The Washington Capitals avoided elimination in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinal by thumping the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2.

Game 6 goes Monday night from Pittsburgh, and the Caps will have to deal with a Pens squad attempting to shake things up.

Enter the HBK line.

Last postseason, ahead of another Game 6 second-round matchup against the very same Capitals, head coach Mike Sullivan decided to throw together a third-line combination that had some people raising brows.

Nick Bonino, Carl Hagelin, and ... Phil Kessel?

Believe it or not, the move paid off immediately - Hagelin had three points, Kessel had two goals, and Bonino buried the overtime game-winner.

Coach Sullivan and the rest of the Penguins are surely hoping for the same kind of success in this year's Game 6 against Washington, as the bench boss has once again reunited the unlikely trio.

The shakeup was felt up and down Pittsburgh's lineup, with the successful combo of Jake Guentzel and Sidney Crosby being split up, and Chris Kunitz dropped to the fourth line.

Last year, the HBK line lit a fire in the Penguins that carried them all the way to a Cup title.

Expecting them to do the same thing this year is child's play. But can the trio provide a spark to get the Pens by the Caps and into the Eastern Conference Final for a second straight year?

You bet they can.

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