The Penguins superstars faced off against one another Wednesday in Pittsburgh in World Cup exhibition action, as Canada beat Russia 3-2 in overtime to close pre-tournament play.
A smiling Crosby talked about splitting 10 faceoffs against Malkin, a few months after Crosby's World Cup teammate and San Jose Sharks forward Logan Couture called out No. 87 for illegal tactics on the draw.
"Check the replay on a couple," Crosby jokingly said, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Bill West. "(Malkin) was sideways on a couple. I don't know who he learned that from.
"He was really good there tonight," Crosby added seriously. "A lot of them, he was beating me a lot on his forehand. I have to look at that and make sure I improve."
Both centers finished at 47 percent on the draw Wednesday.
Canada opens its World Cup on Saturday against the Czech Republic. Russia's tournament begins Sunday against Finland.
WASHINGTON - The NHL is revamping its concussion monitoring system for the upcoming season.
Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly says the league will have four concussion spotters watching all games from a centralized location in either Toronto or New York, as well as spotters at each game to check for visible symptoms. Those spotters will have the authority to have players removed from games.
Previously, there had been team-affiliated concussion spotters in each arena and they could recommend but not require players be removed from a game.
Daly says the new concussion policy goes into effect for the eight-team World Cup of Hockey, which begins Saturday in Toronto, and that the NHL will release more details closer to the start of the regular season.
The 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics lurk in the distance, but negotiations between the NHL and International Olympic Committee remain quiet.
Commissioner Gary Bettman publicly stated in August that the Olympics are on the league's back burner, and deputy commissioner Bill Daly backed that claim Wednesday, saying talks between all parties have fallen "radio silent" over the past months, according to Stephen Whyno of The Associated Press.
The NHL, NHLPA, IOC, and IIHF all have to be on the same page in order for negotiations to succeed.
Daly, Bettman, and Co. have their hands full with international play at the moment, with the World Cup of Hockey set to officially begin Saturday.
Though the possibility of NHLers traveling to the Olympics may seem bleak at this point, Bettman has said discussions will pick up in the winter.
NHL goalies will wear form-fitting, streamlined pants this season, reports TSN's Bob McKenzie.
Further changes, particularly to the chest protector and upper body protection, have been delayed, but could be introduced mid-season.
In August, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman deemed the changes "a work in progress." Initially, the league hoped to introduce all of the equipment changes at the World Cup.
The past two Stanley Cup champions - namely the Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks - have emerged as early favorites to win it all again in 2017.
theScore is previewing each team leading up to the 2016-17 season.
With essentially an entire roster returning after the most successful regular season in franchise history, Brian MacLellan didn't have the need, let alone the wiggle room, to bring widespread change to the Washington Capitals.
But with forward depth being an issue in the postseason, the Capitals are to return in 2016-17 with added support for arguably the most talented top six in the league, and not a single excuse.
Here's how the Capitals stack up with the additions of Lars Eller, acquired from the Montreal Canadiens for two draft picks, as well as free agent Brett Connolly via free agency.
LW
C
RW
Alex Ovechkin
Nicklas Backstrom
T.J. Oshie
Marcus Johansson
Evgeny Kuznetsov
Justin Williams
Andre Burakovsky
Lars Eller
Daniel Winnik
Brett Connolly
Jay Beagle
Tom Wilson
What you see is really what you get. Burakovsky is the only forward listed on a two-way contract. The club has done a tremendous job fitting in all the pieces, while still leaving a little bit of cap space, but will enter the season as advertised barring an injury.
LD
RD
Karl Alzner
John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov*
Matt Niskanen
Brooks Orpik
Nate Schmidt
* denotes unsigned
Orpik is the biggest question mark on this team, both for performance and health reasons. The veteran defender missed 41 games (and the Caps were granted relief on his $5.5-million salary) as he dealt with a mysterious injury in the middle of last season.
G
Braden Holtby
Philipp Grubauer
Holtby is the clear No. 1 starter after delivering a Vezina Trophy season in the first year of his five-year, $30.5-million extension. Grubauer is a restricted free agent at season's end.
Mike Babcock has shed some light on an ankle injury that forced Tyler Seguin out of the World Cup, saying the Canadian forward may have left the coaching staff somewhat in the dark.
Seguin admitted to Babcock his ankle was worse than he'd let on - that's how much he wanted to play in this tourney.
Babcock added Seguin tried to play through the injury - initially reported to be a knee issue - but it was not improving, hence the decision to pull out of the tournament and focus on being ready for the start of the NHL regular season.
The Montreal Canadiens defenseman backed teammate Max Pacioretty on Tuesday night, claiming the rest of the team disagrees with a comment head coach Michel Therrien reportedly made at a recent golf tournament.
During a radio segment Monday, Montreal-based host Michel Villeneuve claimed Therrien called Pacioretty the worst captain in franchise history.
The 27-year-old played all 82 games for Montreal last season, authoring his third straight 30-goal season while leading the club in goals, points, and game-winning markers.
theScore is previewing each team leading up to the 2016-17 season.
It was all very on brand.
The Washington Capitals were the NHL's premier regular-season team last year, running away with the Presidents' Trophy and winning more games in a single campaign than ever before. But true to their form in the post-lockout era, the Capitals crashed out prematurely in the postseason, losing in the second round to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
With the same group back for another run, what will they do for an encore?
Here are three questions facing the Capitals:
Can they stay focused?
For Washington, the summer must have felt unbearable at times. The lights, smells, and sounds that come with opening night will alleviate some feelings of despondency, but in the back of players', coaches', and the entire organization's minds, it's hard to imagine the next seven months offering much satisfaction.
It's cliche, but in the absence of postseason success, achieving franchise records, career milestones, and regular season honors will be superfluous in a season with a singular objective.
Maintaining focus may prove to be a challenge, with an 82-game schedule to navigate before a crack at retribution, but fortunately for the Capitals, they are talented enough to win, and to dominate, when clicking into cruise control.
What will Eller, Connolly bring?
After failing to match depth with the Penguins, Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan made it his summer purpose to bolster his bottom six, and didn't lose a single piece from the active roster in accomplishing that.
Washington acquired a capable defensive and possession center in Lars Eller from the Montreal Canadiens for two draft picks, then signed free agent Brett Connolly on July 1.
With Eller and Connolly, the Capitals hope they've added an offensive dynamic to their bottom six, but neither former first-round draft selection has provided consistent offence at the NHL level. Eller hasn't tallied 30-plus points in a season, while Connolly was overrun by the talented core in Tampa Bay, before showing signs with a career-high 25 points last season in Boston.
If the newcomers deliver quality defensive work and possession splits in their third- and fourth-line roles, sporadic production will sufficiently support arguably the most skilled top six in the Eastern Conference.
Will they shore up the back?
Absolutely loaded up front with an established goalie coming into his prime, the Capitals' most pressing issue lies on defense.
One of the team's most skilled defenseman, Russian national Dmitry Orlov, is still unsigned with just $3.4 million - a potentially insufficient amount - in estimated cap space left. And yet, MacLellan's greatest concern might still be the depreciating Brooks Orpik.
Orpik, who has no-trade protection, has three years left on his contract at $5.5 million - money that would be more beneficially spent appeasing Orlov.
The emergence of Nate Schmidt, and the utility of Taylor Chorney, allowed the Capitals to offset Orpik's 41-game absence and three-game suspension in the playoffs last year. That likely won't be the case should Orlov be squeezed.
