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Ovechkin, Capitals take on Penguins

Oct 13, 2011 - 4:30 PM (Sports Network) - One of the biggest NHL rivalries of recent years will resume tonight in Pittsburgh, as the Penguins host the Washington Capitals at Consol Energy Center.

The Caps and Pens have developed an intense distaste for each other since Washington's Alex Ovechkin and Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby entered the league as rookies in the fall of 2005. The two forwards quickly became the league's most recognizable stars and fans all over have been arguing about who is the better player ever since.

However, only Ovechkin will be taking part in tonight's battle since Crosby is still sidelined with a concussion. The head issues began in January and Crosby was just cleared for contact in practice on Thursday. The next step for Crosby is to prove he can absorb hits without experiencing concussion symptoms.

"I'm cleared for full contact. It's a good step in the right direction," Crosby told his team's official website. "We'll see how it goes for the next little bit."

Pittsburgh could also be without its next-best offensive weapon tonight, as Evgeni Malkin is dealing with a lower body issue that caused him to sit out the last two games. He is not expected to play tonight.

Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma has stated that Malkin "has soreness" but doesn't "think it's long-term." Malkin's 2010-11 campaign was cut short because of knee surgery.

In other injury news for Pittsburgh, defenseman Brooks Orpik is expected to miss another game while recovering from offseason hernia surgery. Orpik's last appearance in an NHL game was on April 27, when Tampa Bay defeated the Penguins in the decisive Game 7 of their first-round playoff series.

Neither Washington nor the Penguins have suffered a regulation loss this year. The Capitals are 2-0-0, while Pittsburgh has compiled a 3-0-1 mark so far.

The Caps won the last three of their four meetings with Pittsburgh last season and Washington has also won seven of eight and 10 out of 12 in this series. The Capitals have also come out on top in their last seven trips to the Steel City.

Washington has also held the Pens scoreless over a span of 157 minutes, 47 seconds. The last time Pittsburgh tallied a goal against the Caps was Malkin's score in the second period of last year's Winter Classic at Heinz Field.

The Penguins were able to win their home opener Tuesday despite not having Crosby or Malkin. Pascal Dupuis, Matt Cooke, Richard Park and James Neal each scored a goal to lift Pittsburgh to a 4-2 decision over the Florida Panthers.

"We got some big plays from people on the third and fourth lines," Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma said. "That put us over the edge."

No. 1 goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 32 shots in the Penguins' home opener and has a 3-0-0 record on the year. Fleury is 9-6-2 with a 2.90 goals- against average in 18 career games against Washington.

The Capitals began the year with two wins on home ice and will try to keep the season-opening streak going in their first road test of the year. Washington had a strong 23-15-8 mark as the visiting club last season.

Washington has needed to go past regulation to get both of its wins this year. After notching an overtime win over Carolina to start the year, Matt Hendricks and Alexander Semin scored during the shootout phase to lift Washington to a wild 6-5 win over the Lightning on Monday.

Jason Chimera had a pair of goals for the Capitals, who also received regulation scores from Dennis Wideman, Troy Brouwer and Marcus Johansson.

Tomas Vokoun made 23 saves, including five big stops in overtime for the Capitals. It was Vokoun's first game for Washington after the veteran signed a one-year deal with the Caps in the summer.

The teams were meeting for the first time since the Lightning swept the Caps in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

"I guess there was a little sense of revenge, but there's 80 games left in the season though," Hendricks said. "To win these divisional games are big for us. We look forward to the next one."