Other numbers to note: In 14 Stanley Cup Playoff games against each other, Ovechkin has 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists), and Crosby has 17 (10 goals, seven assists). Crosby led the Penguins with five shots on goal Thursday; Ovechkin had three shots on goal. Ovechkin had a game-high six hits.
Best moment: After Crosby scored twice in 52 seconds early in the second period, giving the Penguins a 2-0 lead, Ovechkin responded late in the second, making it 2-1 and waking up Verizon Center. T.J. Oshie dropped a pass in the Pittsburgh zone. As Washington center Lars Eller was headed off the ice on a change, he tapped the puck to Ovechkin, who skated to the top of the left faceoff circle and shot the puck into the left corner of the net at 18:17.
Crosby said it: "We got one early there and didn't have too long a shift. So we came off, and then when we got out there again, we were able to get another chance and put it in. So that's how it goes sometimes. You don't get some for a while and then they come in bunches."
Ovechkin said it: "It's not going to be easy, especially against the defending Stanley Cup champions. They have experience to play the pressure game. They're the Stanley Cup champions. So we have to dictate the game."
