Throughout the course of the past five NHL seasons, Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin have raised their rivalry to one of the best feuds in sports.
Objective analysts (if there are such things) and fans are constantly debating who the better player is. And while Ovechkin won the Rookie of the Year over Crosby and has two MVP trophies to Crosby's one, I'm pretty sure Crosby has had the better career to this point. Sunday just confirmed it.
Ovechkin's awards are all individual accomplishments that are nice, but in the end mean nothing. Crosby has a Stanley Cup and now a Gold Medal. What does Ovechkin have that can begin to compare? He's a great player, there is no disputing that, but put his successes next to Crosby's and it's not close. Wait, I'm sorry. A bronze medal is pretty sweet.
Crosby also played a huge role in both of those wins. Crosby scored the most goals in last year's playoffs and then scored the winning goal in overtime to secure the gold for the Canadians. It's not as if Sid was along for the ride. Neither victory happens without him.
Of course, this rivalry could get a lot closer this summer the way the Capitals are playing, but I'm sticking to my guns in saying their goaltending won't hold up when it counts.
Capital fans, the stubborn fools they are, will no doubt blame the defense, the rest of the Russian squad, Evgeni Malkin, the country of Canada, curling, officiating, global warming and just about everything else you can think of for Ovechkin not getting a gold or a Stanley Cup for that matter. But the man isn't a leader. He can take over a game, but can he rally a team around him and will them to win a championship the way Crosby has already done multiple times? It's yet to be seen.
The Clash - Tommy Gun
The scary thing is that Crosby is 22 and Ovechkin is 24. Sid is still five years away from hitting his prime. They are both going to dominate hockey for a while and will be the central focus again at the Olympics in 2014.
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