"Personally, I don't like it": When Sidney Crosby didn't mince words about rival Alex Ovechkin's showmanship

Right from the start of their rivalry Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin signified what it feels like having two completely opposite personalities battling out for the supremacy of the best player in the league. Crosby the calm and composed and less spoken one, while Ovechkin the flamboyant and sometimes provoking.

While both future Hall of Famers have matured over the years, there have been instances where both have come to heads with each other. Back in 2009, in a regular season game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals, the pair almost dropped their mits and got into a fight.

In a late February game with the playoffs in sight, at the end of the second period Ovechkin seemingly pushed the Penguins forward as he was skating to the bench. That angered Sidney Crosby, who shoved his opponent over the Capitals bench. That led to the Russian retaliating by grabbing hold of Crosby's neck and his helmet falling over. Linesman Greg Devorski stepped in to thwart the confrontation.

After the game, both young stars had their own words to describe the other. Sidney Crosby publicly said that he didn't like the provoking tactics Ovechkin used.

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

"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."

The near-fight came at a time when the Capitals had taken an advantage over the Penguins in the Crosby-Ovi era. They were the better team that season, and the Pens, the losing finalists of the 2008-09 season, had a change in coaching and were on track to miss the playoffs.

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Sidney Crosby rooting for Alex Ovechkin to break Wayne Gretzky's record

As is the case with most sporting rivalries, the Crosby-Ovechkin rivalry stayed only in the initial years. Both players are now invested in rooting for each other.

In fact, Sidney Crosby said before the Capitals-Penguins' first regular season game in 2024-25 that he was willing on his competitor to break the NHL all-time goal scoring record.

"It's special," Crosby told NHL.com. "It's something that when you come into the League, you hope it can be something that lasts a long time. To be in the same division and for him to be doing what he's doing right now, chasing down the all-time record, it's incredible."

At the time, Ovechkin had 861 goals, 34 shy of Gretzky's record. Since then, he has added 18 more. He will look to finish off the job this season, as the Capitals are the in-form team, leading the Metropolitan division.