October 24, 2022 by Ryan Lotsberg

Sidney Crosby was touted as “the next one” when he entered the NHL after the 2005 lockout. Expectations were high for him, and he hasn’t disappointed. The Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia native has won three Stanley Cups (2009, 2016, 2017), two Conn Smythe Trophies (2016, 2017), two Art Ross Trophies (2007, 2014), two Hart Memorial Trophies (2007, 2014), three Ted Lindsay Awards (2007, 2013, 2014), two Maurice Richard Trophies (2010, 2017), and one Mark Messier Leadership Award (2010). He has 1419 points in 1113 NHL games over the span of eighteen seasons going into tonight’s matchup. He has 10 points in five games to start his 18th NHL season.

Connor McDavid faced similar expectations when he entered the league a decade later. McDavid won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s leading scorer in his second season. He was the youngest to win the award since Crosby did it in his second season in 2006-07. McDavid has won four Art Ross Trophies (2017, 2018, 2021, 2022), two Hart Memorial Trophies (2017, 2021), and three Ted Lindsay Awards (2017, 2018, 2021). The Richmond Hill, Ontario native has 707 points in 492 NHL games over eight seasons. He’s also got 10 points in his first five games of this young NHL season.

Tonight’s game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Edmonton Oilers will be the tenth time that Crosby and McDavid will face off against each other in the NHL. It’s always exciting when we get to watch these two generational talents on the same ice surface. It’s an added bonus that they’re both off to hot starts this year. As a primer for tonight’s tilt at Rogers Place, here’s a brief overview of the previous nine games where Crosby and McDavid have squared off against each other:

(Thanks to Hockey Reference for all of the information found in this piece)

McDavid missed both matchups against the Pittsburgh Penguins during his rookie season in 2015-16 because of his broken collar bone. Crosby missed a game against McDavid’s Oilers on December 20, 2019.

11/08/16: 4-3 PIT 

McDavid got three assists on three straight Oilers goals to put them up 3-1. Pittsburgh scored three straight goals including two in the third period to win 4-3.

McDavid: 3 A

Crosby: 0 pts 

3/10/17 @ Rogers Place: 3-2 PIT (SO)

Pittsburgh went up 2-0 in the first period. McDavid scored a powerplay goal to tie the game in the third period. The Oilers would go on to lose in a shootout. McDavid scored in the shootout, but Phil Kessel got the shootout winner. 

McDavid: 1 G

Crosby: 0 pts

10/24/17: 2-1 PIT (OT)

The teams exchanged goals in the third period. McDavid tied the game late. Kessel won it in overtime.

McDavid: 1 G

Crosby: 0 pts

11/01/17 @ Rogers Place: 3-2 PIT 

An eventful second period that featured four goals saw the teams exchange powerplay goals early. Leon Draisaitl scored to put the Oilers up 2-1 minutes later. The Penguins scored with twenty seconds left in the second period to tie the game at two. An Evgeni Malkin powerplay goal in the third period won the game for the Penguins.

McDavid: 2 A

Crosby: 1 A

10/23/18 @ Rogers Place: 6-5 PIT (OT)

This was an absolutely wild game. There were six second period goals! The Oilers scored two powerplay goals to take the lead in the third period. The Penguins tied it minutes later, and Crosby won it in overtime on the play where he walked out from the corner and embarrassed Ryan Strome. 

McDavid: 1 G, 1 A

Crosby: 2 G

02/13/19: 3-1 PIT

A short-handed goal by Bryan Rust and an empty net goal by Jared McCann was the difference in this tight affair. Close, but no cigar for the Oilers.

McDavid: 1 A 

Crosby: 1 A

11/02/19: 2-1 EDM (OT) 

The late Colby Cave (may God rest his soul) scored the nicest goal of his career in this game, which tragically became his final NHL goal. He streaked in on the right wing, cut hard to the net, and outwaited Matt Murray before sliding the puck around his outstretched pad. Draisaitl won it for the Oilers in overtime. 

McDavid – 0 pts

Crosby – 0 pts

12/01/21 @ Rogers Place: 5-2 EDM.

It was a 2-2 game going into the third period. Kailer Yamamoto and Evan Bouchard scored in the third period to put the Oilers up by two, and McDavid sealed it with an empty net goal. 

McDavid: 1 G, 3 A

Crosby: 1 A

04/26/22: 5-1 EDM

It was 2-1 for the Oilers heading into the third period. It was a big third period for the Oilers with two powerplay goals, both of which were assisted by McDavid. Zack Kassian capped off the night with an empty net goal.

McDavid: 1 G, 3 A

Crosby: 0 pts

McDavid has gotten the better of Crosby in their head to head matchups. McDavid has 18 points in the nine games, including eight in two games last season. Crosby only has five points in those nine games.

However, the Penguins won the first six iterations of the Crosby vs McDavid matchup. That makes sense for the story arcs of both teams. The Penguins would win their second and third Stanley Cups in the Crosby era in 2016 and 2017, whereas the Oilers have been trying to build a winner around their young phenom since 2015. 

The tides have started to change though. The Oilers have won the last three matchups against Crosby’s Penguins. The Penguins are still elite, but the Oilers are coming off their first Western Conference Finals appearance since 2006.

Buckle up because tonight’s game should be a dandy. Only once in nine games have McDavid and Crosby combined for zero points, and both are off to hot starts this season. One or both of them will have an impact on the outcome of this one.

The Penguins come into tonight’s game not having lost in regulation. They’re in 1st place in the Metropolitan Division with a 4-0-1 record. So far, they’ve beaten the Arizona Coyotes, Tampa Bay Lightning, Los Angeles Kings, and the Columbus Blue Jackets. Their lone loss of the season was an overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Crosby paces the Penguins with 10 points.

The Oilers came into the season as Stanley Cup contenders. McDavid also leads his team with 10 points, but the Oilers sit in a tie for 5th in the Pacific Division entering tonight’s action after a 2-3 start. They beat the Vancouver Canucks in dramatic fashion on opening night, and they beat the Carolina Hurricanes last Thursday. They fell to the Calgary Flames, the Buffalo Sabres, and the St. Louis Blues. Their start has been underwhelming during a six-game season opening homestand, but as @dashinthepark pointed out, the Oilers have had the tougher scheudle based on the early records of the teams they faced. A lot could be forgiven by Oilers fans with a win tonight against the Penguins.