Back in 2018, the Washington Capitals won their first Stanley Cup with the help of Tom Wilson, T.J. Oshie, John Carlson and of course, Alex Ovechkin. However, after their successful 2017-2018 season, the Capitals have not had the best of luck in the post season. The team exited the playoffs in the first round in the 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 season; and missed the playoffs in 2023 and lost again in the first round in 2024.
Now, the Capitals appear to be turning things around, as they currently sit at the top spot in the league, and Ovechkin is on the cusp of beating out Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goals record.
Ovechkin netted his 888th goal on Thursday night to help lead the Capitals to a 3-2 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers. In addition, this win secured the team a playoff spot, while making Ovechkin just seven goals short of surpassing what some may call an unattainable milestone.
Ovechkin was drafted first overall in 2004 by the Capitals and has continued to make an impact on the team over the course of more than 20 years. His awards include the Conn Smythe Trophy, several Hart Memorial Trophies and the Calder Memorial Trophy in 2006 signifying his place as the NHL’s top rookie. These are just a few of the awards won by Ovechkin and one of his most prideful accomplishments may be achieving all of this with the team that he was drafted by. With any sport, but especially hockey, trades happen frequently and for many different reasons but the fact that Ovechkin has remained a committed member of the Capitals makes his milestone towards surpassing 894 goals even more memorable.
With just 12 regular-season games left for Ovechkin and his team, the journey to surpassing Gretzky’s milestone is coming close to an end, Ovechkin’s teammates remain confident that he can get the job done.
In an interview with NHL.com, fellow teammate Brandon Duhaime stated, “I think everyone knows that he can do it, and there’s no kind of extra pressure or anything for him. “He’s a great hockey player, and he always finds the right areas to get his shot off. I think he’s just focusing on it game-by-game and so are all the players.”
As for Ovechkin, he remains calm and treats each game like he normally would. “We’re just going out and playing and just playing all together, and whatever kind of happens, happens is, I think, the mentality of this room.” Ovechkin elaborated in an article from NHL.com, that he takes things game by game and sees what happens.
I think it is safe to say that Ovechkin is putting up quite the performance in the most recent games for the Caps. He has nine goals in the last 13 games, contributing to the teams’ wins in eight of their last nine games.
Ovechkin’s run towards surpassing this milestone has positively affected the team according to their head coach Spencer Carbery: “…there’s no question as a coach I feel like this chase and the energy around it hasn’t been a distraction or a hindrance to our group. It’s been a massive benefit.”
The Capitals are certainly a strong team this season that has the potential to go all the way. To name a few of the stand-out players on the squad, right-winger Tom Wilson is behind captain Ovechkin in goals scored this season (31) compared to Ovechkin’s 35 goals. Wilson also leads the team in power play goals. Centers Dylan Strome and Aliaksei Protas are consistent face-off winners allowing them to strike on the opposing teams goal constantly. Defensemen John Carlson and Jakob Chychrun are key parts of the team’s penalty kill and are consistent at keeping the puck out of their own zone.
The goalie duo of Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren have also had tremendous success this season with Thompson producing a .917% save percentage and Lindgren with .901% save percentage.
In the next few weeks, the Capitals should be a team every NHL fan has their eyes on as their strong leadership and dominant players make them a more than contending team for the Stanley Cup.
Featured photo by Chris Liverani/Unsplash