The ever-intertwined professional hockey careers of Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin and Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby will continue on Wednesday night in DC.
When the puck is dropped for the Caps and Pens’ first game against one another this season, Ovi and Sid will be deadlocked at 1,423 career points apiece. The two 17-year NHL veterans rank tied for 18th all-time in league scoring.
In 2007, Crosby led Ovechkin in total points after the stars’ first two seasons in the NHL (222-198). After Ovechkin’s 112-point 2007-08 season, The Great Eight led Crosby for much of the next eleven years. You can see that journey outlined in this great tweet from the league.
Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin are completely even in career points heading into tonight's matchup… 🫣
📺: 7:30p ET on @NHL_On_TNT and @TVASports pic.twitter.com/HPOz5LMZJR
— NHL (@NHL) November 9, 2022
Before jumping ahead of Ovi back in March of 2019, Crosby hadn’t been ahead of Ovechkin since January 5, 2011, a lead he held for just three days until Ovechkin tallied two points on January 8, 2011. Since 2019, the two have battled back and forth on the all-time list.
Ovechkin has played in 168 more career games than Crosby (and scored 265 more goals), showing just how durable he has been in his legendary career. On the flip side, Crosby has missed large swaths of games with mainly concussion and neck issues.
The game will see only the 15th time that two players with over 1,000 points have entered a game with identical career point totals. The last before this one occurred on March 13, 2012, when Jarome Iginla (CGY) and Joe Thornton (SJS) faced off with 1,065 points apiece.
Tonight's matchup between Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin is the 15th time that two players with over 1,000 points have entered a game with identical career point totals (1,423 PTS).
This marks the second-highest identical points matchup between two players in NHL history ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/8zEwVIAcV7
— Penguins PR (@PenguinsPR) November 9, 2022
Wednesday’s matchup could again separate the seemingly inseparable superstars on the all-time scoring list but will definitely not do so in hockey’s history books.
Headline photo: @CapitalsPR
