Hey, Look, It's Crosby vs. Ovechkin

It's the series everybody is talking about, as Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin prepare to hit the ice in a one-on-one, steel cage battle for NHL supremacy. Wait. What's that? There's actually other players involved in this series? We take a look at the series after the jump.

Penguins vs. Capitals: Game 1 @ WAS, 1 PM ET, NBC

Washington Capitals		Pittsburgh Penguins
If you spend all of your time worrying about Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin, then you're going to get beat by guys like Nicklas Backstrom, Brooks Laich and the ageless wonder that is Sergei Fedorov. It was like watching a 1995 highlight reel when the 39-year-old beat Henrik Lundqvist with that laser in Game 7 against the Rangers.	Forwards	While the Capitals aren't just about Ovechkin and Semin, the Penguins aren't just about Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. This team can roll four lines, while the trade deadline acquisitions of Chris Kunitz, Bill Guerin and Craig Adams added some much-needed depth to the lineup.
Advantage: Push. Both teams are absolutely loaded up front. Take your pick.
Mike Green put together one of the finest offensive seasons we've ever seen from a defenseman in the NHL. Despite playing just 68 games he still led all defenders with 73 points.	Defense	Getting Sergei Gonchar back has been a huge boost to the Penguins lineup, while the former Capital scored the game-winning goal in the deciding Game 6 against Philadelphia.
Advantage: Pittsburgh. Green is the most dangerous rearguard in the NHL from an offensive standpoint -- and his defensive game might actually be overlooked because of it -- but with Gonchar, Kris Letang, Brooks Orpik, Hal Gill and Rob Scuderi the Penguins have a nice mix of offensive-minded puck-movers and steady, physical, stay-at-home defensemen.
After Jose Theodore was a disaster in Game 1 against the Rangers, 20-year-old Simeon Varlamov took over. He's not losing the starting job anytime soon.	Goalies	A former No. 1 overall pick, Marc-Andre Fleury has developed into a legitimate starting goaltender and has had some of his best performances on the biggest stage.
Advantage: Pittsburgh. Varlamov was sensational for the Capitals in their opening round series against the Rangers, but his lack of experience makes this call rather easy. While the numbers may not totally back it up, Fleury is the only reason the Penguins are still playing hockey right now as he was the difference between winning and lossing in Games 2 and 4 of their series with the Flyers.
It doesn't get much better than having the league's top goal-scorer (Ovechkin) and top offensive-defenseman (Green) working your power play.	Special Teams	The Pittsburgh power play has been a disappointment all season, while its penalty killing has improved from a season ago.
Advantage: Washington. With a roster that includes Crosby, Malkin, Gonchar, and Letang, just to name a few, the Penguins' power play should be better than it is. After finishing the regular season 20th in the NHL with the man advantage, they were just 4-for-33 against the Flyers. Washington, on the other hand, was No. 2 during the regular season and went 6-for-33 against the top-ranked penalty killing team in the league (the Rangers) in the first round. The two teams are killing penalties at a nearly identical rate in the postseason.
Bruce Boudreau took over behind the Washington bench early in the 2007-08 campaign and has led the team to an incredible 87-41-15 record, including two Southeast Division titles.	Coaching	The Pittsburgh Penguins have been a different team under Dan Bylsma, and the team's performance resulted in him getting a three-year contract extension.
Advantage: Washington. The Capitals get the clear coaching edge for the same reason the Penguins get the clear goaltending edge -- experience. We just don't know enough about Bylsma at this point. While the Penguins have excelled during his watch, it's still a relatively small sampling of games. The Capitals' record under Boudreau the past two years speaks for itself.
The Capitals have home-ice advantage and went 3-0-1 against the Penguins during the regular season. They also overcame a 3-1 series deficit against the Rangers.	Intangibles	Over the past two seasons the Penguins have racked up some serious playoff experience, including a run to the Finals a year ago.
Advantage: Push. The Capitals own home-ice, the Penguins have more playoff experience. Both teams showed in their opening round matchup's that they're never out of a game, or in the case of the Caps ... a series.
Final Prediction: 4 of our writers picked the Penguins, 2 picked the Capitals.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

5-01-2009 @ 3:51PM

George W Bush said...

I may not have picked the best V P, but I am picking the best team as I choosify the Penguins. There's just too many dang Ruskies on the capitals and we all know that nothing good ever comes from D C. I predict "Mission Accomplished" in six as the Penguins fight them there so they don't have to fight them here...or there...or somewhere....pssst, hey Karl, what was in that last one we smoked?