Over the last 20 seasons, the rivalry between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins has survived the test of time, and has further been fueled by captains and generational talents Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, generational talents who continue to make history.

Ovechkin, of course, passed Wayne Gretzky for the most goals in NHL history, while Crosby topped Gretzky's record for the most point-per-game seasons.

So, as the Capitals and Penguins face off one more time this season, Crosby is more so looking forward to catching up with Ovechkin, a longtime adversary turned friend over the years, and commending him on a successful year rather than stirring the pot.

"For me, it's more the opportunity to just congratulate him," Crosby told reporters in Pittsburgh on Wednesday. "I haven't seen him since he got the record. I look at (tomorrow) more that way, it's more to do with that than the game itself. It's a little different stakes than typically this time of year."

As time has gone on, Ovechkin and Crosby went from not taking too kindly to one another, given the bad blood between their franchises and numerous playoff matchups and comparisons, but over the years, they have gotten to build a friendship.

For Crosby, as well as Ovechkin, getting to know one another over time has meant a lot and has added to their relationship and roles as top talents and league ambassadors.

“I think just getting to know him through different things over the years. We’ve seen a lot of each other on the ice but off it, whether it’s All-Star games or events," Crosby said. "Just having the opportunity to get to know him a little bit more, I think that’s helped and you develop a friendship through those experiences and things like that. It's been great, we’ve been at it for a long time, so it’s nice to have a relationship like that."

Of course, when the puck drops, it's a different story.

"It’s still really competitive on the ice and that’s good too," Crosby noted.

Washington has already clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference, and Pittsburgh has been eliminated from playoff contention, so there's not much on the line regarding Thursday's season finale, though Crosby believes it'll still be a spirited contest between him and Ovechkin.

"We played against each other for a long time, and hopefully, we can go out there and have a good game," Crosby said.