Caps-Penguins rivalry could wind up all wet
Months of hype and expectations finally merge this weekend when the Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins meet in the NHL’s annual Winter Classic.
The league’s outdoor showcase has become an instant New Year’s Day tradition since it first held the event in Buffalo three years ago. This time, the NHL’s top rivalry — headlined by stars Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby — adds to the Winter Classic excitement when the puck drops at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field.
| Keys to the game |
| Contain Sidney Crosby |
| It is the first thing any team playing the Penguins thinks about. No. 87 is in the midst of maybe his best season. Crosby’s 25-game point streak — the longest in the NHL since 1993 — ended Wednesday. But he already has 32 goals and 33 assists (65 points) less than halfway through the season and leads the NHL in points. |
| Ice conditions |
| Even if the rain stays away, this isn’t going to be a problem-free ice surface. As hard as the NHL’s ice crew has worked building an outdoor rink on short notice, that’s an impossible goal. So players must be able to deal with it. As talented as these teams are, spectacular plays will be at a minimum. Instead, they need to get the puck deep and put shots on goal. The Penguins have an advantage after playing in the Winter Classic three years ago. |
| Shining stars |
| One common theme in the Caps’ eight-game losing streak earlier this month was its star players — Mike Green, Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin — weren’t producing offensively. But Green has a goal in two of his last three games, and Ovechkin has scored in two straight with six points in his last six games. |
| Not so special |
| For all the talk about how prolific these offenses are, the power play hasn’t exactly been dominant for either one. The Penguins rank just 17th with the man advantage (16.9 percent). Washington has been better (18.5 percent). But the Caps are also in a 4-for-53 skid on the power play since Dec. 4. |
| Goalies |
| Bruce Boudreau won’t tip his hand about who is in goal for the Winter Classic. Semyon Varlamov posted a shutout in his last game and has playoff experience against the Penguins. Michal Neuvirth, who has had a solid first full NHL season, didn’t exactly get rave reviews from Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma during Wednesday’s “24/7” episode on HBO when he said the rookie goalie “isn’t that good.” |
Ovechkin, 25, and Crosby, 23, have combined to win the Hart Trophy as the NHL MVP three of the last four years. The Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2008 and defeated the Caps in a classic second-round playoff series in 2009, and Washington finished with the league’s best regular-season record last season. For the league, it is the perfect combination of spectacle and talent.
“You look at the playoffs and you look at the games that we’ve played in the last few years, it’s pretty easy to build a rivalry that’s very intense,” Crosby said. “They’re physical, and they’ve been really close games, so I think that’s a pretty natural progression as far as the two teams are concerned. I think that’s good for everyone.”
| Winter Classic notes |
| » Star forwards Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby each have 571 career points, though Crosby has played 25 fewer games. |
| » Pittsburgh won the first meeting this season, a 2-1 victory Dec. 23 at Verizon Center that needed seven shootout rounds to decide a winner. |
| » The Caps are 5-0-1 in their last six regular-season visits to Pittsburgh and 6-2-1 there if the three games during the 2009 playoffs are included. |
The Penguins (25-11-3, 53 points) entered play Thursday with the most points in the NHL. Washington (22-12-5, 49 points) was tied for third in the league in points with Vancouver and Philadelphia despite an eight-game skid earlier this month. It doesn’t hurt that the inner workings of both franchises have been shown the past three weeks on HBO in an hour-long, behind-the-scenes documentary program called “24/7.”
“I’m eager to get it over with,” Caps coach Bruce Boudreau joked after Tuesday’s game against Montreal. “There’s been so much build up. I just hope it doesn’t rain.”
So do NHL officials. Warm temperatures won’t affect the ice even with the forecast for 53 degrees in Pittsburgh on New Year’s Day. But precipitation is a problem. Falling snow during the 2008 game in Buffalo created a magical effect. But a steady rain would wreak havoc with the ice surface and could compromise player safety. Unfortunately, steady showers are likely Saturday afternoon. In that case, the NHL is willing to delay the start time, according to chief operating officer John Collins, or — if absolutely necessary — play the game at noon Sunday.
