The Crosby-Ovechkin Era rolls on with latest Pens-Caps showdown

They are arguably the two most polarizing figures in the NHL. So it comes as little surprise that when the Penguins and Capitals face off for the first time this season, the bulk of the focus is on Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, and recounting their long-standing “rivalry.”

Heck, it hasn’t been called “The Sid & Ovi Show” for the past decade for nothing.

With their first meeting in October, it’s natural to Photoshop their faces side-by-side in a lead photo for a Caps-Pens pre-game piece and measure how the two teams are faring based on Crosby’s and Ovechkin’s accomplishments. Dan Rosen did a great piece over on NHL.com which recaps their NHL careers since both entered the league in 2005, and also gives an encompassing look at how their respective teams have fared during that time.

But even when looking at just this young season, it is hard to deny that these two players are still such a driving force for both of their franchises.

The Penguins have been on a rollercoaster in the fall of 2015. While they won four of their last five tilts heading into their Wednesday night visit to Washington, putting the puck in the back of the net has come with difficulty. Their season-opening 0-3-0 record was “low-lighted” by Crosby experiencing the worst points drought of his career, going six games before scoring a goal. Pittsburgh has many weapons—Evgeni Malkin has been one of the brightest spots, leading the team with 7 points (3 goals, 4 assists)—but when their captain suffers, it becomes a focal point. Apparently, not even the hype around Phil Kessel can take the spotlight off of Sid the Kid.

Higher up in the Metropolitan Division standings are the Capitals, whose dominance on the ice has catapulted them to a stellar 6-1-0 record. The only notch in the loss column for the Caps came on October 13 thanks to a 5-0 shutout by the San Jose Sharks. In that game, Washington was missing Nicklas Backstrom to a hip injury, and Ovechkin was benched after accidentally sleeping through morning skate. Having a top line consisting of Evgeny Kuznetsov and T.J. Oshie is solid, but there’s really no replacing Alexander the Great’s intimidation and scoring prowess on that other wing.

Despite the Capitals being off to a better start in this season—and Ovi chasing Sergei Fedorov’s goal-scoring record—the Penguins have gotten the better of them in their match-ups over recent years. Per NHL.com, Pittsburgh has won “22 of 39 regular-season games as well as their lone Stanley Cup Playoff series” during the Crosby-Ovechkin Era. It still remains to be seen how each player, and their team, performs in the 2015-16 season.

The Pens and Caps meet up five times in this campaign, which means more dissecting these players’ storied matchup as the season rolls on. But it doesn’t take a long series to see how much of an impact Crosby and Ovechkin continue to make.