10 Best Games in Washington Capitals History

Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

#7: Ovechkin Leads Caps To 5-4 Win Over Canadiens

Before January 31st, 2008, Alex Ovechkin was just Alex Ovechkin. On that date he officially became known as “The Great Eight”. Ovechkin took it upon himself to lead the Washington Capitals to a dramatic 5-4 win as he had four goals and one assist.

Ovechkin played like he had a fire lit under his posterior. That was because he got fired up after taking a hard hit from Francois Bouillon that broke his nose. Nobody makes Ovechkin bleed his own blood and gets away with it. He scored four goals after that. His first game in the first period off a rocket one-timer. He assisted on fellow Russian Viktor Kozlov‘s second period goal and added one himself to give the Caps a 3-0 lead. The Canadiens would storm back with two unanswered second period goals.

Ovechkin gave the Washington Capitals another two goal lead with a third period goal. Montreal would wind up sending the game to overtime with two unanswered third period goals. Ovechkin capped off his evening with one of the finest goals he has ever scored in overtime.

This game is important to the Washington Capitals because it started the “Rock The Red” era. Ovechkin has done so many impressive things since that day, but Caps fans might never see a more dominant performance than the one Ovi put on against Montreal.

Next: #Number Six: First Playoff Series Victory