Crosby creates distance

He's two down now.

We've all seen the flashy goals, big hits and celebrations that Alex Ovechkin brings to the world of hockey. He's won the Calder Memorial Trophy (rookie of the year), Art Ross Trophy (scoring leader), Rocket Richard Trophy (goal scoring leader), Lester B. Pearson Award (NHLPA top player) and the Hart Memorial Trophy (NHL MVP). Pretty impressive collection of personal achievements.

The flash and glitz that is the world of Alexander Ovechkin is great for the NHL, no question.

But for all of those personal accolades that Ovi possesses, he finds himself down trailing his rival Sidney Crosby by two team trophies, the Stanley Cup and now, an Olympic gold medal.

These two could not be more different. In a nutshell, it appears that Ovechkin seeks the limelight while Crosby attempts to avoid it. Ovi can be outspoken where Crosby is more soft spoken. How different can two people be.

Just to compare the personal stash of NHL awards, Crosby has all of the personal awards Ovechkin owns except the Calder. That's one he can never win as he finished second to Ovechkin for that season. But I doubt that bothers Crosby one bit. He holds the two greatest team trophies in all of hockey.

Ovi can get that Stanley Cup this season. There's no question that the Washington Capitals are viewed as a Cup favorite considering all the offensive firepower on that roster. Even if the Caps win this year, it would be almost a full four years before Ovechkin gets another shot at Olympic gold.

And who knows. By then, Sid the Kid might another a second Stanley Cup.

The rivalry will continue...