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Crosby, Pens continue recent dominance of Ovechkin, Caps

Washington Capitals v Pittsburgh Penguins

PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 11: Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins makes a pass against Jason Chimera #25 of the Washington Capitals during the game at Consol Energy Center on March 11, 2014 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

Justin K. Aller

Whether you focus more on Sidney Crosby’s successes or Alex Ovechkin’s struggles in recent games between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals, there’s no mistaking the contrast in results.

The Penguins have now won eight games in a row against their rivals, no doubt prompting some to call for some quotation marks around “rivals.” That includes two victories for Pittsburgh in back-to-back nights as the Pens took a 2-0 win on Tuesday following a 3-2 triumph on Monday (each in regulation).

Two stars with very different results

The numbers are pretty jarringly in Crosby’s favor in these past two games in particular. The 26-year-old star factored into all three of Pittsburgh’s goals on Monday and scored the insurance marker tonight. In that two-game span, he collected two goals in two assists.

It’s much easier to summarize the Washington Capitals’ standings point takeaways and Ovechkin’s own point total through those two contests: zero. Fair or not, many will label that as the 28-year-old failing as usual along with his team.

Of course, that takes a lot away from guys not named Crosby and Ovechkin. Both Penguins goaltenders were excellent in this two-day span; Marc-Andre Fleury stopped all 33 shots for his fifth shutout of the 2013-14 season (including 20 Capitals shots in the third period) while Jeff Zatkoff stole one for Pittsburgh in many ways last night, stopping 31 out of 33 shots.

With this, the Penguins cement their dominance over the Capitals and strengthen their playoff positioning in the East while Washington only faces greater questions about its future.

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins