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh has five of them) involved a round against the other team.
Washington Capitals The Capitals were founded in 1974 as an expansion franchise, alongside the Kansas City Scouts. Since purchasing the team in 1999, Leonsis revitalized the franchise by drafting star players such as Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green and Braden Holtby. The 2009–10 Capitals won the franchise's first-ever Presidents' Trophy for being the team with the most points at the end of the regular season. They won it a second time in 2015–16, and did so for a third time the following season in 2016–17. In addition to eleven division titles and three Presidents' Trophies, the Capitals have reached the Stanley Cup Finals twice (in 1998 and 2018), winning in 2018.