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Crosby, Penguins face Ovechkin, Capitals

Oct 20, 2007 - 1:55 PM Pittsburgh (3-3-0) at Washington (3-3-0) 7:00 pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- After Alex Ovechkin beat him out for the Calder Trophy in the 2005-06 campaign, Sidney Crosby responded with a 120-point season that ended with him taking home the Hart Trophy.

Some of the best young players in the NHL will be on the ice Saturday when the Pittsburgh Penguins visit the Washington Capitals.

Crosby has not gotten off to the start that he expected, scoring two goals and notching six points in five games. However, he did score the decisive goal in Friday's shootout victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Second-year star Evgeni Malkin leads the Penguins with five assists and seven points and the 23-year-old Maxime Talbot has tallied a team-high four goals.

The Capitals will counter with their own set of soon-to-be superstars. Ovechkin has scored a team-leading four goals and, with his goal against Rangers on October 12, he became to fastest player in franchise history to tally 100 career markers.

The 22-year-old Russian has played well in his head-to-head matchups with Crosby, notching three goals and nine points in eight career games against Pittsburgh.

Another 22-year-old Russian, Alexander Semin, is off to a slow start. After collecting 38 goals and 73 points last season, Semin has been held to no goals and one assists on this campaign.

With Semin struggling, the team will need an even bigger impact from 19-year-old rookie Nicklas Backstrom. Washington's first-round pick in the 2006 Draft, Backstrom is still yet to record his first goal, but has set up four thus far.

The Penguins won all four meetings with the Capitals last season.