Capitals vs. Penguins: How Sidney Crosby Will Lead Pittsburgh to Victory

Tuesday night, the Pittsburgh Penguins will host the Washington Capitals at home, and with Pittsburgh center Sidney Crosby playing astoundingly well as of late, the Penguins have a solid chance of extending their winning streak.

Crosby scored his 13th NHL goal and his 48th point of the shortened 2012-13 season during Pittsburgh’s 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins Sunday. In just the month of March, Crosby has four goals and 13 assists, and he shows no signs of slowing down.

One of the center’s most impressive performances came on March 10, as he led the Penguins to a 6-1 victory over the New York Islanders with an impressive five assists. Coming off of such stellar performances, Crosby will be highly motivated to play his toughest against the Capitals at home in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old Nova Scotia native is getting praise from all around the NHL world for his recent dominance. Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo! Sports says Crosby is in “the driver’s seat for the Hart Trophy and the Art Ross.” He also describes Crosby’s 2012-13 season as “one of the greatest offensive seasons in recent NHL history.”

Moreover, Marcus Hondro of DigitalJournal.com goes so far as to say that Crosby is “on track for a 100-point season.” Though this seems a lofty prediction, Crosby has shown himself as capable as any player in the NHL with his achievement of his 48th point against Boston.

Against Washington, Crosby averages a solid one goal and five assists per game. The Capitals don’t have one player putting up numbers even close to those of Crosby; center Mike Ribeiro tops Washington in points, totaling 10 goals and 21 assists for 31 points this season. Center Nicklas Backstrom is a ways behind him with 24 points, and Washington star Alex Ovechkin has 23 so far this season.

The Capitals have also lost the last four out of six games, including decisive 4-0 and 4-1 defeats by the Hurricanes and the Bruins, respectively. Though Washington is coming off a 5-3 win against Buffalo, the Capitals will not be able to easily extinguish Crosby’s fire on Tuesday.