In the event of a tie, the player with the most first-place votes would get the award. This happened twice in 2002 with other awards: Iginla/Theodore for the Hart and Thedore/Roy for the Vezina. Not sure what the tie-breaker is after first-place ballots.
There shouldn't be a tie-breaker. Ovechkin is the best rookie this year. Surrounding talent hasn't been the issue we thought it would be. In fact, Washington has a better record. Crosby is Pittsburgh's MVP, and many of the players around him have underperformed, or have even retired. But Crosby has better offensive talent around him than Ovechkin.
Ovechkin has been more physical (not to say Crosby has been a shrinking violet). His offensive production has been better. He has been the better player, thus deserves ROTY.
But keep in mind Ovechkin is 23 months older than Crosby. It might not seem like much to those unfamiliar with evaluating prospects, but 23 months is an eternity in terms of development for players 16-22. Ovechkin should be the better player in 2005-06. If he isn't, it would be very indicative of how these two careers will progress.
Crosby is having the best season by a true 18-year-old rookie forward (a player who is 18 throughout his entire rookie year) since Dale Hawerchuk in 1981-82. Ovechkin should be the better player for the next two or three years. But once these two reach their mid-20s, and the two-year age gap becomes less of a factor, Crosby will be the better player.