Centers of Attention: Richards & Carter/Crosby & Malkin, Who's No. 1?

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter

For the past few NHL seasons, the Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have been widely viewed as the NHL’s most potent duo down the middle. Combined, Crosby and Malkin have scored 159 goals and added 305 assists, totaling 464 regular season points over the 2007/08 and 2008/09 seasons, tops in the NHL.

The Detroit Red Wings duo of Pavol Datsyuk and Johan Franzen rank a distant second over the same time period, registering 118 goals and 311 total points, while the San Jose Sharks combo of Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau have combined for 111 goals and 301 total points over the same time period.

Lurking in the background, with a tremendous amount of upside, is the Philadelphia Flyers' Dynamic Duo of Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, who combined for an impressive 133 goals and 292 points through 2007/08 and 2008/09 seasons.

Clearly, based on the numbers, Crosby and Malkin are in a class all of their own. Sure, Datsyuk and Franzen are a nice combo, but Franzen is injury prone and, as such, this duo will likely be limited to just 40-50 games together this season.

In San Jose, Thornton and Marleau are as dangerous as they come, but with trade rumors constantly swirling and free agency looming where Marleau is concerned, it seems unlikely that this combo will stay together much longer.

Which brings us back to Carter and Richards. Richards is signed through the 2013/14 season and, given his performance and leadership qualities, Flyers fans can rest assured that Flyers GM Paul Holmgren will step up and get Carter’s signature on a long term deal sooner rather than later.

Going forward, it would appear that Richards and Carter will emerge as the only NHL duo capable of giving Crosby and Malkin a run for their money. To date, Crosby and Malkin have combined for eight goals and 19 points through nine games. Comparatively, while limited to just six games thus far, Richards and Carter have combined for 10 goals and 16 points.

Some quick math tells us that Crosby and Malkin are averaging 2.11 points per game, comparatively, Richards and Carter are averaging 2.66 points per game. It’s still early, and in all likelihood Richards and Carter will need to raise their game up yet another notch, but if Richards and Carter can keep it up they just might establish themselves as the NHL’s best one-two punch down the middle, an accomplishment that would be impressive to say the least.

Clearly, Richards and Carter have a long way to go before they can push the likes of Crosby and Malkin, but the potential is there and, if Richards and Carter’s quick start is any indication, the push could be as early as the this season.

Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins fans are as passionate as they come; there is a lot of bad blood between the two sides. It appears as if the Crosby/Malkin, Richards/Carter debate will only add fuel to an already blazing fire.