The Chicago Blackhawks have won the Stanley Cup three times in the past six seasons, but they enter this week’s Wednesday Night Rivalry game against the St. Louis Blues (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TVA Sports) looking up at their Central Division rival in the standings.

The Blackhawks have been up and down through their first 12 games, but they've won six in a row at United Center after an opening night loss to the New York Rangers. Despite numerous injuries, the Blues have been able to stay near the top of the division thanks to the goaltending of Jake Allen and Brian Elliott, as well as the scoring of emerging star Vladimir Tarasenko.

St. Louis is beginning a four-game trip that ends on Nov. 14, when the Blackhawks visit Scottrade Center.

Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin begin the second decade of their rivalry when the Pittsburgh Penguins visit the Washington Capitals in this week's Wednesday Night Rivalry game (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN).

Crosby and Ovechkin entered the NHL on the same night, Oct. 5, 2005, and each has enjoyed success against the other's team. Crosby has 18 goals and 51 points in 33 regular-season games against the Capitals; Ovechkin has 27 goals and 46 points in 39 games against the Penguins.

Pittsburgh has had the better of the play against Washington during the Crosby-Ovechkin era, winning 22 of 39 regular-season games as well as their lone Stanley Cup Playoff series, a seven-game victory in the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals. But the Penguins are looking up at the Capitals in the Metropolitan Division standings early this season, and Crosby has been limited to one goal and three points in eight games. Ovechkin has five goals and nine points in six.

The Philadelphia Flyers have had less regular-season success against the Boston Bruins than any other team since entering the NHL in 1967. They'll try to snap a six-game losing streak against the Bruins at TD Garden in this week's Wednesday Night Rivalry game (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TVA Sports).

The Flyers have a .433 point percentage in their 186 regular-season games against the Bruins, by far their lowest against any team, and they haven't won in Boston since a 2-1 victory on Oct. 6, 2011.

The Bruins should be well-rested; they've been off since winning 5-3 at the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday. The Flyers lost 2-1 at home to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday.

The Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup at Wells Fargo Center five years ago, but they'll try to end a regular-season victory drought of nearly 19 years when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers in this week's Wednesday Night Rivalry game (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN).

The Blackhawks ended a 49-year Cup drought when they defeated the Flyers in overtime of Game 6 in the 2010 Final. However, they are winless in 11 regular-season games in Philadelphia since a 4-1 victory on Nov. 9, 1996. In all, the Flyers are 40-16-11 against the Blackhawks at home during the regular season since entering the NHL in 1967.

Defenseman Kimmo Timonen, a member of Chicago's Stanley Cup-winning team from last spring, is being honored by the Flyers before the game. Timonen was traded to Chicago on Feb. 27, and he played his final NHL game in the Blackhawks' Cup-clinching Game 6 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Timonen was also part of the Flyers' team that lost to Chicago in the 2010 Final.

The Chicago Blackhawks begin their defense of the Stanley Cup when they host the New York Rangers in the first Wednesday Night Rivalry game of the 2015-16 season (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN).

Chicago is coming off its third championship in six seasons after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning to win the Final in six games. The Rangers, who won the Presidents' Trophy as the best regular-season team in 2014-15, were one victory away from playing the Blackhawks but lost to the Lightning in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final.

The Blackhawks made several changes from their Cup-winning team but still have their championship core, including center Jonathan Toews, defenseman Duncan Keith and goaltender Corey Crawford. The Rangers made fewer alterations; the biggest change was the retirement of forward Martin St. Louis, whose 52 points were fourth on the team in 2014-15.

The Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers play for the second time in 10 days in a Wednesday Night Rivalry game (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN1, TVA Sports).

The Rangers defeated the Blackhawks 1-0 in overtime at United Center on March 8. It started a five-game winning streak that has carried New York to the top of the NHL standings. The Rangers have allowed three goals during the streak.

The Blackhawks also are perfect since that loss. Their 4-1 win against the New York Islanders on Tuesday was their third in a row; they've allowed four goals in the three wins.

The New York Rangers can take over first place in the Metropolitan Division by defeating the Washington Capitals in the Wednesday Night Rivalry game (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN1, TVA Sports).

The Rangers will be playing the second half of a back-to-back after edging the first-place New York Islanders 2-1 on Tuesday, a victory that moved them within one point of the division lead with four games in hand. The Capitals are well-rested; they've been off since defeating the Buffalo Sabres 6-1 on Saturday.

Though the season is past the three-quarters mark, this is New York's first visit to Washington and the second game between the Rangers and Capitals. They'll play at Madison Square Garden on March 29 and end the season against each other at Verizon Center on April 11.

The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to avoid a season sweep at the hands of the Washington Capitals when they face off in this week's Wednesday Night Rivalry game (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN1, TVA Sports).

They are separated by one point in the tight Metropolitan Division race, but the Capitals have dominated the Penguins so far this season, winning all three games and outscoring Pittsburgh 10-1. That includes Washington's 3-1 victory in Pittsburgh eight days ago.

The game features two of the NHL's top stars, each of whom has enjoyed success against the other's team during his career. Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby has 17 goals and 50 points in 32 career games against Washington; Alex Ovechkin of the Capitals has 26 goals and 45 points in 38 career games against the Penguins.

The Chicago Blackhawks continue their longest homestand of the season when the Detroit Red Wings come to United Center in this week's edition of Wednesday Night Rivalry (7:30 p.n. ET; NBCSN, TVA Sports).

Chicago is 2-0-2 at the halfway point of an eight-game homestand, but the Blackhawks are coming off back-to-back victories against the New Jersey Devils (3-1) and Pittsburgh Penguins (2-1 in a shootout). Overall, they are 4-0-2 in their past six games and are trying to make up ground on the Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues, the top two teams in the Central Division.

Detroit is 0-2-1 in its past three games and is coming off a 2-0 home loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Monday. That was one of only two games for the Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena this month; the visit to Chicago begins a six-game trip that will include a swing through California.

The Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins will be trying to head into the All-Star break on a high note when they face off at Consol Energy Center in the Wednesday Night Rivalry game (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN).

Each team is playing the second half of a back-to-back set and trying to break out of a slump that has dropped it out of first place in its division. The Penguins (26-12-7) are 0-2-1 after a 3-2 overtime loss at the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday; they trail the first-place New York Islanders by four points in the Metropolitan Division. Chicago (29-15-2) ended a two-game losing streak by defeating the Arizona Coyotes 6-1 at United Center on Tuesday, but the Blackhawks are third in the Central Division, five points behind the first-place Nashville Predators.