W2W4: Pittsburgh Penguins at Washington Capitals, Game 1

2:38 PM ET

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins begin their much-anticipated second-round series Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET at the Verizon Center. Both teams are chock-a-block with talent and experience, and both are playing an extremely high level. Expect some fireworks. Here’s what to watch for in Game 1:

The Capitals are hoping to have a full roster at their disposal. Both Karl Alzner and Brooks Orpik skated Thursday morning at the team’s practice facility, and Washington coach Barry Trotz is hopeful that they’ll be good to go.

Alzner looks to be more certain than Orpik, who has not played since being leveled by Flyers forward Ryan White in Game 3 of the first round. “Looks like [a] good chance” that Alzner — who did not miss any playing time but was nursing some minor injuries — will play, Trotz said Thursday morning.

The Penguins, meanwhile, are healthy outside of the ongoing issues confronting netminder Marc-Andre Fleury, who is still recovering from a concussion he suffered on March 30 against Nashville. Fleury did not dress at all during the first round and there is no timetable for his return.

Both teams rang up eight power-play goals during the first round, and the Penguins’ power play is operating at an insane 38.1 percent rate of efficiency. The Caps are no slouches, either, and sit at 29.6 percent efficiency.

Both coaches will look to continue the strong penalty killing that marked their respective teams’ play in the first round. The Caps allowed just one power play goal on 24 attempts in their six-game ouster of Philadelphia, while the Pens surrendered two goals on 19 attempts. But …

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