Story Summary
Alex Ovechkin’s final NHL season will add a new layer to one of the defining rivalries of the modern era when the Washington Capitals host Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday.
The game at Capital One Arena, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET, is set to be the 101st meeting between Ovechkin and Crosby, including the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It will be Ovechkin’s final home opener after he announced that this season will be his last in the NHL.
Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said Ovechkin has to begin the game at left wing. Penguins coach Dan Muse could choose to start Crosby at centre for the opening face-off, creating an immediate focal point for a fixture that has carried significance for more than two decades.
Ovechkin and Crosby arrived as successive No. 1 overall picks, Ovechkin in 2004 and Crosby in 2005, and have remained with Washington and Pittsburgh respectively throughout their NHL careers. Their relationship has moved from a fiercely competitive on-ice rivalry to one marked by mutual respect, but their meetings remain a notable event on the schedule.
“It’s all about lots of respect for each other, what we’ve done for the League and the game of hockey,”Ovechkin said. “It’s tremendous.”
Key Facts
- Alex Ovechkin announced that 2026-27 will be his final NHL season.
- Washington host Pittsburgh at Capital One Arena on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
- The fixture is described as the 101st meeting between Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, including the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
- Ovechkin, 41, was the No. 1 pick in the 2004 NHL Draft and has an NHL-record 929 career goals.
- Ovechkin is 10th in NHL history with 1,688 points in 1,575 games.
- Crosby, 39, was the No. 1 pick in the 2005 NHL Draft and ranks seventh in NHL history with 1,763 points, made up of 654 goals and 1,109 assists, in 1,423 games.
- Crosby has 97 points, including 35 goals, in 75 regular-season meetings with Ovechkin; Ovechkin has 71 points, including 38 goals, in those games.
- Ovechkin has 33 points in 25 playoff games against Crosby, while Crosby has 30.
- Pittsburgh won three of their four playoff series, in 2009, 2016 and 2017; Washington won in 2018. The winner of each series went on to win the Stanley Cup.
- Ovechkin signed a one-year contract on July 2 after completing the final season of his previous contract.
- Washington defeated Pittsburgh 3-0 in its final home game last season, when Ovechkin declined a post-game handshake line because he felt any farewell gesture would have been premature.
- After Wednesday, the remaining scheduled regular-season meetings are in Pittsburgh on Jan. 18 and March 13, followed by Washington’s final home game on April 4.
IHM Discussion
The Crosby-Ovechkin story has always been larger than a statistical comparison, although the numbers underline its scale. They entered the League in consecutive drafts, played in the same division for their entire NHL careers and repeatedly met when games carried the pressure of the postseason.
Their regular-season record reflects Pittsburgh’s historical edge in the head-to-head meetings: the Penguins are 43-28-4 in those encounters. The playoff record gives the rivalry its sharper contours. Four series produced close contests, each lasting at least six games, with the winner going on to lift the Stanley Cup on every occasion.
Crosby said the longevity of the divisional rivalry made their circumstances unusual. Players can be compared from afar, he noted, but Crosby and Ovechkin were afforded frequent direct matchups in both the regular season and the playoffs. That sustained exposure made the individual contest inseparable from the wider Washington-Pittsburgh rivalry.
There is also a clear change in tone from the early years. Crosby acknowledged that, given the competition and playoff history, it would have been difficult for the pair to be close when they first entered the League. Over time, he said, a friendship developed alongside his respect for Ovechkin.
Both players’ wider records explain why their meetings have retained attention. Between them, they have won the Hart Trophy five times, the Art Ross Trophy five times, the Rocket Richard Trophy 11 times, the Ted Lindsay Award six times and the Conn Smythe Trophy three times. Those honours do not erase the team stakes of Wednesday’s fixture, but they place another Capitals-Penguins meeting in a rare individual context.
Why It Matters
Ovechkin’s declaration turns every remaining game against Crosby into a finite occasion. Washington and Pittsburgh still have four scheduled regular-season meetings this season, beginning with Wednesday’s game, but there will be no assumption that another campaign will renew the matchup.
That gives particular meaning to the setting. This is Washington’s home opener, and Carbery has made clear that Ovechkin will start at left wing. The opportunity for Crosby to take the opening face-off would offer a straightforward acknowledgement of the players’ shared history without changing the competitive purpose of the game.
The significance extends beyond nostalgia. Ovechkin and Crosby have provided a consistent individual thread through a rivalry that has included four playoff series and four eventual Stanley Cup winners. Their careers have also been notable for continuity: each has represented only one NHL club. In a League where long-running player-versus-player matchups can be interrupted by movement between teams and conferences, that stability has made this rivalry unusually durable.
Mini Q&A
Why is Wednesday’s Capitals-Penguins game significant?
It is set to be the 101st meeting between Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, including the playoffs, and comes after Ovechkin announced this will be his final NHL season.
How many games remain between Ovechkin and Crosby this season?
After Wednesday, Washington and Pittsburgh are scheduled to meet three more times: Jan. 18 and March 13 in Pittsburgh, and April 4 in Washington.
What is the playoff history between the two stars?
They have met in four playoff series. Pittsburgh won in 2009, 2016 and 2017, while Washington won in 2018; the winner of each series went on to win the Stanley Cup.
Coach Mark Comment
The opening shift is likely to carry unusual emotional weight, but the practical coaching task is to keep it simple. Starting Ovechkin at left wing recognises the occasion while placing him in the role Washington expect him to play. If Crosby takes the draw, the moment will be clear without requiring either side to manufacture anything beyond its normal game structure.
The enduring appeal of this matchup has been that the star power never removed the competitive edge. The best acknowledgement of its history is a properly contested opening sequence, followed by disciplined team hockey.
What Comes Next
Washington and Pittsburgh meet on Wednesday at Capital One Arena. Their remaining scheduled regular-season games are in Pittsburgh on Jan. 18 and March 13, before Washington hosts Pittsburgh again in its final home game on April 4.
IHM Final View
Ovechkin and Crosby have already established a rivalry with few parallels in NHL history: successive No. 1 picks, one-club careers, major individual honours and repeated postseason collisions. Ovechkin’s final season does not alter what they have achieved, but it gives the remaining meetings a defined closing chapter. Wednesday is the first of those occasions.