Ovechkin congratulates rival Sidney Crosby for his 1,000th game originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Sidney Crosby played in his 1,000th NHL game on Saturday against the New York Islanders. As one of the biggest stars of the game, the congratulations and tributes to the Penguins captain came rolling in from across the hockey world, including one from his biggest rival.
Alex Ovechkin was among those who offered congratulations to Crosby in a short video that was tweeted out by the Penguins.
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Ovechkin and Crosby have been fierce rivals since they both entered the league in 2005. Ovechkin was the No. 1 overall pick in 2004 while Crosby was the top pick in 2005. A lockout forced the 2004-05 season to be canceled so both players debuted in the same season on rival teams, leading to the natural rivalry between both players.
Over the years both players established themselves as superstars and they did it while competing against the other. Ovechkin beat out Crosby for the Calder Trophy as the rookie of the year, twice Ovechkin has seen his streak of consecutive Rocket Richard Trophies for most goals in a season snapped by Crosby and four times both players have met in the playoffs with the winner each time eventually going on to win the Stanley Cup.
The rivalry has been contentious at times, but one that has always been rooted in respect as Ovechkin's video shows.
Now, let's never see that Penguins logo next to Ovechkin's name again as it shows in the video. That just feels weird.
