Tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET, the Pittsburgh Penguins (13-8-0, 26 points) and the Washington Capitals (12-8-1, 25 points) go head-to-head live from the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. in the first of four meetings this season. The game can be live streamed here. Pittsburgh fans can hear all of the action by turning their dials to 105.9 WXDX The X while Washington fans can do the same on WFED 1500.
These two teams are new division rivals now that they both are in the Metropolitan Division, but the rivalry between these two teams runs deep and was sparked before first place in the division was ever in question. Both team's captains are in the constant argument over who is the best player in the league and both lead their respective teams in scoring as Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby has 10 goals and 16 assists for 26 points and Washington leader Alex Ovechkin has 17 goals and seven assists for 24 points.
Ovechkin is excited to match up against one of the NHL's top teams.
"It's always fun to play against a great team, against great players. And right now we're going to meet them often. It's going to be pretty cool," Ovechkin said via The Washington Post.
Crosby knows that a lot of eyes will be on the both of them tonight and believes it's exciting since first place hangs in the balance.
"I think that we get up for these ones and, as a player, it's just kind of a natural thing when you know the stage is a little bit bigger, you get up for it," Crosby told The Canadian Press.
The Capitals took over first place in the Metropolitan Division with their last win over the St. Louis Blues Sunday, but Pittsburgh took it right back on Monday by defeating the Anaheim Ducks. Washington will look to overtake them tonight while Pittsburgh hopes to keep a tight grasp on the division lead.
Aside from Crosby, the Pens have also been led by Evgeni Malkin, who has just three goals but has added 17 assists for 20 points while Chris Kunitz has nine tallies and eight helpers for 17 points.
For the Caps, Nicklas Backstrom is tied with Ovechkin in points with 24 off of five goals and 19 assists, while Mikhail Grabovski has lit the lamp seven times and added 11 assists for 28 points and Marcus Johansson also has 18 points off of two goals and 16 assists.
Braden Holtby is 10-6-0 between the pipes for the Capitals this season with a 2.62 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage while Marc-Andre Fleury is 12-6-0 with a 2.00 GAA and a .921 save percentage in the crease for Pittsburgh this year.
The stage is set for a big showdown with first place in the balance when the Penguins and Capitals hit the ice tonight in Washington, D.C.
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