Ovechkin-Crosby rivalry still going strong 20 years later

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Sid vs. Ovi. Ovi vs. Sid.

Whatever the order of their names, they've been at the top of the NHL marquee whenever Sidney Crosby's Pittsburgh Penguins have faced Alex Ovechkin's Washington Capitals since they each entered the League in 2005.

Crosby and Ovechkin will mark their 20th season of playing against each other when the Penguins (5-8-2) visit the Capitals (9-3-0) at Capital One Arena on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+, SN, TVAS).

"It's pretty amazing how much time flies," Ovechkin told NHL.com. "I think it's just cool stuff when my first couple years there was a rivalry like Ovechkin-Crosby and everybody was pumped about it -- the fans, you guys (the media). It would give you more motivation, more energy when you step on the ice."

This will be the 70th time Ovechkin and Crosby play against each other in an NHL regular-season game. Crosby has 90 points (31 goals, 59 assists) in the first 69. Ovechkin has 67 points (37 goals, 30 assists).

Pittsburgh is 40-25-4 in those 69 games. Washington is 29-30-10.

Ovechkin has 33 points (15 goals, 18 assists) in their 25 games against each other in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, slightly ahead of Crosby with 30 points (13 goals, 17 assists). Crosby and the Penguins won the first three of the playoff series between them (2009, 2016, 2017) before Ovechkin the Capitals finally broke through against their Metropolitan Division rivals in 2018.

Each time the winner of those playoff series -- all in the second round -- went on to win the Stanley Cup.

Ovechkin is second in NHL history with 861 goals and, with eight goals in his first 12 games this season, the 39-year-old left wing has moved within 34 of breaking Wayne Gretzky's League record of 894 goals.

Crosby is two goals from becoming the 21st player in NHL history to reach 600 and joining Ovechkin as the only active players to hit that milestone. The 37-year-old center is 10th in League history with 1,611 points in 1,288 games, 31 points behind Joe Sakic (1,641) for ninth.

"It's special," Crosby told NHL.com. "It's something that when you come into the League, you hope it can be something that lasts a long time. To be in the same division and for him to be doing what he's doing right now, chasing down the all-time record, it's incredible."

Defying Father Time, each continues to play at a high level. Ovechkin has scored goals in his past five games (six goals, five assists) to join Brett Hull (seven games, Nov. 26-Dec. 8, 2003) and Johnny Bucyk (six games, Dec. 10-19, 1974) as the only players to have a five-game goal streak at age 39 or older. He is second on Washington with 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) in 12 games this season behind Dylan Strome with 19 points (four goals, 15 assists).

Crosby had a four-game point streak (five goals, three assists) end in Thursday's 5-1 loss to Carolina and is second on Pittsburgh with 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 15 games, behind Evgeni Malkin with 16 points (four goals, 12 assists).

On Monday, Ovechkin (five goals, four assists in four games) was named the NHL's First Star of the Week and Crosby (four goals, three assists in three games) was selected as the third star for the week ending Nov. 3. It was the first time that Ovechkin and Crosby were among the three stars in the same week.

"When they had the stars of the week, I was like, 'What year is it?'" Capitals right wing Tom Wilson said. "They're still at the top of the League. I don't think there's been anything quite like it before – the two of them, the rivalry, the divisional opponent – and I don't think there will be again.

"It's just pretty cool for the entire hockey world to be taken on that ride the last 20 years."

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This game between Crosby and Ovechkin comes two weeks short of the 19th anniversary of their first NHL meeting on Nov. 22, 2005, at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh. Crosby had a goal and an assist, and Ovechkin had an assist in the Penguins' 5-4 win.

At the time, the wounds were still fresh after the 2004-05 season was cancelled because of a lockout. Some of the burden to help the game heal fell upon a 20-year-old Ovechkin, who was the No. 1 pick in the 2004 NHL Draft, and an 18-year-old Crosby, who was the No. 1 pick in the 2005 NHL Draft.

Even with that extra weight, they delivered well beyond expectations.

"I don't know if I realized it as much then as you did years after, but it was probably an unfair amount of pressure that the League and media, probably just everybody put on those two guys," former Penguins and Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik said. "It was coming out of the lockout year and there was so much burden placed on those two guys to kind of carry the League out of that spot and try to rebuild the brand a little bit.

"There was a lot of pressure put on them and they did a lot of better job than I think most could've done."

At 5-foot-10, 195 pounds during his playing days, forward Mark Recchi, a 2017 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee who played with Crosby his rookie season, recalls lining up across from Ovechkin in that first game and being struck by his size (6-3, 238 pounds).

"I just remember, 'Man, he's kind of a big kid,'" Recchi said. "He was a big guy. But I don't remember anything in particular about the matchup. I just know it was really hyped up and it was a great game for the League.

"Obviously, you've seen what they've done for 20 years. It's just been everything you could ask for."

From the start, the matchup seemed to bring out the best in each player. And the rivalry was real.

Ovechkin won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie in 2005-06 after he tied for third in the League and was first among rookies with 52 goals and was third in the League and first among rookies with 106 points. Crosby finished second in the Calder voting after he was second among rookies with 39 goals and 102 points and led rookies with 63 assists.

"Maybe deep down, Ovi, I don't know if he wanted to prove anything, but he kind of just wanted to live up to that hype," said Dainius Zubrus, who was Ovechkin's linemate for much of his rookie season. "But I don't think he was caught up in that. I think he was just going about his business. That's when Pittsburgh wasn't very good and we were not a playoff team either, so I think it was kind of a battle between us and them.

"And then eventually both teams got much better."

