On Nov. 8 the two titans of the NHL in Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin go head to head just days after both of them were named the top 3 stars of the week. As another chapter in the rivalry of the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins that has yet to be written, the Caps are doing it big in honor of 50 years of Capitals hockey.
The Pioneers reflects the time of 1974 to 1982 and alumni in attendance will include Yvon Labre, Dennis Maruk, Paul Mulvey and Errol Rausse. All fans in attendance will receive an original Capitals replica jersey.
To celebrate alumni and the specific era, the Caps are offering a pregame chalk talk with Caps alumni prior to the game and each ticket purhcased through the speical offer will receive an alumni poster featuring players from "The Pioneers" era. To buy tickets, click here.
The rest of 50th Anniversary Era Night schedule includes:
Dec. 14 vs. Buffalo Sabres "Coming of Age" (1982-97)
Feb. 1 vs. Winnipeg Jets "The Dot Com Caps" (1997-2005)
March 7 vs. Detorit Red Wings "The Rock the Red Era" (2005-14)
April 4 vs. Chicago Blackhawks "ALL CAPS and the Stanley Cup Era" (2014-Present)
Those giveaways include a Mike Gartner and Rod Langway Duo Bobblehead on Dec. 14, a Peter Bondra and Olie Kolzig Duo Bobblehead on Feb. 1, an Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom Duo Bobblehead on March 7 and a 50th Anniversary Photo Book on April 4.
Yvon Labre: The defenseman joined the Caps after spending two seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He played with the Caps for seven seasons and recorded 12 goals and 84 assists for 96 points.
Dennis Maruk: The center spent five seasons with the Caps and his best season came in 1981-82 when he recorded a whooping 60 goals and 76 assists for 136 points. Overall he finsihed with 182 goals and 249 assists for 431 points.
Paul Mulvey: The left winger spent three seasons with the Caps and recorded 29 goals and 37 assists for 66 points in 187 games. In his second season with the team he had 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points which was his best season. That came in 1980-81.
Errol Rausse: The left wing spent three years with the Caps from 1979 to 1982 and would record seven goals and three assists for 10 points.