Crosby and surging Pens visit Ovechkin's Capitals

Hockey Betting Lines

03/08/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The streaking Pittsburgh Penguins will take aim at a sixth straight victory when they visit the struggling Washington Capitals for this afternoon's showdown at Verizon Center.

The Penguins and Capitals have developed a heated rivalry in recent years and the animosity came through following the last meeting between the clubs on February 22 in Washington.

Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby and Washington superstar Alex Ovechkin -- arguably the two most recognizable players in the NHL -- were involved in a shoving match with each other. After the game, Crosby expressed his displeasure at Ovechkin's exuberant style of celebrating goals.

Ovechkin, the reigning Hart Trophy winner, missed Washington's last game with a bruised heel, but practiced on Saturday and will play in today's contest.

Ovechkin leads the NHL with 46 goals and is second in the league with 83 points --- three more than Crosby. Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin leads all players with 94 points.

Washington has dominated the Penguins so far this year, winning the three meetings by a combined 15-8 margin. The Caps have won four of five in the series overall, but Pittsburgh has won five of its last seven stops in D.C. Today's game marks the final regular-season meeting between the clubs this year.

The Pens will try to match a season-high winning streak tonight, as it tries to win six in a row for the first time since November 1-15. Pittsburgh's five straight victories certainly has improved the club's playoff chances and the Penguins are currently tied with the New York Rangers for the eighth and final postseason berth in the Eastern Conference.

Pittsburgh picked up its most recent victory Thursday in Florida, as Tyler Kennedy had two goals to lift the Pens to a 4-1 decision over the Panthers at BankAtlantic Center.

Kris Letang scored a goal while Marc-Andre Fleury made 31 saves for the Penguins. Crosby, who had missed the previous four games with a strained left groin, returned to the lineup and had a goal.

Today's test marks the end of a five-game road trip for the Pens, who are 17-14-4 as the visiting club this season.

The Capitals are leading the Southeast Division by a comfortable margin with 85 points on the year, but have dropped their last three games. Washington was handed a 2-1 loss by the Maple Leafs on Thursday, as Martin Gerber made 37 saves to help lead Toronto to victory.

Alexander Semin scored, while Jose Theodore allowed two goals on 29 shots to take the loss for Washington.

Washington is 25-9-1 as the host this year, but is 0-3 so far on a four-game homestand that ends this afternoon.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.