Pittsburgh Penguins at Washington Capitals
Sunday promises to be super for hockey fans as well.
Six hours before the Colts and Saints collide in the Super Bowl, NHL superstars Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin cross paths as Pittsburgh visits Washington in NBC's Game of the Week.
As if that matchup isn't spicy enough already, the Penguins are the defending Stanley Cup champions while the Capitals are the hottest team in the league.
Streaking
Washington has won 13 games in a row, the longest winning streak in the NHL since the Devils won 13 straight in 2001.
The Caps have also been doing it in dominant fashion. Nine of those 13 wins have been decided by two or more goals.
“It’s difficult to stay at a pace when every team you’re playing is coming at you in waves because they’re the ones who want to end it,” said Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau.
Coincidentally enough, Pittsburgh owns the NHL record for most consecutive victories. The Pens won 17 straight in the 1992-93 season.
“I don't know, but I've got to believe that even if they say we're not a big rival of theirs, they want to beat us on Sunday in our building,” Boudreau said.
Snow blows
Saturday's snowstorm on the East Coast created some travel headaches for the Penguins. Washington is one of several eastern cities getting pelted by snow and virtually all air traffic into the region has been stopped.
As of Saturday afternoon, Pittsburgh team officials were still trying to determine the best way to get to Washington for Sunday's early-afternoon start. One option that was reportedly being considered was flying as close as they could, then taking a train or bus the rest of the way. If the Pens have too much trouble getting into Washington, the game could be postponed.
Forever rivals
Like two brothers fighting for their mother's affection, Crosby and Ovechkin don't seem to like each other very much.
Crosby was openly critical of Ovechkin's goal celebrations last year and Ovechkin didn't hesitate to respond.
“What can I say about him?” Ovechkin said. “He's a good player, but he talks too much.”
The two snipers took center stage in a memorable seven-game series between the Caps and Penguins in last year's Eastern Conference semifinals. Sid the Kid and Alexander the Great both recorded hat tricks in Game 2 of that series.
The players, who faced each other at the World Junior Hockey Championships as teens, will go up against each other once again at the Olympics later this month.
Ovechkin leads the NHL in scoring with 39 goals and 82 points. Crosby was third in goals (37) and fourth in points (71) going into Saturday's action.
Goalies beware
Washington has scored the most goals in the league, while Pittsburgh ranks fourth in offence. And there aren’t many reasons to expect a defensive battle Sunday.
Fourteen of the last 17 meetings between the teams in Washington have gone over the total and 21 of the last 26 overall.
The over is 9-1 in Washington's last 10 Sunday games, 12-5 in the Capitals' last 17 contests and 12-6 in Pittsburgh's last 18 games without a days rest.
Recent results
Washington has won the only regular-season meeting between the teams this year, doubling up the Pens 6-3 last month.
The Caps' win was a small measure of revenge for their seven-game loss to Pittsburgh in last year's playoffs.
Washington won three of the four regular-season showdowns with the Pens last year.
The road team has won the last four meetings in the series, and Pittsburgh is 7-3 in its last 10 trips to Washington.