They have been the faces of the NHL for a decade. Now, Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin will meet in the playoffs for just the second time in their careers.

The next chapter of this rivalry will start Thursday when Crosby's Pittsburgh Penguins visit Ovechkin's Washington Capitals for Game 1.

Here are the numbers you need to know for this second-round series:

1 and 2: Since both entered the NHL at the start of the 2005-06 season, Ovechkin and Crosby rank first and second, respectively, in points. They have won a combined five Hart trophies as league MVP, with Ovechkin having a 3-2 edge. They are the only two players to win the Hart Trophy multiple times in that span.

48: Including NHL, world juniors, world championships and the Olympics, Crosby and Ovechkin have played each other 48 times, with most going Crosby's way. The Penguins captain has won 31 of those matchups and was triumphant in their lone postseason series, a seven-game classic that helped fuel Pittsburgh's run to its most recent Stanley Cup title in 2009.

27: So about that playoff matchup ... Crosby and Ovechkin combined for 27 points in the 2009 Eastern Conference semifinals, highlighted by their dueling hat tricks in Game 2. Crosby finished the series with eight goals and 13 points. Ovechkin had a point in all seven games, tallying eight goals and six assists in the series.

0: Ovechkin led the NHL with 50 goals this season, but none of them came against the Penguins. Ovechkin was held without a point in five games against Pittsburgh this season. The only other team that Ovechkin failed to record a point against this season was the Ducks, who he only played once.

5: Braden Holtby tied an NHL record with 48 wins during the regular season and he has been even better in the postseason. Holtby surrendered just five goals during Washington's first-round series against the Philadelphia Flyers. His 0.84 goals-against average, .968 save percentage and two shutouts this postseason are all the best by goaltenders who are still in the playoffs.

10: Pittsburgh's Matt Murray has just 16 career starts (regular season and playoffs combined) but has won his last 10 decisions. Since his last loss -- to the Capitals on March 1, Murray has posted a 1.82 goals-against average and .946 save percentage.