Today (Mar. 10), Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers visit Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena. This will be only the 13th time the two superstars have faced off in an NHL regular-season game.
Since their first time playing against each other, on Nov. 8, 2016, every meeting of Crosby and McDavid has always generated tremendous excitement. Watching two first-overall picks, separated by a decade, each considered the greatest player of their generation, go head-to-head? That’s the kind of thing you tell the grandkids about.
But the Edmonton-Pittsburgh series has proven lopsided recently, while the friendly rivalry between Crosby and McDavid has been one-sided right from the start.
McDavid Outscoring Crosby Head-to-Head
Over their 12 head-to-head meetings, Edmonton’s captain has racked up eight goals and 16 assists with a plus-12 rating, while his Penguins counterpart has totaled only three goals and four assists while registering a rating of minus-9.
Just last week, on Mar. 3, McDavid notched a goal and an assist while Crosby went pointless as Edmonton blasted the Penguins 6-1 at Rogers Place before a crowd of 18,347.
Oilers on Winning Streak Against Penguins
That was Edmonton’s sixth consecutive win against the Penguins when Crosby played, and the last five victories were all by at least three goals.
Pittsburgh had won its first six games against McDavid, although all but one of those games were decided by just one goal, including three that went to overtime.
Oilers and Penguins Heading in Different Directions
McDavid and Co. had steadily improved the last several years, with the team’s point percentage increasing all but once between 2017-18, when Edmonton finished with a record of 36-40-6 (.476), and last season when the Oilers went 50-23-9 (.665).
Over that span, Edmonton has gone from missing the playoffs in back-to-back seasons to making four consecutive postseason appearances. The Oilers advanced to the Western Conference Final in 2022 and reached the second round of the playoffs last year, Edmonton’s first time winning a postseason series in consecutive years since 1997 and 1998. Through 62 games in 2023-24, the Oilers are 38-21-3 (.637).
Meanwhile, the Penguins have been in decline since 2017, when they captured the Stanley Cup for the third time in Crosby’s career. Pittsburgh’s most recent postseason series victory came in 2018, and last year, the Penguins missed the playoffs for the first time since Crosby was a rookie in 2005-06. With just 20 games left on their 2023-24 schedule, the Penguins currently find themselves eight points out of a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.
Related: Hurricanes Finally Get Their Guy With Big Guentzel Trade
After the Penguins dealt Crosby’s linemate and good friend, star winger Jake Guentzel, to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday (Mar. 8), Crosby appeared sullen and sounded discouraged, giving short answers to questions about Pittsburgh’s playoff hopes and the direction Penguins management might be taking.
“No, I wouldn’t say it does,” Crosby said bluntly when asked whether the current state of affairs compared to anything he’d seen before during his nearly two decades in Pittsburgh. There was a sense of realization that Pittsburgh’s time as a contender is over.
McDavid Yet to Match Crosby in All-Time Greatness
A changing of the guard is taking place. Edmonton is among the favorites to win the Stanley Cup and is in the hunt for one of the top playoff seeds in the Pacific Division, while the Penguins are just trying to stay afloat after suffering another dispiriting loss, a 5-1 loss to the Bruins on Saturday (Mar. 9).
McDavid, 27, has already exceeded the 36-year-old Crosby in just about all the major individual honors: he leads Crosby 5-2 in Art Ross Trophy wins, 4-3 in times receiving the Ted Lindsay Award, 3-2 in Hart Memorial Trophy awards, and 5-4 in NHL All-Star First Team selections.
But Crosby possesses those three Stanley Cup rings, while McDavid hasn’t even played in a single championship series. Before McDavid can be in the same discussion for all-time greatness, the Oilers captain must win the Stanley Cup. Today represents an opportunity to take another small step on that greater path.