The Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins will play each other in their 2024-25 regular season finale. While the Caps will continue their march into the playoffs next week as the Eastern Conference’s top team, the Pens are set for another early offseason after finishing seventh in the Metropolitan Division.
Despite the disparity in standings position, the rivalry matchup remains special due to the presence of Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. The two future Hockey Hall of Famers, bonded by their superstar status in the NHL since their rookie seasons, will play for the 73rd time against each other in their 20th career seasons.
Ovechkin was asked Thursday if it was important to play “one more time” against the Penguins and Crosby. The 39-year-old captain has one more year remaining on his contract with the Caps.
“I’m not retire yet, so,” Ovechkin said, suggesting further future matchups are still ahead.
The once-heated and iconic personal rivalry between the two superstars, which Ovechkin previously credited for “saving the NHL,” has softened over the years as the two players have become friends. Ovechkin explained the evolution of their relationship during an appearance on ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show last Monday.
“Yeah, obviously, me and Sid – be honest with you, first couple years was not that good,” Ovechkin said. “But right now we talk like ‘congrats’ each other if we hit some milestones, so those relationships, some of the battle, in like hockey, outside of hockey it’s a different thing.
“And you’re right, what we did to NHL – it’s tremendous thing, me and him, what we do all those years. It’s great for us, people going talk about Crosby and Ovechkin, Pittsburgh and Washington for maybe 20 or 50 more years, so it’s great. It’s a battle, but it’s a friendship right now, so it’s good.”
Crosby congratulated Ovechkin, both publicly and privately, after he scored career goal number 896 against the Islanders on April 6. He also called Ovechkin’s record-tying goal “pretty cool to see” when asked about it a day before Ovechkin became goals king.
The 37-year-old center said Wednesday he was looking forward to giving more props to Ovechkin in person.
“For me, it’s more just the opportunity to congratulate him,” Crosby said. “I haven’t seen him since he got the record, and I look at it more that way. The game itself is a little different stakes than it typically is this time of year. I don’t know what their lineup is going to be, but we’d like to finish on a good note here. I think that’s important for us, but that’s how I view it. We’ve played against each other for a long time, and hopefully we can go out there and have a good game.”
With nothing on the line for the two teams on Thursday, the near-exhibition-level matchup will represent more of a chance to honor the two generational talents and appreciate seeing them on the ice together in the twilight of their careers. Ovechkin recently said he plans to “stick around” in the NHL for as long as he can, and Crosby has two more years left on his Penguins contract.
“Yeah, it was like yesterday [we debuted], but we already beat Great One,” Ovechkin said. “Two decades, we kinda transformed ourselves to stay in the same level and show that we’re pretty good players.”
Puck drop between the two teams is set for 7 pm inside Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena. The Capitals won two of their three games against the Penguins this season, notching an 8-3 victory in their last meeting on February 22.
