Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby and Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin are considered to be on a short list of the world’s best hockey players and have been the NHL’s marquee attractions since they were rookies at the beginning of the post-lockout era.
There is also a perceived rivalry between the two.
That bothers Crosby a bit. It’s not that he and Ovechkin are best buddies, and he doesn’t deny there’s a rivalry. He just thinks their off-ice war of words has been overblown.
On Thursday, Crosby sought to clarify at least one aspect of the purported bad blood between him and Ovechkin.
It stems from a 5-2 Penguins loss Feb. 22 in Washington. Crosby and Ovechkin had a verbal confrontation with a bit of shoving in front of the Capitals’ bench in the third period, and Ovechkin gave Crosby a dismissive wave.
Afterward, Crosby said of Ovechkin: “Like it or lump it, that’s what he does. Some people like it, some people don’t. Personally, I don’t like it.”
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Crosby believes those comments have been construed to include Ovechkin’s overall persona, including his demonstrative scoring celebrations.
“I didn’t like the way he was using his hands or the gestures he was making,” Crosby said. “It didn’t have anything to do with goal celebrations. That was a totally made-up story. The taunting was what I didn’t like about that. It didn’t have anything to do with goal-scoring celebration.”
Ovechkin was low-key after the Capitals practice.
“It’s always nice when top players play against each other in the playoffs,” he told reporters. “It’s great for the fans.”
No doubt Crosby and Ovechkin will be evaluated closely during the series, and any interaction on the ice or comments toward each other off the ice will be dissected.
“Some people like his style; some people like my style. We’re just different. That’s why I think a lot of people find it interesting,” Crosby said.
“Do I wake up hoping to see Ovechkin fail? No, I don’t,” Crosby said. “He’s a guy I play against. He’s a great player. We’re competitive against each other.”