Ovechkin‑Crosby hits 100

Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby reached 100 NHL meetings on Sunday, a round number that landed in what could be Ovechkin’s final home game in Washington. (apnews.com) Washington beat Pittsburgh 3-0 at Capital One Arena on April 12, with Logan Thompson stopping 24 shots and Connor McMichael scoring twice. Ovechkin had an assist on the empty-net goal after taking the opening faceoff against Crosby. (apnews.com) The league had framed the weekend set as the 100th and 101st games between them, counting regular season and Stanley Cup Playoffs. Their first NHL meeting came on November 22, 2005, when Pittsburgh beat Washington 5-4 at Mellon Arena. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2) The timing gave the milestone extra weight because Ovechkin is 40, in the final season of the five-year, $47.5 million contract he signed in 2021, and has said he will decide in the offseason whether to play in 2026-27. Fans in Washington chanted “One more year,” and Ovechkin replied afterward, “I’ll think about it.” (nhl.com) (click2houston.com) The rivalry has tracked the National Hockey League for two decades: Crosby was the No. 1 pick in the 2005 draft, Ovechkin was the No. 1 pick in 2004, and they entered the league one year apart because of the 2004-05 lockout. Crosby has three Stanley Cups, while Ovechkin’s breakthrough came with Washington’s 2018 title. (nhl.com) (foxsports.com) Their head-to-head record has split along familiar lines. In 74 regular-season meetings before the weekend, Crosby had 97 points to Ovechkin’s 70, and Pittsburgh held a 43-27-4 team edge; in the playoffs, they had met in four series, with Pittsburgh winning in 2009, 2016 and 2017 before Washington broke through in 2018. (nhl.com) (espn.com) The standings made Sunday more than a ceremony. Pittsburgh had already clinched a playoff berth and second place in the Metropolitan Division, while Washington entered the game outside the Eastern Conference field and needed the win to stay alive. (nhl.com) (espn.com) As of Monday, the National Hockey League’s playoff bracket showed Pittsburgh in the Metropolitan Division’s No. 2 slot against Philadelphia, while Washington remained outside the “if the playoffs started today” field. The first round is scheduled to begin on Saturday, April 18, after the regular season ends on Thursday, April 16. (nhl.com) (sportingnews.com) Ovechkin’s own numbers are part of why the possible ending has drawn so much attention. He is the league’s all-time regular-season goals leader with 929 and still leads Washington this season with 32 goals and 63 points. (click2houston.com) (espn.com) If Sunday was the last home chapter, it closed the way this rivalry usually has: with Crosby and Ovechkin sharing the ice, the game carrying playoff stakes for at least one side, and the next date still uncertain. (apnews.com) (nhl.com)