Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin will face off for the 99th time when the Pittsburgh Penguins host the Washington Capitals on Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena. The matchup comes a day after Ovechkin became the first NHL player to reach 900 career goals in a 6-1 win over the St. Louis Blues. Crosby holds a points edge with 125 (46 goals, 79 assists) against Ovechkin's 101 (53 goals, 48 assists) in their previous 98 meetings.
The Penguins (8-4-2) enter the game after dropping four of their last six contests, including a 4-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday. Pittsburgh opened the season with a 6-2-0 start but has struggled recently on the road. The Capitals (7-5-1) snapped a four-game skid (0-3-1) with Wednesday's dominant victory over the Blues, where Ovechkin's milestone goal sparked a 5-0 second-period lead. Washington defensemen contributed to five of the six goals, with John Carlson scoring and Jakob Chychrun recording three assists.
Key Matchup Details
This will be the 99th head-to-head game between Crosby and Ovechkin since November 22, 2005, including 73 regular-season and 25 playoff encounters. The Penguins lead the all-time series 55-39-4, while the Capitals hold a 43-45-10 record against Pittsburgh. Crosby has four game-winning goals against Washington in the regular season, including one in their most recent meeting, a 5-2 Penguins win on April 17, 2025.
Projected Lineups
Washington Capitals
Forwards: Ovechkin-Strome-Beauvillier, Protas-McMichael-Wilson, Milano-Lapierre-Leonard, Duhaime-Dowd-Sourdif
Defensemen: Fehervary-Carlson, Chychrun-Roy, Sandin-van Riemsdyk
Goaltenders: Lindgren (starting), Thompson
Pittsburgh Penguins
Forwards: Rust-Crosby-Kindel, Novak-Malkin-Mantha, Koivunen-Heinen-Tomasino, Dewar-Lizzotte-Koppanen
Defensemen: Wotherspoon-Karlsson, Shea-Letang, Graves-Clifton
Goaltenders: Silovs (starting), Murashev
Charlie Lindgren is expected to start for Washington on the second night of a back-to-back, while Arturs Silovs will be in net for Pittsburgh with Tristan Jarry sidelined by injury. The Capitals rank third in the NHL with 16 wins on the second night of back-to-backs since 2023-24, including 14 on the road.
