It may not have the historic significance of Maple Leafs-Canadiens, but right now, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better rivalry in the NHL than the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins. It features the league's two biggest stars in Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, the teams and fans hate each other, and they just happen to be two of the best teams every year in the Eastern Conference.
Capitals Vs. Penguins Preview: Game Time, TV Coverage And More
The Capitals take on the Penguins in perhaps the NHL’s best rivalry, with or without Sidney Crosby. Both teams are in first place, undefeated, and hate each other.
Thursday night is the first matchup between these two teams in the '11-'12 season, but not much has changed, except that Sidney Crosby fellow has yet to play while still recovering from a January concussion. The Pens and Caps are in first place in their respective divisions. Evgeni Malkin has returned from tearing ligaments in his knee in February to notch a goal and an assist in two games this season.
Meanwhile, the Caps are healthy and have won both their games. With Jason Chimera shouldering the scoring load — he's scored three goals — the Caps' offense looks even scarier if he can continue to keep pace with the production of Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom over the course of a full season.
One thing’s for sure when the Caps face the Penguins, regardless of who’s on the ice and who’s playing well: it’s going to be fun.
Game Date/Time: Thursday, October 13, 7 P.M. ET
Venue: Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Penn.
TV: NHL Network
For the fans’ take on the rivalry game, visit SB Nation’s Capitals blog, Japers’ Rink, and Penguins blog, PensBurgh.
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