It’s a particular deal with for hockey followers each time generational skills face off in an NHL recreation. No two gamers within the NHL match that description higher than Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby. McDavid is in his tenth season, however as a result of they’re in numerous conferences, we’ve solely had the pleasure of watching him compete towards Crosby 14 instances. They would want to play extra incessantly to develop a real rivalry, however trying on the all-time historical past of Crosby versus McDavid, just a few fascinating narratives emerge.
Penguins Dominate in McDavid’s Early Years
From the start, McDavid discovered a solution to discover the scoresheet towards the Penguins incessantly. He received three assists in his first recreation towards Pittsburgh. The younger Oilers blew a 3-1 lead that evening and misplaced 4-3 to the Pens regardless of Crosby being held pointless.
McDavid scored within the subsequent two video games towards Crosby, who didn’t register a single level. Nonetheless, Pittsburgh edged the Oilers in a shootout of their second assembly, with each superstars scoring on their penalty shot makes an attempt, after which Phil Kessel scored an additional time (OT) winner of their third matchup to win it for the Penguins once more. Of their fourth recreation towards each other, Crosby recorded his first level towards McDavid, and it was sufficient to elevate the Penguins to a 3-2 win.
In 2018, Crosby lastly had a standout efficiency towards the Oilers, making it 5 consecutive wins towards McDavid. In a back-and-forth offensive recreation, he scored one aim in regulation. Then, in additional time, Sid scored one of many prettiest objectives of his profession by undressing Ryan Strome and tucking a backhander beneath Cam Talbot’s glove for the 6-5 OT win. Each gamers picked up an help of their sixth recreation, and the Penguins received 3-1. Matt Murray stoned McDavid on a penalty shot within the second interval and had a standout efficiency that evening.
Whereas McDavid held his personal individually, he may by no means lead his staff to victory towards Pittsburgh in his early years because the Oilers dropped the primary six video games when he confronted Crosby head-to-head.
Oilers Have Dominated Current Matchups
In a poetic “passing of the torch” shift, McDavid and the Oilers turned the tables beginning within the 2019-20 season. Mockingly, it started with a 2-1 win through which neither 87 nor 97 received a degree; Leon Draisaitl was the additional time hero, giving McDavid his first win towards Crosby. After that, McDavid started feasting on the Penguins, registering a four-point evening 3 times in his subsequent 4 video games towards the Pittsburgh.
Associated: 7 Causes Connor McDavid is the World’s Finest Hockey Participant
In March 2024, the Oilers demolished the previous, sluggish-looking Penguins 6-1 and shut out Pittsburgh 4-0 only a week later. McDavid received six factors over the 2 video games, and Crosby was shut down offensively.
In Oct. 2024, they met for the primary time through the 2024-25 season, which led to a 4-0 win for the Oilers. Neither participant contributed to the scoring, although.
Edmonton has outscored Pittsburgh 39-10 over the previous eight video games when Sid and Connor are within the lineup. The all-time sequence between the 2 generational skills is now 8-6 in favour of McDavid.
McDavid Has Had Extra Particular person Success Head-to-Head
The staff’s success within the Crosby vs McDavid all-time sequence has swung from one course to a different. Nonetheless, McDavid has owned his childhood idol from begin to end when it comes to particular person performances.
Listed below are some key stats from their first six matchups:
| Crosby | McDavid | |
| Document | 6-0-0 | 0-3-3 |
| Targets | 2 | 3 |
| Assists | 2 | 7 |
| Factors | 4 | 10 |
| Plus/Minus | Plus-1 | Even |
| Faceoff % | 50 | 46 |
McDavid produced extra offence however didn’t win the video games. Crosby doesn’t have essentially the most spectacular numbers towards the Oilers, however he did nicely sufficient to win. His expertise within the faceoff circle in comparison with McDavid was fairly obvious, too, with Sid being 50% and Connor solely 46%.
Listed below are how their numbers regarded within the final eight matchups:
| Crosby | McDavid | |
| Document | 0-7-1 | 8-0-0 |
| Targets | 1 | 6 |
| Assists | 2 | 11 |
| Factors | 3 | 17 |
| Plus/Minus | Minus-14 | Plus-17 |
McDavid’s dominance is much more pronounced towards an older Penguins staff, mirrored in his stats and the ultimate scores.
In equity to Crosby, he was already a 10-year veteran by the point McDavid entered the league, and as Connor approached his prime, Sid strayed additional away from his. He’s nonetheless one of many league’s greatest gamers at 37 years previous, however McDavid has gotten the higher of him head-to-head. Maybe it will have been a lot nearer in the event that they confronted each other of their primes. Sadly, we are going to by no means know.
We Don’t Have Lots of These Video games Left
Crosby is slowly approaching his 40s, and his profession is getting into its twilight years. We nonetheless solely have a handful of those Crosby vs McDavid matchups left.
With the 4 Nations Face-Off developing subsequent yr and NHL participation within the 2026 Winter Olympic Video games, we’ll see Crosby and McDavid as teammates extra instances than we see them as adversaries any further. Will probably be fascinating to see them elevate one another’s video games as a duo fairly than opponents.
