Morning skate: Maatta almost sure to play

"Olli Maatta will be a game-time decision."

And with those words, Mike Sullivan might have spoken as much in the way of substance as anyone Tuesday morning in advance of the Penguins' potentially climactic Game 6 against the Capitals at Consol Energy Center.

Yeah, Maatta probably will play after missing three games with a concussion. He had a high-intensity practice Monday in Cranberry, followed by full participation in the optional skate Tuesday.

After each, he pronounced himself ready to go.

"I feel like it's been a good progression," he said of his health. "Yeah, absolutely, I'm ready to come back. Definitely, I want to be there. We don't know yet, but I'm hungry to be back."

Otherwise ... man, did both of these teams feel tight.



For the first time in this seesaw series, there just really didn't seem to be much to say. No one was chirping about cheap shots or officiating or league favoritism. Neither coach was engaged in any gamesmanship. Heck, even the starting goaltenders had been announced. The previous day.

"This series is two pretty good teams going at one another," Sullivan would say.

"We came pretty close to closing it out last time, and it's not easy. They're a pretty good team," Matt Cullen said. "We expected it would be a tight series, and every game has been awfully tight. So we've got our work cut out for us."

"They played desperate, and we need to match that," Carl Hagelin said. "We know the opportunity that we have here, and we have to take it."

There was a whole lot more of that. On the other side, too.

"It's just a couple of pretty good teams playing hard," the Capitals' Jason Chimera said.

Even the newest hot topic -- Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin not scoring much -- couldn't pick up any real traction on either side.

"I think Geno's playing hard," Sullivan replied to a question on that. "Look, there's not a lot of easy ice out there. And both of our top guys have had more of an impact than you guys are giving them credit for. We feel as if they're playing the game right way. And as long as they do that, we feel strongly that they'll score goals. Because they're talented guys."

Alexander Ovechkin, Washington's best player who has been productive of late, had this to say about Crosby and Malkin:



The Penguins are expected to go with their standard lines and pairings.

The Capitals are expected to make two changes, both on defense: Brooks Orpik will return from his three-game suspension for his head shot on Maatta, and another former member of the Penguins, Taylor Chorney, will be back in the lineup. Their insertions will likely come at the expense of Dmitry Orlov and Nate Schmidt. Also, the move of long-struggling but gifted Evgeny Kuznetsov to the top forward line, alongside Ovechkin and T.J. Oshie, apparently will stick.

Faceoff is set for 8:10 p.m.