Capitals' Alex Ovechkin opens up on his relationship with long-time rival Sidney Crosby 

Alex Ovechkin has spent one week as the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer.

The Great 8 is now looking to add to his record number of goals before he and the Washington Capitals begin their pursuit of the Stanley Cup. Ovechkin tallied number 896 during Sunday night's 4-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets and has two games remaining in the regular season.

Game 82 on Washington's schedule happens to come against the Pittsburgh Penguins, for another edition of Crosby versus Ovechkin. While the game may not have any implications towards the standings, the two all-time greats know how special it is every time they face off.

Alex Ovechkin was on the "Pat McAfee Show" on Monday and got asked about his relationship with his forever rival, Sidney Crosby. The Pat McAfee Show on X (formerly Twitter) shared the clip with his response.

"Yeah obviously me and Sid, to be honest with you, first couple years was not that good. But, right now we talk, like, congrats each other if we hit some milestones. And you know, like, those relationships is like you know from the battle to like in hockey and outside of hockey its total different thing," Ovechkin said.

"After the game we always talk, we always chatting and yeah we have respect to each other. And you're right, like what we did to NHL, it's a tremendous thing like you know me and him, what we do all those years, it's great for us. You know, like people gonna talk about Crosby and Ovechkin, Pittsburgh and Washington for maybe 20 or 50 more years, and it's great. So yeah, it's a battle, but it's a friendship right now," Ovechkin added.

It's pretty awesome to see the respect Ovechkin and Crosby have gained for one another after 20 years of intense battles on the ice.

---

Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby have once again been tremendous in 2024-25

At 39 and 37 years old, respectively, Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby continue to be among the best players in the NHL.

Ovechkin has piled up 71 points (43 goals, 28 assists) in just 63 games, while Crosby has racked up 89 points (32 goals, 57 assists) in 79 games himself. Fittingly enough, they are tied for 16th in the league in points per game at a 1.127 rate.

The two legends are the only players in the NHL to rank among the top 50 in point scoring who are over the age of 35 years old. Remarkable talent, consistency, and longevity from two future first-ballot Hall of Famers.

Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby will end their regular seasons against one another on Thursday when the Penguins host the Capitals. The puck drops at 7 p.m. EST at PPG Paints Arena.