Ovechkin and Crosby have been going at it for 18 years, and the rivalry still holds the same passion and respect after all this time.
WASHINGTON — Since 2005, Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby have been the face of the Washington Capitals-Pittsburgh Penguins rivalry, from their dueling hat tricks to headlining every single graphic and promotion for opening night. And 18 years later, they're still enjoying every minute of it.
Ovechkin and Crosby spoke on playing against one another and the passion and respect the rivalry still carries, and both had only good things to say — though that'll probably change when they take the ice on Friday.
"It’s always been nice to play against him. He’s a top player in the league, and the rivalry between me and Sid, Caps and Pens has always been top of the league here over the years," Ovechkin said.
"Just having the opportunity all of these years to go up against him, to be in the same division and have that matchup, it's probably brought the best out of both of us," Crosby told reporters on Thursday.
Not only does it still hold meaning for the captains, but it's still fun for his teammates to have a front-row seat as well. And for John Carlson, one of the most impressive parts of the ongoing rivalry between the two has been not only the greatness but the consistency of that greatness.
"The two of them are at the top of the game and at the top of the league consistently, and I think that's obviously what makes them so special: the longevity and just the peak tip-of-the-iceberg players that they are," Carlson told The Hockey News. They've been able to do it from when they were 18 and 19 to now. It's incredible, and it's been a fun battle over the years, and I think we still got a lot of runway left."