It’s like it’s 2011 all over again.
The Washington Capitals will meet the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday at the Verizon Center for their first of four meetings with first place in the Metropolitan division at stake. The Verizon Center will be packed with both Washington and Pittsburgh fans and a large audience nationally on NBCSN. This should ignite the best of both Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, as both are on top of their game right now.
Ovechkin is tied* for the league leader in goals with Alexander Steen at 17; Steen visited Verizon Center last Sunday and was held scoreless as Ovechkin added two to his tally. Crosby is also tied* with Steen as the league points leader with 26. We should expect a lot out of both these superstars and also expect it to be a high scoring game.
When Ovechkin and Crosby play each other, both players show there competitive side and play their best hockey. These two are often compared when it comes to the “best player in the game” and both want to show they are the best.
Wednesday night will be 26th time these two have faced each other and the first time since they became division rivals in the Metropolitan division. Look for this rivalry to heat up even more since they joined the same division and again when playoffs become even more at stake. The Capitals are the 8th best scoring team with 3.00 goals per game and have the second best power play at 24.4%. The Penguins are the 11th best scoring team just fractions behind the Caps at 2.8 goals per game and score on the power play 20% of the time. Needless to say, there will be some scoring.
So, go enjoy the game in Washington as it should be a good game with a lot of scoring. You’ll see the superstars step up their game and their teams step up around their superstars. You’ll probably get scoring from the players you don’t expect, but you will get to see a great start to a renewed rivalry in a new division as expected.
*pending the outcome of the Blues-Sabres game
