Uploaded March 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
January 21, 2008 - The first few years of the Crosby/Ovechkin rivalry had been a duel of two bad teams, but as Pittsburgh progressed into a playoff contender in 2006-07, the Capitals found themselves on the losing end for all but one of their first 10 meetings. However, after the hiring of Bruce Boudreau revitalized the Caps in November, matchups between the teams became much more anticipated. A large reason for the Penguins' faster success was the addition of Ovechkin's countryman, Evgeni Malkin, the first player selected after Ovi in the 2004 draft. With Sidney Crosby out due to an ankle injury, the Ovechkin/Malkin matchup took center stage. Both players delivered with three points each, yet the most memorable part of the game came when Ovechkin attempted a huge hit on his former Olympic roommate but went flying into the boards after Malkin saw him coming at the last second. The tension simmered down a little bit for the rest of the game, though it wasn't without a few more physical moments between the two. In the end, Ovechkin finished with 2 goals, 1 assist, 4 hits, and a season-high 11 shots to go along with a shootout goal to lead the Caps to their first victory in Pittsburgh since 2002 - a win that moved them above the .500 mark just 27 games after being 6-14-1 and dead last in the NHL. Ovechkin's two goals also put him one up on Ilya Kovalchuk in the goal-scoring race - a lead that he would not relinquish for the rest of the season. The rivalry may not be quite as heated these days, but on this night the Alex vs. Geno show delivered one of the more memorable games in the storied history of the Caps/Pens rivalry.
- 1st Period -
0:00 - Puck drop
0:31 - Heavy hit on Gonchar
1:00 - Assist on Viktor Kozlov goal
2:09 - Goes flying into the boards after attempting huge hit on Malkin
2:23 - Brief shoving match between Ovechkin and Malkin
- 2nd Period -
3:22 - Goal #1
4:07 - Hit on Sydor
4:24 - Goal #2, Ovechkin takes NHL lead in goals
5:33 - Solid hit on Malkin
6:48 - Wins puck battle vs two Penguins
- 3rd Period -
7:37 - Malkin hits Ovechkin
7:51 - Malkin knees/trips Ovechkin
8:00 - Chance
8:16 - Nice pass to Fleischmann for chance
8:31 - Good keep in leads to Kozlov tying goal
- Overtime -
9:07 - Recap of Ovechkin and Malkin's nights
- Shootout -
10:13 - Shootout goal
10:40 - Semin wins shootout, Caps win in Pittsburgh for the first time since 2002
More classic Ovechkin games - youtube.com/playlist?list=PLH8bFa0t7qpQfBYEXybnEr9NbAqFcPyyq
January 21, 2008 - The first few years of the Crosby/Ovechkin rivalry had been a duel of two bad teams, but as Pittsburgh progressed into a playoff contender in 2006-07, the Capitals found themselves on the losing end for all but one of their first 10 meetings. However, after the hiring of Bruce Boudreau revitalized the Caps in November, matchups between the teams became much more anticipated. A large reason for the Penguins' faster success was the addition of Ovechkin's countryman, Evgeni Malkin, the first player selected after Ovi in the 2004 draft. With Sidney Crosby out due to an ankle injury, the Ovechkin/Malkin matchup took center stage. Both players delivered with three points each, yet the most memorable part of the game came when Ovechkin attempted a huge hit on his former Olympic roommate but went flying into the boards after Malkin saw him coming at the last second. The tension simmered down a little bit for the rest of the game, though it wasn't without a few more physical moments between the two. In the end, Ovechkin finished with 2 goals, 1 assist, 4 hits, and a season-high 11 shots to go along with a shootout goal to lead the Caps to their first victory in Pittsburgh since 2002 - a win that moved them above the .500 mark just 27 games after being 6-14-1 and dead last in the NHL. Ovechkin's two goals also put him one up on Ilya Kovalchuk in the goal-scoring race - a lead that he would not relinquish for the rest of the season. The rivalry may not be quite as heated these days, but on this night the Alex vs. Geno show delivered one of the more memorable games in the storied history of the Caps/Pens rivalry.
- 1st Period -
0:00 - Puck drop
0:31 - Heavy hit on Gonchar
1:00 - Assist on Viktor Kozlov goal
2:09 - Goes flying into the boards after attempting huge hit on Malkin
2:23 - Brief shoving match between Ovechkin and Malkin
- 2nd Period -
3:22 - Goal #1
4:07 - Hit on Sydor
4:24 - Goal #2, Ovechkin takes NHL lead in goals
5:33 - Solid hit on Malkin
6:48 - Wins puck battle vs two Penguins
- 3rd Period -
7:37 - Malkin hits Ovechkin
7:51 - Malkin knees/trips Ovechkin
8:00 - Chance
8:16 - Nice pass to Fleischmann for chance
8:31 - Good keep in leads to Kozlov tying goal
- Overtime -
9:07 - Recap of Ovechkin and Malkin's nights
- Shootout -
10:13 - Shootout goal
10:40 - Semin wins shootout, Caps win in Pittsburgh for the first time since 2002
More classic Ovechkin games - youtube.com/playlist?list=PLH8bFa0t7qpQfBYEXybnEr9NbAqFcPyyq