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Pittsburgh qualified for the playoffs for the first time in the Crosby era in 2007. Washington qualified for the first time during Ovechkin's tenure in 2008.

Their first postseason meeting came in the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals and produced Crosby's favorite memory of the 94 total games (regular season and playoffs) between them. Game 2 of the best-of-7 series is forever remembered for their dueling hat tricks.

"Just one of those nights where it was just going in for both of us," Crosby said. "And, you know, it's obviously a huge game in the playoffs. You know, you score, you feel like you got momentum. Then, he scores. You just go back and forth. So, that was a fun one to be a part of."

The Capitals won the game 4-3, but the Penguins won the series in seven.

Although Ovechkin also likes the dueling hat tricks game, he said he doesn't have a favorite against Crosby. There haven't been many in which they haven't put on a show.

"I'm pretty sure there were lots of good games happening, back and forth," Ovechkin said. "It was always a fun game to watch. It was always high-scoring games."

For another example, Eric Fehr, who was teammates with Ovechkin (2005-2011, 2012-2015) and Crosby (2015-2017), points to what's known in Washington as the "Snovechkin" game on Feb. 7, 2010, which was also Super Bowl Sunday.

A blizzard forced Pittsburgh to bus to Washington after playing at the Montreal Canadiens the day before. Despite arriving in Washington at 2:15 a.m. for the noon ET start, the Penguins jumped out to a 4-1 lead with Crosby scoring two goals.

The Capitals stormed back with Ovechkin completing a hat trick to tie the score at 11:06 of third period and then setting up Mike Knuble's winning goal 2:49 into overtime for a 5-4 victory.

"It just seemed like these guys took over the game every time they played each other," Fehr said. "They definitely both got up a little bit more for those games. Those games always had an extra gear. It brought everybody else into that fight as well."

Each of the four playoffs series between them went at least six games. Crosby and the Penguins prevailed in the first three, despite Ovechkin having more points than Crosby in two of those series. Washington got over the hump by defeating Pittsburgh in six games in the 2018 Eastern Conference Second Round before winning its first championship.

"We were definitely spoiled for a long time," said Orpik, who played for Pittsburgh from 2002-2014 and Washington from 2014-19. "And it was cool because, being in the same division for a lot of it, you got to see those two guys go head-to-head a lot and then in the playoffs, too. So, like I said, we were spoiled.

"And I was also spoiled to have a front-row seat for a lot of it."

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Other star players, such as Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid and Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews, have emerged to help carry the NHL mantle during the later stages of Crosby's and Ovechkin's careers. But it will be difficult for any of the current generation to surpass what they've accomplished.

Crosby's already resume includes winning the Stanley Cup three times, the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player twice (2006-07, 2013-14), the Art Ross Trophy for leading the League in points twice (2006-07, 2013-14), the Rocket Richard Trophy for leading the NHL goals twice (2009-10, 2016-17) and the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the playoffs twice (2016, 2017).

Signed for two more seasons after this one, Crosby could pass Sakic this season, overtake Mario Lemieux (1,723) for the most points in Penguins history and eighth in the NHL history next season and pass Steve Yzerman (1,755), Marcel Dionne (1,771) and Ron Francis (1,798) to crack the top five by the time his contract expires.

"He's been unbelievable through lots of injuries and he's still doing that kind of stuff," Ovechkin said. "What he's doing right now is pretty amazing."

Ovechkin's ledger includes winning the 2018 Stanley Cup, the 2005-06 Calder Trophy, the Hart Trophy three times (2007-08, 2008-09, 2012-13), the Art Trophy once (2007-08), the Rocket Richard Trophy a record nine times (2007-09, 2012-16, 2017-20) and the Conn Smythe (2018).

He is 13th in NHL history with 1,566 points in 1,438 games and closing in on Ray Bourque (1,579) for 12th and Phil Esposito (1,590) for 11th. He could break into the top 10 in points before his contract expires after next season.

Of course, Ovechkin's pursuit of Gretzky's goal record is a much bigger story. On an early-season pace to finish with 54 goals, he projects to score his record-breaking goal (42nd of the season) in Washington's 63rd game on March 7 against the Detroit Red Wings.

"Looking back, I don't think we ever could have envisioned it," Crosby said. "It was just too far away. But the fact that we're still playing and still competing against one another and he's doing what he's doing, it's pretty special."

Over their 20 seasons, the rivalry has matured to include a mutual respect and appreciation for what they've done in their parallel careers. They exchange texts from time to time, particularly to offer congratulations when the other reaches a milestone.

"Let's call it what it is," said Nashville Predators general manager Barry Trotz, who coached the Capitals from 2014-18. "Those two guys were a big part of saving the game after the lockout. They were the faces of the NHL. There was a rivalry, and Sid always had the upper hand until we won (in 2018). … So, it was a rivalry, but that rivalry turned into respect."

That doesn't mean either will want to win any less when they meet Friday. Although Crosby has said multiple times that he is rooting for Ovechkin to break Gretzky's record, he'd prefer he add to his goal total against teams other than the Penguins.

Ovechkin undoubtedly feels similarly.

"They're both extremely competitive," Wilson said. "They're both extremely hungry to be the best. Their passion for the game is really second to none. So, when you have two guys like that up against each other for their entire careers, it's going to create an amazing rivalry and it's going to create a ton of respect between the two of them.

"It's one of those things where I think greatness respects greatness. They both know what they're doing is incredible and sometimes you've got to tip your cap to your rival."

NHL senior writer Dan Rosen and staff writers Tracey Myers and Mike Zeisberger contributed to this report