Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin are set for one more season of familiar heavyweight hockey, and the 2026-27 schedule gives fans four chances to see it play out.
Ovechkin has already announced he will retire after this year, ending a run that will leave him with the NHL’s all-time goals record. That puts an even brighter spotlight on the matchups between the Capitals and Penguins, two franchises forever tied to the players who were taken No. 1 overall in back-to-back drafts and built Hall of Fame résumés in parallel.
The teams meet four times this season:
- Oct. 7 at 7:30 p.m. at Capital One Arena
- Jan. 18 at 4 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena
- March 13 at 3 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena
- April 4 at 7 p.m. at Capital One Arena
These games have long carried extra weight, and this season figures to be no different with Ovechkin heading toward the end of his career. The rivalry has produced plenty of memorable battles over the years, and Crosby and Ovechkin have remained central figures every step of the way.
The numbers from their head-to-head matchups show just how evenly and consistently they’ve gone at each other.
Crosby has appeared in 75 games against Ovechkin, averaging 21:02 of ice time to Ovechkin’s 20:53. Crosby’s teams hold a 43-28-4 record in those games, while Ovechkin’s side is 32-33-10.
Crosby has 97 points in the matchup, with 35 goals and 62 assists. Ovechkin has 71 points, including 38 goals and 33 assists. Crosby’s average sits at 1.29 points per game compared with Ovechkin’s 0.95.
On special teams, Ovechkin has the edge in power-play goals, 21 to 16, while Crosby has 11 power-play assists to Ovechkin’s 6. Both players have 27 power-play points. Crosby also has four game-winning goals in the series, while Ovechkin has two.
Ovechkin has fired more shots on goal, 341 to Crosby’s 256, but Crosby has the better shooting percentage at 13.7% compared with Ovechkin’s 11.1%. Crosby’s plus/minus stands at -10, while Ovechkin is at +3.
In Other News...
Penguins Let A Winnable Capitals Game Slip Away Again
Bryan Rusts season debut gave the Penguins an immediate lift against Washington, and for a moment it looked like Pittsburgh might be ready to settle into the kind of game it has to win more often. The Capitals got the early jump, but Rust helped steady things quickly as the Penguins tried to match the pace and respond to a team that has had their number in recent meetings.
Pittsburgh kept pushing with goals from Tommy Novak and Nick Robertson, but Washington kept finding answers and never really let the game slip into the Penguins preferred rhythm. By the end, the frustration felt familiar for a club that saw a winnable divisional test drift away, leaving another reminder that staying clean defensively and finishing chances still has to catch up fast. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Handed Ovechkin's Night An Ugly Start They Could Not Escape
The Penguins walked into a season-opening spotlight in Washington and spent most of the night trying to recover from the opening minutes. Alex Ovechkins final introduction at a Capitals home opener before retirement gave the building its emotional frame, but Pittsburgh quickly made the hockey part uncomfortable for itself and never fully got back on level ground in a 5-3 loss.
Washington took advantage of early mistakes, with Logan Thompson turning aside 24 shots to help the Capitals settle in after the rough start. Pittsburgh did manage to push back and stay within reach, but the combination of sloppy puck management and repeated Capitals responses left the Penguins chasing the game instead of shaping it, an all-too-familiar opening-night problem theyll have to clean up fast. [Read more 🡒]
Dan Muse Calls Out A Penguins Problem That Keeps Costing Them
After a 5-3 loss to the Washington Capitals, Dan Muse spent part of his postgame message on a problem the Penguins have been carrying with them too often: puck management. The Pittsburgh coach said the team has to do a better job supporting one another and making safer decisions, especially when plays get messy, because the giveaways are handing opponents too many chances the other way.
Muses concern was not just about one rough night, either. He said the issue is less about a shortened preseason and more about finding consistency, which is a tougher fix because it has to show up shift after shift. For a Penguins team trying to settle into cleaner habits early, that leaves the focus on execution and the kind of mistakes that keep showing up in the wrong spots. [Read more 🡒]