NHL’s Superstars Collide – Ovechkin vs. Crosby
Washington Capitals (-115) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (-105)
This is one of those nights that hockey fans look forward to all year. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals will square off at Mellon Arena for the first time this season, which means Ovechkin vs. Crosby all night long. What makes this game even more special is that this is the first time they are meeting since their epic seven-game series in the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals.
In that series, which is one of the best in playoff history, Pittsburgh Pinguins overcame a 2-0 series deficit by wining four of the next five games to take the series and eventually the Stanley Cup.
If you remember anything about that series, both Ovechkin and Crosby had hat-tricks, in the SAME GAME. Both superstars were outstanding all series and Sidney Crosby just did that little bit more (2 goals in game 7) and his team came up on top.
No one can argue that both these guys are the two most important players in the NHL right now. But if you’re measuring these players at this point in their NHL careers, it’s tough to say who has the edge.
Ovie does have more individual hardware including beating out Crosby for the rookie of the year award, not to mention a couple of scoring titles and a couple of MVP awards. But when you measure greatness, you usually talk about championships, and the Penguins captain has his name on the Stanley Cup, not to mention an MVP and scoring title of his own.
Washington Capitols (-115) @ Pittsburgh Penguins>> Join to Bet Now
Coming into this game, both teams are playing well. The Capitals are leading the way in the Eastern Conference with 68 points while the Penguins sit just 5 points back in fourth place. It’s even closer in term of points for the two superstars with Ovechkin (65) sitting just two points ahead of Crosby (63), but it’s Crosby that has the goals (32) over Ovie (30).
The Caps are coming off a big win versus Detroit, a game they were badly outplayed in. The Red Wings outshot them 46-23, yet Washington Capitals managed to get two late goals within 46 seconds of each other to take it by a 3-2 final.
The Penguins took out the Islanders last time out 6-4, with Sid the Kid getting in on every goal (2 goals, 4 assists). Evgeni Malkin, the lost guy in this rivalry, got a bit of a monkey off his back with a hat trick that night.
If your making a bet on this game, the safest play might be on the over (6 ½). Despite what you hear, this is not just another regular season game. These guys always play each other a little bit harder than anyone else. Expect the goalies to be the ones caught in the crossfire of this heated rivalry.
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