Sidney Crosby Vs Alex Ovechkin

Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin… two of the greatest stars the NHL has ever seen, and nobody is denying that. Ever since they both came into the league, there has been an argument on who’s been better from their rookie year, until now, 19 years later. A lot goes into this argument and it won't be easy to decide who’s better, but at Tell Us Sports, we will break it down to the last-minute detail and figure this out! 

Sid the Kid and the Great 8 have been battling it out since their rookie year, making a much-needed new rivalry for the NHL. In each of their rookie years (both in 05-06) Alex Ovechkin took home the Calder Trophy (rookie of the year), with 52 goals and 54 assists for a total of 106 points. Crosby, on the other hand, wasn’t too far off when it came to points, having 39 goals and 63 assists for a total of 102 points. Both Sid and Ovi didn’t make the playoffs that year, but this was just the start of something special happening in the NHL. 

The following season (06-07), Crosby leaped as Ovechkin took a little step back, with Crosby having a career year with 120 points and winning the Hart Trophy (MVP), the Ted Lindsey Trophy, and the Art Ross Trophy (most points); thus leading Crosby and the Penguins to their first playoff series with Crosby and Co. Now with Ovechkin, he had a great season but finished with 96 points and missed the playoffs again. In 07-08, on the other hand, both Ovi and Sid made the playoffs, but now Ovi putting up a career-high in goals with 65 and points with 112, which led him to win his first Rocket Richard Trophy (Most goals), and winning the Hart Trophy. On the other hand, now captain, Crosby couldn’t compete with that due to an injury that kept him out for 29 games, causing him to only play 53 games but had 72 points. Crosby ended up getting the upper hand that year as he went on to the Stanely Cup finals, but the Penguins ended up losing the series 4-2 against the Detroit Red Wings. This was just the start of both player's pure domination in the league. 

In 2008-09, Ovi went back to back when it came to winning the Hart Trophy, as well as the Rocket Richard Trophy, and Ted Lindsey Trophy. Now Captain Crosby had a bounce-back year and stayed healthy, finishing with 103 points in 77 games. Those solo awards didn’t mean much for Crosby as that year, it was the first time Crosby and Ovi would play against each other in the playoffs. It was probably the most entertaining series as it would go to seven games, and in the series they both scored a hat-trick in the same game! Crosby would eventually get the best of Ovi as they would win the series, and Sid would go on to win his first Stanley Cup and become the youngest captain to win it. The Penguins beat the team that beat him last year, the Detroit Red Wings. 

If we fast forward to the end of the 2014-2015 season, six years went by since Crosby’s first cup, how did Crosby and Ovi compare through those years? Well, Crosby would battle many injuries including 2 concussions, but would end up picking up a couple of awards along the way; these include a Mark Messier (best leadership), a Rocket Richard Trophy, two Ted Lindsey Trophies, a Hart Trophy, and a Art Ross. If you want to include international awards, Crosby would win two Olympic gold medals, and the infamous ‘golden goal’ in 2010. Ovechkin on the other hand, would go on to win a Ted Lindsey, a Hart Trophy, and three Rocket Richard trophies. Over those six years, both players have achieved a respectable amount of awards, but no Stanley Cups to add to their names. The next three years, Ovi and Crosby would run the NHL both finally being fully healthy, no one was able to stop them… except each other…

In the 2015-16 playoffs, Crosby and the Penguins would play Ovi and the Capitals again for the first time since 2008-09, the penguins would go on to win that series in six games, and now Crosby has the edge on Ovi in the playoffs 2-0. The Penguins would go on to win the Cup and the captain would win his first Conn Smyth (Playoff MVP). During that season, Ovechkin won his sixth Rocket Richard. The following year, Ovi and Sid would meet yet again in the playoffs, and again in the second round, but this time the Penguins would win in seven games rather than six. Making the playoff series against Crosby and Ovi 3-0. The Penguins would end up going back to back and Crosby picked up his third cup of his career, as well as winning his second Conn Smyth, he would also win his second Rocket Richard Trophy. It looked as if Crosby and Ovi were nowhere near on the same level, but that would change soon!

The next year (2017-18) Ovi and the Capitals would get their much-needed revenge against Crosby and the Penguins. Meeting again for the fourth time in the second round, Ovi would beat the Penguins in six games while going on to win his first Stanley Cup of his career, and finally be able to complete his legacy in the NHL. He would also win his seventh Rocket Richard, and first Conn Smyth trophy that year. 

Fast forward to the current season, Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin are two of the oldest players in the NHL, but they are aging like fine wine, with Crosby having 41 goals and 48 assists for a total of 89 points in his age-36 season, having yet another PPG season, tying Wayne Gretzky's record for the most. As of writing this, he (Crosby) is currently trying to carry the Penguins to a playoff spot, all while Crosby moved into the top 10 in all-time points and recorded his 1000th career assist against the Detroit Red Wings (April 11, 2024). In addition to this, Ovi has played very well in his age-38 season, putting up another 30-goal campaign having 64 points in 74 games, and also trying to carry the Capitals to a playoff spot. 

Looking back on everything that was stated, Crosby and Ovi have been battling it out since day one. Crosby’s record vs Ovechkin in the regular season is 40-25-4, and has 90 points in 69 games against him. Ovi’s record vs Crosby in the regular season is 29-30-10 and has 67 points in 69 games against Sid. From the looks of it, Crosby “owns” Ovechkin when it comes to their head-to-head activities, as he is also (like stated before), 3-1 against him in the playoffs, and has 3 cups over Ovechkins 1 cup. If you look at individual awards, Ovi will dismantle Crosby as Ovi has 9 Rocket Richards, 3 Hart Trophies, 3 Ted Lindseys, 1 Art Ross, 1 Conn Smyth, and a Calder Trophy for a total of 18 awards. To compare that to Crosby’s 2 Hart Trophies, 2 Art Ross, 2 Rocket Richards, 2 Conn Smyths, 3 Ted Lindseys and 1 Mark Messier Trophy, for a total of 12 awards, plus 2 gold medals. Now you can look at that and see who is the better solo player, and by looking at the awards, one would say Ovechkin is the better player, but then you look at both individual and team awards, and you think of Crosby. With that being said, Sidney Crosby will go down as the better player when they both retire, but both of them, completely rejuvenated a much-needed rivalry that the NHL had needed, and in the words of Mr. Ovechkin, "We (Sid and I) saved the NHL."