Mark Madden: Rivalry with Sidney Crosby helps shape Alex Ovechkin's place in hockey history

Alex Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s career goal-scoring record has been temporarily halted by a knee injury that has Ovechkin listed as week to week.

Ovechkin isn’t just chasing a number. He’s solidifying his place in hockey history.

If he breaks hockey’s most sacred career mark, Ovechkin can’t help but be listed among the game’s top five players ever. Where will he land compared to his longtime rival, Sidney Crosby?

Crosby has the definite edge head to head, not least via three Stanley Cups to Ovechkin’s one. Each of their Cups was achieved after beating the other in a playoff series.

Crosby has more points in less games: 1,616 points in 1,293 games, to be exact. But Ovechkin has 868 goals in 1,575 games. Crosby is stuck at 599.

Ovechkin will almost certainly surpass Gretzky’s goal total of 894.

Gretzky has 2,857 career points, also tops. Crosby can’t catch that. Nobody will.

Crosby and Ovechkin have decidedly different styles, with Crosby playing perhaps the best-ever 200-foot game. But goals are hockey’s most valuable currency.

This isn’t just about stats. It’s about perception.

If Ovechkin leads the NHL in goals at age 39 (as he is currently doing) and passes Gretzky’s record in the same season, recency bias kicks in. That’s especially true if the Capitals continue to lead the Metropolitan Division despite the notion that they were due for darker days. (Like the Penguins.)

Ovechkin’s knee problem could ruin all that. Let’s hope not. His late-career rush is the young season’s best story.

I consider Mario Lemieux, Bobby Orr and Gretzky to be the top three hockey players ever. That’s my order. But whatever order is chosen can’t really be argued.

After that, it’s Crosby and Gordie Howe. When Ovechkin passes Gretzky, he replaces Howe.

The old-timey fans won’t agree. But frankly, they’re dying off.

Once a great athlete has nobody left to witness, his luster vanishes. He’s reduced to raw numbers, photos, maybe a statue. Those passionate about his credentials because of first-hand memories are gone. That’s why Honus Wagner is fading from the discussion as an all-time Pirates great. Nobody saw him.

Is Ovechkin better than Crosby right now?

Ovechkin’s stats are certainly superior. But he’s in a much better situation. Simply put, his team doesn’t stink.

The Capitals made changes. New, young coach. A roster that moved away from the old core, isn’t as prehistoric or filled with journeymen. They addressed their goaltending cheaply and it’s working. Different equates to change. While I’m not sure the Capitals had a master plan, you’re allowed to get lucky.

The Penguins are a nostalgia act. Stale for years, arguably since the turn of the decade. Crosby has become a victim of that staleness. (And its architect, to some degree.)

But the Crosby-era Penguins won more Cups than the Ovechkin-era Capitals.

The Ovechkin-era Capitals held onto more draft picks. That’s showing up now. (I’d rather have three Cups.)

The nuance of the Crosby vs. Ovechkin rivalry is never ending. The debate will go on long past their retirement.