from Tom Gulitti of NHL.com,
Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin have had many memorable showdowns over their first 15 NHL seasons.
Peter Laviolette was previously restricted to observing and admiring those battles between the Pittsburgh Penguins center and Washington Capitals forward from afar. So the new Washington coach is looking forward to his first up-close look at the rivalry when Crosby and the Penguins host Ovechkin and the Capitals at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday (noon ET; NBC, SN).
It will be the first of eight games between Washington and Pittsburgh in the MassMutual East Division this season and the 78th time Ovechkin and Crosby will play each other in the NHL, including the regular season and the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"For so long when these two teams, Pittsburgh and Washington, have squared off, it made noise and it made noise because of these guys," Laviolette said. "They've been elite for a long time, and I think that always makes for good hockey. It makes for a good story."
Part of the story this time is the Penguins are desperate for a win after opening the season with two losses to the Philadelphia Flyers. Crosby scored a goal in each of those defeats.
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