Penguins at Oilers preview

PENGUINS (3-1-2) at OILERS (3-3-0)
9 p.m. ET; SN1, TVAS, ATTSN-PT, NHL.TV

McDavid, the Oilers captain, is 0-2-2 against Crosby, the Penguins captain. McDavid missed the Oilers' 3-2 shootout victory against the Penguins on Nov. 28, 2015 in his rookie season
because of a fractured left clavicle
.
McDavid has seven points (two goals, five assists) and is plus-3 in four games against Pittsburgh. Crosby has one assist and is minus-1 in the past four games against Edmonton.
Crosby, a two-time Hart Trophy winner, said last week he considers McDavid, the 2016-17 Hart winner, to be the top player in the NHL.
"I think McDavid has set himself apart just based on the awards and the accolades he's gotten and the consistency he's had," Crosby told NHL.com on Wednesday. "I think it's fair to say it's an easy pick just because of that."
Crosby has five assists in his first six games. It's the longest he has gone without a goal from the start of a season in his 14 NHL seasons.
McDavid has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in six games. He was held without a point for the first time this season in a 3-0 loss against the Nashville Predators on Saturday.

Players to watch

Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in a four-game point streak.
Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his past four games

They said it

"They're obviously both generational talents, they're exciting to watch, they're both terrific players in their own right. But as the coach of the Penguins I look at more about the Pittsburgh Penguins versus the Oilers, this is a team sport. Those guys as good as they are, they're part of their own respective teams." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan on Penguins center Sidney Crosby and Oilers center Connor McDavid
"It's very exciting, most of this is because of Connor and Sid, obviously, it gets the most attention and rightfully so. But it's exciting going up against the best players in the world and certainly two of the best [centers] in the world. It should be a fun matchup tonight," -- Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl on the media attention before the game

Penguins projected lineup

Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Bryan Rust
Carl Hagelin -- Evgeni Malkin -- Phil Kessel
Dominik Simon -- Derick Brassard -- Patric Hornqvist
Riley Sheahan -- Matt Cullen -- Daniel Sprong
Brian Dumoulin -- Kris Letang
Olli Maatta -- Jamie Oleksiak
Juuso Riikola -- Jack Johnson
Matt Murray
Casey DeSmith
Scratched: Chad Ruhwedel, Derek Grant
Injured: Justin Schultz (leg)

Oilers projected lineup

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Connor McDavid -- Kailer Yamamoto
Tobias Rieder -- Leon Draisaitl -- Jesse Puljujarvi
Milan Lucic -- Ryan Strome --
Cooper Marody
Alex Chiasson -- Kyle Brodziak -- Zack Kassian
Oscar Klefbom -- Adam Larsson
Darnell Nurse -- Kris Russell
Evan Bouchard --
Kevin Gravel
Cam Talbot
Mikko Koskinen
Scratched:Jujhar Khaira, Jason Garrison
Injured: Matt Benning (undisclosed), Ty Rattie (upper body), Drake Caggiula (upper body)

Status report

Marody was recalled from Bakersfield of the American Hockey League on Sunday and will make his NHL debut. … Gravel will play his first game with the Oilers.

Stat pack

Kessel has six points (four goals, two assists) in his past four games. … Draisaitl has four points (one goals, three assists) in his past four games.