ARLINGTON, VA — Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby’s rivalry has been the stuff of legend over their two decades in the NHL. Since making their debuts in October 2005, two of the league’s biggest stars have faced off time and time again in a rivalry that’s stayed heated even as the pair became friends off the ice.
Now in the twilight of their careers, Ovechkin and Crosby will face each other once again in their 70th regular-season meeting Friday night. Even after 20 years of the well-trodden rivalry, there’s still something special when the two hit the ice.
“It’s always fun,” Ovechkin told reporters Friday. “Obviously he’s one of the best players out there, and it’s a challenge for our team. It’s a big rivalry. The fans love it, you guys love it, so yeah it’s always fun to play.”
The pair have been at each other’s heels for much of the last two decades, racking up both individual and team hardware along the way. They’ve met four times in the playoffs (2009, 2016, 2017, 2018) and the winner of each series has gone on to hoist the Stanley Cup; neither player has won a championship without defeating the other along the way.
Thanks to their often-linked successes, the Ovechkin-Crosby rivalry has become one of the league’s most compelling storylines since the 2004-05 lockout ended, with Ovechkin later saying they “saved the NHL.”
“It’s amazing — 20 years,” Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said of the rivalry Friday. “Just watching it 20 years ago when it first blossomed and started, and now this rivalry has carried on.
“I think I said it last year, it’s such a proud rivalry for the league because you’ve got two incredible players that have had such successful careers, not only individually but team-wise, and they’ve stayed on the same team their entire careers. And proximity, right? Of in-division rivals.”
Carbery, who was still in college when the duo first joined the NHL, has had the chance to watch some of the last years of the Ovechkin-Crosby era from up close. He doesn’t take that opportunity for granted.
“It’s been such a luxury for us to be able to watch and now [for me] to be able to stand on the bench and watch that rivalry,” he said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that these games: there’s a little bit more at stake when Pittsburgh plays Washington.”
While the on-ice rivalry has remained as strong as ever, Ovechkin and Crosby’s off-ice relationship has softened over the years, notably teaming up with Sergei Ovechkin at the 2023 All Star Game’s Breakaway Challenge. Ovechkin spoke Friday on how he’s gotten to know Crosby as both approach the final years of their careers.
“I think when you came to the league, you didn’t know much about him,” he said. “You tried to be focused on your game and then the past few years at All-Star Games, Olympics, you have the time to talk with him, meet him and spend time with him. We have a great relationship for what we’ve been through, and it’s nice. I respect him as a person and as a player, as well.”
The Capitals and Penguins have had two drastically different starts to the 2024-25 season. Washington has far outperformed expectations to rank third in the Metropolitan Division with a 9-3-0 record after an aggressive offseason. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, has gone 5-8-2 and sits just one point ahead of the division-worst Philadelphia Flyers.
Ovechkin and Crosby, however, have continued to shine despite their team’s contrasting records. Crosby has put up a point-per-game pace with 15 points (6g, 9a) and is two goals away from reaching 600, while Ovechkin is now just 33 goals behind Wayne Gretzky after scoring eight times in 12 games. Crosby eclipsed the 1,600-point milestone in October while Ovechkin is on pace to pass it this season. Both players earned spots on the NHL’s Three Stars of the Week Monday, appearing together on the list for the first time since the league started tracking the award.
Both the Caps and Pens have taken a step back from their former highs as they reckon with aging cores and looming futures without their biggest stars. But when Ovechkin and Crosby take the ice together, there’s still something special in the air.
“I think it’s still on,” Ovechkin said. “I think it’s always been like that. Obviously when Sid and me came to the league, it kind of like was a show. When you go out there and you feel that energy and you feel the atmosphere, it’s pretty cool.”
