Opener sets the bar high in Crosby vs. Ovechkin

PITTSBURGH - Much of America will celebrate Feb. 7 as a national holiday. Super Bowl Sunday. I'm looking forward to it for a different reason. Round II, Pittsburgh Penguins-Washington Capitals.

It figures to be even better than the first game between the clubs Thursday night at Mellon Arena. In other words, it should be terrific.

OK, the end result in game one wasn't so pleasing for Pens fans as the Caps rolled to a 6-3 victory. But that was the only disappointing aspect of this cold winter night. The old building throbbed with energy, at least until the Capitals scored two quick third-period goals. The 143rd consecutive sellout crowd came to see the two best teams in the Eastern Conference. It came to see hockey's two brightest stars -- the Penguins' Sidney Crosby and the Capitals' Alex Ovechkin. No one could have possibly gone home feeling cheated despite that final score.

Here's the best part:

The fun created by the two clubs has only just begun.

The two weeks between now and Super Sunday can't go by quickly enough.

Ovechkin got the best of Crosby this time with two goals and an assist. His big night hardly made up for the Penguins taking him and his team out in seven games in the playoffs last spring on their way to the Stanley Cup, but it certainly made for an enjoyable evening. It also meant that Crosby will be among the most eager to count down those 16 days. If there's one thing he hates more than just about anything, it's being outshined by Ovechkin.

The stars play a series of games of "Can You Top This?" and take us along for a wonderful ride.

"It was a pretty intense game out there, pretty emotional," Crosby said afterward. "It was a fun game to be a part of. You don't like to lose 'em, but games like that are why you play."

Crosby was ready from the start. His goal just 4:22 in gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead. They'll probably argue in D.C. that it was a lucky score -- Capitals goaltender Jose Theodore mishandled the puck in front of his net -- but it's never an accident that the great players end up in the right spot at the right time to tap the puck into an empty net. It's certainly no accident that Crosby did his best to set the tone and got the first goal. That makes eight for him this season.

Only one man has more.

Ovechkin, of course, with 10.

Then again, the Capitals are very, very good.

"They're not first in the league for nothing," Crosby said. "They're really, really dangerous. They really make the most of their opportunities."

Don't ask about the Penguins' power play.

It went 0-for-4.

It didn't go into the game ranked 26th in the league for nothing.

So Round I went to the Capitals.

The good news is that Feb. 7 game at the Verizon Center is just ahead. Two more regular-season matchups come after that. Then, hopefully, another series in the playoffs.