Sid and Ovi through the years: A look at the Crosby-Ovechkin rivalry as its final acts loom

PITTSBURGH (AP) — It might be a stretch to say that the rivalry between Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin saved the NHL. There is no doubt their arrival ushered in a new era for a league desperately in need of a jolt after losing the 2004-05 season to a lockout.

Separated by a year in the NHL draft and by far more than that in temperament — Ovechkin all fire and fury, Crosby all calculated cool — they have spent the last two decades defining their franchises and redefining their sport in the process. They are the rarest breed of stars: the select class who entered with massive expectations and somehow surpassed them all.

Five combined Hart Trophies, four Stanley Cup championships, over 3,400 points and countless memories later, their legacies are secure.

Ovechkin, the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer and Crosby, the only player ever to average a point a game for 21 straight years (and counting), will meet twice more this weekend when the Capitals and Penguins wrap up the final weekend of the regular season with a home-and-home series.

Whether the 100th and 101st all-time meeting between the two icons will also be the last is anyone's guess.

While the 38-year-old Crosby — whose Pittsburgh Penguins are heading toward a somewhat surprising playoff berth — is signed through next year and shows no signs of slowing down, the 40-year-old Ovechkin has been more coy about his future beyond the end of a forgettable season for the Washington Capitals.

Maybe this is it. If it's not, it's close. So before the rivalry enters its “remember when” phase, here is a look back at some of the highs (and, in one case, the lows) of two players who placed a league wounded by infighting on their respective backs and carried it into the 21st century:

Score: Penguins 5, Capitals 4

Where: Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh

Points: Crosby 1 goal, 1 assist; Ovechkin 1 assist.

The details: The first meeting between Ovechkin and Crosby is also the only game that also included Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux, Ovechkin's idol. Lemieux retired two months later, though by then he had passed the torch on to Crosby. “Sid the Kid,” then all of 18, provided a glimpse of what was to come, splitting a pair of Capitals before roofing the backhand shot that would become his signature.

Score: Capitals 5, Penguins 2

Where: Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.

Points: Crosby 1A, Ovechkin 1G, 1A.

The details: A somewhat ho-hum result in the middle of a season offered one of the rare glimpses when the contempt Ovechkin and Crosby held for each other at the time. They got tangled up in the second period, leading to a clench that ended with Crosby's helmet getting knocked off and more than a little jawing afterward. From the AP story that night:

"What I can say about him?” Ovechkin said. “He is a good player, but he talks too much.”

And what does Crosby make of Ovechkin’s showmanship?

“Like it or lump it, that’s what he does,” Crosby said. “Some people like it, some people don’t. Personally, I don’t like it.”

Score: Capitals 4, Penguins 3

Where: Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.

Points: Crosby 3Gs, Ovechkin 3Gs.

The details: Meeting in the playoffs for the first time, the two stars in the nascent stages of their prime did not disappoint. Each provided a hat trick in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, with Ovechkin netting the goal that would become the game-winner with 4:38 left in regulation.

Crosby got the last laugh. The series went a full seven games. Ovechkin was robbed on a breakaway early by goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, and Crosby scored minutes later, setting the stage for a 6-2 romp. Crosby would raise the Cup for the first time a month later.

Score: Capitals 5, Penguins 4

Where: Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh

Points: Crosby 2G; Ovechkin 3G, 1A.

The details: During a snowstorm on Super Bowl Sunday, Ovechkin sparked a comeback from a 4-1 deficit. His hat trick included a pair of third-period goals that tied the game and he earned the primary assist on Mike Knuble's power-play score 2:49 into overtime.

Days later, Crosby and Team Canada dominated Ovechkin and Team Russia in the quarterfinals at the Olympics in a 7-3 victory. Crosby then provided perhaps the biggest moment of his career, scoring in overtime to lift Canada to Olympic gold on home soil.

Score: Penguins 2, Capitals 0

Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C.

Points: Crosby 1A, Ovechkin 0.

The details: The third playoff meeting between the Penguins and Capitals during the Crosby/Ovechkin era ended the same way they have so often when the two rivals have met. Crosby earned the secondary assist on Bryan Rust's goal midway through the second period that put the Penguins in front. Ovechkin responded by blistering a one-timer toward Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, only for Fleury to manage to get the handle of his stick on the puck, the biggest of his 29 saves as the Penguins went on to win a second straight Stanley Cup.

Score: Capitals 4, Penguins 3

Where: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh

Points: Crosby 1G, 1A; Ovechkin 1G, 1A.

The details: Pittsburgh's bid for a third straight Cup was off to a solid start in 2018. The Penguins breezed into the second round against Washington and split a pair of games in the nation's capital to start the Eastern Conference semifinals. Crosby gave the Penguins the lead late in the second period before former Penguin Matt Niskanen pulled Washington even early in the third.

The game appeared headed for overtime before Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom broke loose for a 2-on-1 break. Backstrom slid the puck to Ovechkin, whose initial shot was denied by goalie Matt Murray. Ovechkin, in one fluid motion that played in stark contrast to his usual power game, batted the rebound out of the air and into the open net to put the Capitals in front of the series.

Six nights later in the same building, Ovechkin set up Evgeny Kuznetsov’s overtime winner in Game 6 as the Capitals exorcised their playoff demons and went on to win the franchise's first and only Stanley Cup.

Crosby and Ovechkin did not always have the coziest relationship given the rivalry they always said was Penguins vs. Capitals and not Sid vs. Ovi as the two teams often clashed in the playoffs.

Mutual appreciation and respect grew over the years and as they got older, there were chances for some fun:

At All-Star Weekend 2023 in Florida, Crosby, Ovechkin and Ovechkin’s then-4-year-old son, Sergei, teamed up during the skills competition. Crosby passed the puck to Sergei, who sent it to his dad, then Ovechkin back to a stick-tapping Sergei to score a goal against Hall of Fame netminder Roberto Luongo.

AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno in Newark, New Jersey, contributed to this report.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

FILE - Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby, right, is covered by Washington Capitals defenseman Bryan Muir during the second period Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2005, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

FILE - Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin (8) cross checks Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby (87) during the second period in Game 3 of an NHL second-round hockey playoff series in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, May 1, 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

FILE - In this Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010 file photo, Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin (8), of Russia, runs into Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby (87) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, in Washington. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez, File)

FILE - Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) exchanges words with Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, Feb., 22, 2009, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

FILE - Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8), from Russia, talks with Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) after Game 7 in an NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern Conference semifinal, Wednesday, May 10, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

FILE - Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin, right, and Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby (87) skate during the second period of the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game in Pittsburgh Saturday, Jan. 1, 2011. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The bluntest assessment of Republicans' failures during this week's elections in Wisconsin came from one of their own.

“We got our butts kicked,” said U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is running for governor.

He was referring to Democratic victories in campaigns for the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the mayor's office in Waukesha, a conservative suburb outside Milwaukee. But some Republicans were also rattled by a special election in Georgia, where their candidate to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene in Congress won by a much slimmer margin than the party enjoyed in the past.

Taken together, the swings added more data points to an increasingly clear picture of Democratic momentum heading into the November midterms, when control of Congress and state governments is up for grabs.

“In rural, urban, red, blue, Democrats have overperformed everywhere,” said Jared Leopold, a Democratic consultant whose clients include Keisha Lance Bottoms, a candidate for Georgia governor. “That is a significant canary in the coal mine about what November of ’26 is going to look like.”

Some Republicans insisted there was no need to panic, and their fundraising remains stronger than Democrats'. Stephen Lawson, a Georgia strategist, said “the sky is not falling.”

But he also said his party is running behind where it has been in the past, and Republicans need to be “looking at these results carefully.”

Special elections are no guarantee about the future, but Democrats are showing surprising strength. They flipped a Texas state Senate district. They won a state House seat in a Florida district that includes President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach.

Then they gained ground Tuesday in the election to replace Greene, who resigned from Congress in January after a falling out with Trump.

Republican Clay Fuller, who won by 12 percentage points, “CRUSHED” his opponent in a race that “wasn't close,” according to a social media post by Josh McKoon, chairman of the Georgia Republican Party.

But two years ago, Greene won by 29 percentage points and Trump carried the district by almost 37 percentage points.

“That’s a red alarm for Republicans,” said Democratic strategist Meredith Brasher.

Democrat Shawn Harris plans to challenge Fuller again in November.

Jackie Harling, the district's Republican chairwoman, said she believed that Greene’s resignation energized Democrats while her party is suffering from “election fatigue.”

“Marjorie Taylor Greene was like a freight train that you couldn’t stop, and when she pulled out, it gave Democrats hope and it gave them a shot at winning something they believed was unwinnable,” Harling said.

Georgia has key races this year, including an open contest for the governor's office. U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, is trying to defend his seat as well.

There's reason to think that simmering discontent could boomerang on Republicans just two years after Trump harnessed voters' anger with his comeback presidential campaign.

In November, Democrats defeated two Republican incumbents in statewide races for seats on the Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities. Rising electricity rates have been a fault line in recent campaigns, especially as enormous data centers are built to power artificial intelligence.

But Georgia Democratic Party Chair Charlie Bailey is trying to maintain modest expectations.

“We could cement ourselves, put ourselves, on the slightly bluer side of purple,” he said. ”We’re not going to overnight turn into Colorado.”

Wisconsin holds statewide elections for Supreme Court seats, and liberals expanded their majority with a 20-percentage-point blowout victory on Tuesday.

Democrats saw gains in red, blue and purple counties when compared with another judicial race last year, which was also won by the liberal candidate.

“This to me was a very clear sign of momentum and enthusiasm for Democrats in the fall,” said Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Devin Remiker.

The state has its own open race for governor this year, and Democrats are hoping to take control of the state Legislature and oust Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden.

“It’s time for us to put this thing in overdrive,” said Mandela Barnes, a Democratic former lieutenant governor who is running for governor.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, another Democratic candidate for governor, said it’s clear that “people are really upset with the Republican Party and their brand right now.”

“But that doesn’t mean that they’re automatically going to come over to the Democrats,” Crowley said. “And that’s why we have to continue to focus on the issues and speak to the values of all the voters here in the state of Wisconsin.”

Tiffany, the Republican candidate for governor in Wisconsin, cautioned against reading too much into Tuesday’s results.

He said “every election is unique,” and he wasn’t making any changes to his campaign. He said the key to winning will be to “paint that clear contrast of how we are going to help everyday Wisconsinites.”

But Democrats seemed to be making inroads, including in Waukesha, in a county that's a Republican.

Democrat Alicia Halvensleben, president of the city’s Common Council, defeated Republican Scott Allen, one of the most conservative members of the state Assembly.

She said Trump came up “a lot” when she was campaigning, although she thinks her victory came down to local issues and how the state legislature wasn't addressing them.

“There’s so much uncertainty at the national level,” Halvensleben said. “I think that level of uncertainty is causing people a lot of anxiety, all the way down to the local level.”

Amy reported from Atlanta and Cooper from Phoenix.

Republican Clay Fuller speaks during an election night watch party after winning a special election for Georgia's 14th Congressional District, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Ringgold, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., a candidate for Wisconsin governor, speaks during a news conference Wednesday, April 8, 2026, about what the GOP needs to do in November after big defeats in the spring election, outside of the state Capitol in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)