It’s a showdown worth the hype: Sidney Crosby versus Alex Ovechkin. And because of the lead stars, the semi-final Eastern conference match-up between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins has been ordained the series of these NHL playoffs.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen major U.S. networks and talking heads get this involved and interested with the NHL.

Though, I can understand the fascination with the Caps/Pens, the Ducks/Wings series is not too shabby either. The defending champions are by the likes of MVP finalist Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Norris candidate Nik Lidstrom while the Ducks boast Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer and three budding superstars in Corey Perry, Bobby Ryan and Ryan Getzlaf who leads all scorers with 13 points so far in the playoffs. Getzlaf in particular, like Eric Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes, is an outstanding producer during primetime pressure of the playoffs. These dudes perform when they need to.

Heck, in any event, all four of the showdowns (Bruins/Hurricanes and Canucks/Blackhawks) have the potential to be memorable.

Back to the Capitals and Penguins. Fans can be excused if they feel the series can only get better if the supporting cast of Semin, Backstrom, Green and Malkin ever show up. And once they do, one can only expect this series to intensify.

Nonetheless, Crosby and Ovechkin have not disappointed. Between them they’ve scored 8 of the 12 goals scored in this series with each scoring a hat trick in game two.

Can they keep it up?

After winning 4-3 in game two, The Washington Capitals presently hold a 2-0 series lead. The two clubs now head to Pittsburgh for the next two.

And the Crosvechkin show will go on.