Five NHL questions: Steen, Ovechkin battle for NHL goals lead

A daily feature that asks the five biggest questions about today’s NHL action. Will they be answered? (That doesn’t count as one of the five questions.)

by Patrick Iversen

Nov 17, 2013, 3:55 PM UTC

USA TODAY Sports

1. Which Alex plays better: Ovechkin or Steen?

The two top scorers in the NHL square off on Sunday, and both are coming in red hot. Alexander Steen scored his league-leading 17th goal on Saturday and is scoring on a ridiculous 27 percent of his shots. Ovechkin is right behind him with 15 goals, including another on Friday when the Capitals rallied to beat the Detroit Red Wings. Beating Ovechkin would be another huge statement from Steen.

2. Can the Stars top line continue their road dominance?

After combining for 11 points on Thursday, Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin lead the NHL in points scored on the road with 16 and 17 tallies, respectively. The duo is quickly joining the likes of the most lethal weapons in the game, and rookie Valeri Nichushkin has also played well with them on the top line. The three most talented Stars are clicking right now, and they have a chance to seal a sweep of Western Canada with a win in Vancouver on Sunday.

3. Speaking of sweeps, how about those Kings?

After beating the Devils and Islanders, Los Angeles has a chance to sweep through the metro area with a win at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. The key will be the energy level of Ben Scrivens, who has played the last two games while Jonathan Quick recovers from an injury.

4. Will the Jets and Wild finish without a shootout?

These two squads are no strangers to the penalty shot competition, as both have played in at least five shootouts this year. But the Wild might not want to tangle with the Jets right now. Winnipeg has a sparkling shootout record this season and have won their last three games that ended in a shootout. Minnesota should probably try and end things quickly on Sunday.

5. Will the Chicago Blackhawks bounce back?

Chicago got trounced in a 7-2 loss to the Predators on Saturday, a surprising outcome considering how poorly the Predators have played offensively this year. Truth be told, the Blackhawks were simply putrid in their own zone. They'll have to tighten things up with the Sharks in town on Sunday.