NHL All-Star Game gives Crosby chance to join with rivals

TAMPA-- The Alex Ovechkin-Sidney Crosby combination helped the Metropolitan Division win the 2017 Honda NHL All-Star Game in Los Angeles.
So why not play the Washington Capitals forward and the Pittsburgh Penguins forward together again in the 2018 Honda NHL All-Star Game at Amalie Arena on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, SN, TVA Sports)?

That's the plan for coach Barry Trotz plan to at least to begin their 3-on-3 semifinal game against the Atlantic Division (4:30 p.m. ET). The tournament begins with the semifinal between Central Division and the Pacific Division.
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The winners play in the final with the victors splitting a $1 million prize.
"I probably will put them together for a bit just because they're two of the faces of the League for a long time," Trotz said. "I know they played a little bit together [last year], and I think just for my own satisfaction I'd like to see them on the same side for a few shifts."

Ovechkin and Crosby have had some classic battles since they each broke into the NHL in 2005-06. Crosby and the Penguins defeated Ovechkin and the Capitals in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs each of the past two seasons, with Crosby going on to win the Stanley Cup.
Ovechkin and Crosby put their rivalry aside at the All-Star Game last season when coach Wayne Gretzky (a late substitute when Columbus Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella had to withdraw for personal reasons) decided to play them together. They had not been at the same All-Star Game since 2007.
"Obviously, he's one of the best players in the League and in the world," Ovechkin said of Crosby. "If you have a chance to play with him, it's an honor. So if Trotz is going to give me that chance, I would love to use it."

This is Ovechkin's seventh All-Star Game, tying Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks for the most among those participating Sunday. Crosby will play in his third.
At the 2017 game, Ovechkin and Crosby spent much of the afternoon trying to set up each other, with mixed results. They each scored a goal and an assist in a 10-6 win against the Atlantic Division in the semifinals, but neither had a point in a 4-3 win against the Pacific Division in the final.
They did seem to have fun being on the same side for a change.
"I think everyone enjoyed it," Crosby said. "It was nice to get a win, so hopefully we can find a way to do it again."
Ovechkin, 32, scored his NHL-leading 30th goal of the season and got his 500th NHL assist in a 4-2 win at the Florida Panthers on Thursday. Crosby, 30, had three assists in a 6-3 win against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.

Crosby is ninth in the NHL with 55 points (17 goals, 38 assists) in 51 games. Ovechkin is 13th with 53 points (30 goals, 23 assists) in 49 games.
If playing Crosby with one rival isn't enough, Trotz said he might also use him with Philadelphia Flyers center Claude Giroux. Crosby and Giroux also have a history of heated battles in the Metropolitan Division.
"That's fine," Crosby said of playing with Giroux. "We've played together (for Canada at the IIHF World Championship), and I know him from playing against him from over the years. I'm sure Pittsburgh and Philly fans might not love it, but we'll make the best of it."
Giroux, who will play in his fifth All-Star Game, said playing with opponents like Crosby is part of the fun of the event.
"Flyers fans, I don't know how they would feel about that, but that's what it's all about," Giroux said. "It's having a chance to play with players you go against and you kind of have a little rivalry with. When you play on the same team, for maybe one day you get on the same page."
Ovechkin and Crosby will return to being adversaries when the Capitals visit the Penguins on Friday. But Trotz said it will be fun to see them play together Sunday.
"I think that would be special for the fans," the Washington coach said. "Coming out of the (2004-05) lockout, they really kept the League afloat in a lot of ways. They were the two faces that you talk about."