Talking points from two heavyweight showdowns on NHL Sunday
We have two clash of the titans showdowns in the NHL today.
It is another Hockey Sunday in the NHL and, while we only have two games on the schedule, they are two huge ones with the Washington Capitals at the Pittsburgh Penguins (3:00 p.m. ET), and the Colorado Avalanche taking on the Vegas Golden Knights in a mouthwatering West Division battle later (7:00 p.m. ET). It is about quality and not quantity as they say, and that’s certainly the case today.
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I mean, we get another duel between two of the greatest players to have ever laced them up in Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, while the Golden Knights and the Avalanche are two of the big favorites for the Stanley Cup in 2020-21, and both teams will be directly battling it out for the top seed in the West.
Therefore, we should see plenty of fireworks across the two games and there are a plethora of storylines to keep an eye on, including the fact that the Capitals have not played in a week due to COVID-19 issues impacting other teams in the East Division, while Nathan MacKinnon could make his return for the Avalanche tonight. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at some storylines to keep an eye on across tonight’s two games…
The top talking points in the two games on NHL Sunday
Return of the Caps
The 2020-21 NHL season was always going to be weird and so it has proved with COVID-19 outbreaks impacting the flow of the year so far. The Central Division was badly impacted in the opening couple of weeks of the season and now it is the turn of the East Division, with the Buffalo Sabres and the New Jersey Devils currently on hiatus after both teams were hit by a COVID-19 outbreak.
As a result, the Washington Capitals have not played since Feb. 7, with their last three outings being postponed due to COVID-19, so they will no doubt be eager to get back on the ice today especially considering that they have dropped their last three, including a 7-4 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers last Monday.
The Caps, who are 6-3-3 on the year and are currently third in the East Division, will benefit from their short break, though, given that they will get a plethora of key faces back for today’s showdown against one of their biggest rivals. Defenseman Justin Schultz and forwards T.J. Oshie, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Jakub Vrana are all expected to return to the Washington lineup and it will be the first time that the Capitals have boasted a full and healthy lineup since they lost 5-4 in Overtime to the Penguins on Jan. 19.
Having those players back, particularly Kuznetsov and Oshie, will give the Capitals some much-needed depth and quality and the fact that they will have fresh legs could prove to be advantage against a Pittsburgh Penguins team who beat the New York Islanders 4-3 in a Shootout on Thursday night.
Nathan MacKinnon is back
Nathan MacKinnon is back and that is great news for the Colorado Avalanche, greats news for hockey purists and very bad news for the Vegas Golden Knights. The superstar center went down with a lower-body injury two weeks ago but he only missed one game with the Avs being shut down due to COVID-19.
So, not only will the Avalanche be returning to play against the Golden Knights today after a long layoff, they will also be hitting the ice with their franchise cornerstone and the timing could not be any more perfect. After all, MacKinnon leads the Avs in points with 14 (2 G, 12 A) and everything they do goes through him.
He can do things with the puck on his stick that mere mortals can only dream of, and his presence on the ice should make life a lot easier for the Avalanche today who may need a period or two to blow off the rust. Granted, a slow start could prove costly against a loaded Golden Knights team that have won four of their last five (4-1-0), but having MacKinnon back will ensure that the Colorado Avalanche can hang with their main rivals in the West Division, especially considering that stud defenseman Cale Makar is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
MacKinnon’s return is only the tip of the iceberg too given that these are two absolute juggernauts in the West, and both franchises will be hoping to embark on deep postseason runs this year given how loaded and uber-talented they are. Tonight’s game is also the first of four matchups between the Avalanche and the Golden Knights this month, including a showdown at Lake Tahoe on Feb. 20, and tonight could well set the tone for what is to come given that whichever team is able to get the edge over these four games could well be in superb position when it comes to eventually clinching the No. 1 seed in the West.
Star Power
We have already mentioned the likes of Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon, but there will also be a lot of other headline acts on show across today’s two games in the National Hockey League. Let’s start with two centers in the first game of the day with Washington Capitals pivot Nicklas Backstrom tied 10th in the NHL with 17 points (6 G, 11 A) in 12 games, while Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin is starting to turn it on with four points (2 G, 2 A) in his past five games.
Rookie defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph has been a revelation for the Penguins with five points (1 G, 4 A) in eight games, while the likes of Tom Wilson and John Carlson are elite performers for the Capitals. But, who are we kidding, just the chance to see The Great Eight go up against Sid The Kid is one we will never turn down and a showdown between two heated rivals is a great way to start a Sunday of hockey.
Then we have two juggernauts in the Colorado Avalanche and the Vegas Golden Knights set to go head-to-head at T-Mobile Arena, and Nathan MacKinnon’s return will add another layer of intrigue to this contest. But there is also plenty of star power in the Vegas corner, including elite two-way forward Mark Stone who leads his team with 16 points (4 G, 12 A), and he’s also establishing himself as a Selke Trophy contender once again.
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Marc-Andre Fleury has been elite this year and is 6-1-0 with a 1.58 Goals Against Average and a .934 Save Percentage, while the likes of Shea Theodore, Chandler Stephenson, Alex Tuch, Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson have all come up with big contributions for the Golden Knights thus far. And let’s not forget about elite defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, either, who has four points (1 G, 3 A) in nine games for Vegas and is still finding his feet with his new team after signing a big ticket Free Agency deal in Sin City during the offseason. So, overall, while we only have two games on the docket today in the NHL, there is more than enough star power and talking points to keep us entertained.