When Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby came into the league, they didn't exactly take kindly to one another, having been pitted against one another right from the get-go while the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins remained intertwined in a heated rivalry.

Twenty years later, though, the two have grown on and off the ice, and the one-time enemies are now good friends who have also changed the game of hockey.

"First couple years, we don't have a chance to talk. There was lots of battles, lots of scrums out there," Ovechkin reflected. "But All-Star games and then we have a chance to spend time together, go out, stay in the same locker room, it's more time. It's good friendship and most of all it's respect for each other."

Both Ovechkin and Crosby have also achieved greatness in their own rights this season, with each overtaking Wayne Gretzky atop the NHL's all-time leaderboard. For Ovechkin, it's the most goals in league history, and for Crosby, it's the most point-per-game seasons.

"It was like yesterday (we came into the league), but we already beat the Great One," Ovechkin said. "It just shows how when we came to the league, it wasn't one hockey game, right? It was different system, it was different style of game. Two decades, we kind of, like, transform ourself to stay in the same level and show that we pretty good players.

"It's pretty cool. Come to the league same time and beat those records, it's pretty special," he added.

Over the years, Ovechkin and Crosby have kept in touch, texting back and forth amid the mounting milestones while also leading the charge on both sides of the Capitals-Penguins rivalry.

For Ovechkin, now 39 years old, the most rewarding part of his relationship with Crosby, 37, is seeing how the two have come to appreciate one another and what they've done for the game of hockey.

"We start respecting more and more on the ice and off the ice, too," Ovechkin said.

Ovechkin and Crosby will meet for the 73rd time in their careers on Thursday as Washington wraps up the regular season against Pittsburgh.

For Crosby, the meeting with Ovechkin will be more about congratulating him in person on beating Gretzky's record rather than the usual high-stakes play.

As for Ovechkin? It's another game against another fellow legend — and it won't be the last, so he's not putting too much stock into it.

"I'm not retiring yet," he grinned.