The Slovak said that there always seems to be something going on with Crosby when the Capitals face the Penguins.
ARLINGTON, V.A. -- The Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins have been longtime rivals, with Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby being the two players stacked against each other more often than not. However, Martin Fehervary says that has changed, as he believes he has replaced Ovechkin as No. 87's top rival.
Fehervary, who's entering his third year in the NHL, noted that there always seems to be some type of altercation between him and the Penguins captain when both teams are going up against each other.
"I think he does [hate me] a little bit, I guess," Fehervary laughed.
On Nov. 14, 2021, Pittsburgh fell to Washington 6-1, and Crosby expressed his frustration in the third period by spinning Fehervary around and throwing him into the boards. There was no penalty on the play and no subsequent disciplinary action from the league, and Fehervary was left confused but indifferent following the game.
"I don't even know what should I talk about; I don't care," he smiled.
Then, on Nov. 9, 2022 in Washington, Crosby and Fehervary were exchanging checks and going at it down the ice. The two crashed into the net and also got in a bit of a pushing and shoving match.
"Every game we had something going on," Fehervary added.
For the 23-year-old, it's been an amusing experience, but it's also one that's allowed him to solidify his role as a tough shutdown defenseman to play against. Fehervary has been among the NHL's hits leaders over his two seasons up at the NHL level and finished 14th in Calder voting in 2022 after impressing immediately in a top-pairing role.
That rough-and-tumble style and notoriety is something that the Slovak wants to maintain as he continues his career.
"I think that type of my role; I always like to be that type of player really being hard to play against," Fehervary said. "I just like it, you know, to be that type of player always trying to be really hard on my opponent.”
Fehervary is an RFA, and negotiations on his next contract are expected to pick up shortly, with general manager Brian MacLellan expecting him to play a key role in the club's future on the blue line.
"We really like what he's done. He's a big part of our organization going forward," MacLellan said of Fehervary in March. "I think we got two young guys, [Rasmus] Sandin and him, that hopefully we can build around going forward. We're going to have two young top-4 defensemen that'll be a big part of our team for a lot of years to come."