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Ovechkin, Crosby square off when Capitals meet Pnguins

Feb 22, 2009 - 1:52 PM Pittsburgh (29-25-6) at Washington (37-17-5) 12:30 p.m. EST

WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- A year ago it was Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins riding high at the top of the Eastern Conference while Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals teetered on the brink of obscurity. Times have changed.

Crosby and the Penguins will be in search of a rare three-game winning streak when they face Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Sunday.

Pittsburgh raced all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals last season based around a dynamic offense that included Crosby and fellow young star Evgeni Malkin. While those two are still around, the Penguins have not been able to find the same magic yet this season and would be on the outside looking in if the season ended today.

But after a thrilling 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, things might be looking up. Crosby scored twice, including the game-winner with 2:45 left, and Malkin added a goal.

Crosby now has points in three consecutive games while Malkin has one goal in each of the last three.

Ovechkin and the Capitals, who waited until the final week of the season last year to punch their ticket to the playoffs, are one of the top teams in the East this season.

Ovechkin leads the league with 42 goals but had a streak of 10 straight games with a point snapped on Friday in a 4-1 loss against Colorado.

Washington won the first two meetings of the season between the teams, including a 6-3 victory on January 14 in which Ovechkin scored twice.