Storylines to watch in the NHL’s 11-game Sunday Schedule

2. Crosby Vs. Lafreniere

We have another mouthwatering matchup in the East Division tonight as the New York Rangers take on the Pittsburgh Penguins at the PPG Paints Arena, and it should be another good one after the Pens won 4-3 in a Shootout on Friday. The Penguins are 3-2-0 on the year while the Rangers are 1-2-1, so both teams will be going all out for a big win tonight.

And it will also give us another opportunity to watch Sidney Crosby and Alexis Lafreniere duel it out, with both products of Rimouski Oceanic and the comparables between the two are just unavoidable at this point. Crosby is a franchise player and one of the best to have ever laced them up in the NHL, and the Rangers will be hoping that Lafreniere can carve out a similar career given his generational talent.

Granted, it has been a slow start for Lafreniere in 2020-21 with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft yet to record a point in four games with a -2 rating, although he has shown flashes of his undoubted ability and he’s likely to continue on a top-line with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad tonight, meaning that he will get to go up against Crosby once again.

It should be a fascinating battle between the present and the future of the NHL, and tonight’s showdown between the Rangers and the Penguins would be the perfect opportunity for Lafreniere to truly announce his arrival to the rest of the hockey world by getting his first point or two, while Crosby will also be hoping to make a sizeable impact after being held pointless on Friday.