Crosby wins duel against Ovechkin, helps Penguins hold off Capitals, 5-4
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Wednesday, November 23, 2005
By Dave Molinari, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Yeah, go ahead and award Round 1 in this rivalry to Sidney Crosby.
After all, he got the better of Washington's Alexander Ovechkin on the scoresheet, as well as the scoreboard, in the Penguins' 5-4 victory against the Capitals last night at Mellon Arena.
But understand this: Whatever it is that separates these two is nothing more than a few degrees of brilliance.
To focus on how Crosby finished with a goal and an assist, while Ovechkin was held to an assist, is to miss the larger point: The game has a very promising future if placed in the hands of young talents such as Crosby and Ovechkin.
"Those two, and probably about 15 or 20 others, are really going to carry this game for a long time," Penguins winger Mark Recchi said. "There are tremendous young players in this league."
But probably none with more promise than Ovechkin and Crosby, the first players chosen in the 2004 and 2005 drafts.
Their first professional confrontation generated interest throughout North America -- and probably on a few other continents, as well -- and Crosby acknowledged afterward that he realized his performance was going to be measured alongside that of Ovechkin.
"You have to be ready for a challenge," he said. "At the same time, you can't get preoccupied with it."
Crosby produced what proved to be the decisive sequence in the game at 13:30 of the second period, after he got the puck near the bottom of the left circle in the Washington zone.
Without looking and while on one knee, he spun and threw a backhand, cross-ice pass to Ziggy Palffy, who was unchecked at the right side of the crease and rapped the puck past Capitals goalie Olaf Kolzig to put the Penguins ahead, 5-2.
Washington, after falling behind, 4-0, in the first 15 minutes of play, had gotten two consecutive goals in the second and was dictating the pace of play. The goal Crosby set up not only aborted the Capitals' comeback but also proved to be the winner after another surge by Washington in the third.
"They had momentum, and we got the fifth one," Penguins defenseman Ryan Whitney said. "It turned out to be huge, obviously."
The victory raised the Penguins' record to 7-9-6, while Washington fell to 8-13.
The outcome was in suspense until the final seconds of regulation, which didn't figure to be the case when the Penguins ran off four consecutive goals in the first period.
"Absolutely, it was a little too exciting," coach Eddie Olczyk said.
Center Matt Hussey and right winger Michel Ouellet, who had been recalled from the Penguins' American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre, were plugged into the lineup and got significant playing time.
Hussey worked between Mario Lemieux and Mark Recchi and Ouellet, appearing in his first NHL game, was used on a line with John LeClair and Lasse Pirjeta. Neither got a point, but both earned praise from Olczyk.
"[Hussey] did a good job," Olczyk said. "He brought a lot of energy and speed. ... And I thought Ouellet played very well with Lasse and Johnny, did some good work along the [boards]. They both were able to make plays and add a little different look than we had in the past."
The Penguins haven't seen many guys who can give them a look like Ovechkin did, because very few players in the world can do what he does. That he was jeered when announced as the game's No. 3 star said more about the partisan nature of the Mellon Arena crowd than about the quality of his work.
"He's got great hands and he's a powerful skater," Crosby said. "He made some nice moves, made some nice plays to get to the net."
The best might have come about 111/2 minutes into the second, when Ovechkin got the puck in his zone, carried it down the left side and then cut to the net. He put the puck between his legs while closing in on Whitney, and got off a shot that he believed -- mistakenly-- had beaten Penguins goalie Sebastien Caron to make the score 4-3.
"I kind of got picked a little," Whitney said. "But it was just a great move. He had so much speed and still put it between his legs.
"He's a great player. He's got a lot of skill, and a lot of speed. ... I won't be the only defenseman he does that to."
Then again, Washington's defensemen won't be the only ones Crosby tortures, either. And dazzling as his pass to Palffy was, his work while scoring the Penguins' third goal didn't suffer much by comparison.
Crosby got the puck in the slot, split defensemen Brendan Witt and Steve Eminger and moved in on Kolzig before throwing a fake that got him leaning the wrong way and sticking a backhander under the crossbar.
Those few seconds underscored how well-rounded Crosby's repertoire is, and why Recchi, at least, believes he merits a slight edge on Ovechkin.
"I think Sid, right now, possesses a little more of everything," he said. "Ovechkin is a heck of player, but I think Sid is a playmaker, as well as being able to score goals."
Again, though, it comes down to degrees of greatness. Who will get the better of their one-on-one duel probably won't be known for years, but it's safe to assume that the game -- and its fans -- will be the biggest winners.
"I don't fear for the future with those two guys," Olczyk said. "Not at all."
(Dave Molinari can be reached at 412-263-1144.)
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