Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby have been the two faces of the NHL for over a decade. In addition to being wonderful human beings, they have been two of the greatest hockey players who ever lived.
They have been linked for their entire careers because they were both super-elite, back-to-back number-one overall picks, and division rivals for all of it.
The Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins have had so many great playoff battles and have combined for four Stanley Cups between the two of them during their careers.
Alex Ovechkin is 82 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record for the most in NHL history. That is an amazing feat, and if he does it, it will be one of the greatest moments in league history.
As for Sidney Crosby, he has been the slightly better overall player during his career. Although he has scored fewer goals, he has been better at creating them for either himself or a teammate. He is also one of the greatest two-way centers of his generation.
Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby were truly sensational this weekend in Florida.
Over All-Star Weekend, however, we got to enjoy both of them as Metropolitan Division teammates. They were linked at this even just as much as they have been in their careers, and it was a joy to watch.
On Friday, during the Skills Competition, Crosby and Ovechkin competed in the Breakaway Challenge (which has basically become like a skit) together and they won.
The reason they won is that they came down the ice on Roberto Luongo in a 3-0. It was those two and Ovi’s son, Sergei Ovechkin, who scored the goal. It was the perfect amount of skill, cuteness, and creativity.
Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin are your 2023 NHL Breakaway Challenge champions, all thanks to Sergei Ovechkin 🎉 #NHLAllStar pic.twitter.com/HrgVT2aWEc
— ESPN (@espn) February 4, 2023
Although the Skills Competition wasn’t as good as it has been in the past, it was a genuinely cool moment to watch.
A day later, the two participated in the game by playing on the same line for the Metropolitan Division. The team didn’t win the game, but these two each had at least one goal and multiple points because they made some truly incredibly skilled plays together.
Fans only really ever get to see them play against each other, so this was also a true joy to watch. These are the kinds of things you can only see at the All-Star Game, which is a reason to watch it even if it isn’t as good as it once was.
Crosby and Ovechkin are both on the back nine of their careers, so it was so cool to see them truly enjoy this weekend. They may or may not have a few of these left together, but they both don’t always go to the event because of voluntary time off to rest for the second half of the season.
Now, both of these guys will get back to their teams who are fighting hard for a playoff spot. There is new blood in the Eastern Conference these days, so the old guard will have to play extremely well just to get in.
Sidney Crosby and the Penguins are back in action on Tuesday as they host the Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche. As for Alex Ovechkin and the Caps, they have the week off and will be back next Saturday on the road against the Boston Bruins.
Enjoying these guys for the next few years is highly recommended. It was great to see them put on a show once again over All-Star Weekend.