Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin have one of the more peculiar relationships in sports. On some nights, the two appear to want to rip each other’s head off but at the same time, there’s an undeniable amount of respect between the two. Hockey fans bared witness to that on Tuesday night after Ovi reached a notable milestone at PPG Paints Arena that Crosby achieved just last week.

With an assist on John Carlson’s third period marker, the Russian joined the NHL’s exclusive 1,200 point. The apple marked the 547th career; remarkably 106 less than the 653 goals he’s scored through 1,072 games. Ovi & co. didn’t get the outcome they were hoping for in a 5-3 loss, but that didn’t stop he and Sid from sharing a special moment with one another after the game.

Real recognize real!

 

For a second it looked like they were about to scrap or something, but Washington Post reporter Isabelle Kurshudyan confirmed that Sid did in fact congratulate Ovi in their somewhat awkward exchange.

 

That Crosby kid is a class act!

Let’s not get carried away here, though. There have been some heated moments between these two all-stars, most notably coming earlier this year in a heated battle at Capital One Arena. After jawing off at one another, Ovi appeared to ask Crosby if he wanted to fight. Imagine what that would have looked like!

 

Some nights these rivals will hate each other but last night was a clear exception. Congrats from Crosby, and us at BarDown to Ovi on the accomplishment!

(H/T NBC Sports Capitals)