Tonight the Washington Capitals take on the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 at 7 p.m. on Monumental Sports Network and ESPN. Alex Ovechkin acheieved greatness before the regular season ended and now he looks to achieve more postseason success.
Alex Ovechkin hungry for more and a chance to add to his legacy
Alex Ovechkin will appear in the playoffs for the 16th time. His 72 career playoff goals rank first among active players and is tied for 15th all time. With his first goal of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Ovechkin will pass Patrick Marleau and Esa Tikkanen (72) and tie Dino Ciccarelli (73) for the 14th most playoff goals in NHL history.
Ovechkin has also had previous playoff succes on this calendar day of April 21. Back in the 2010 first round against the Habs, Ovechkin along with Nicklas Backstrom each recorded three points as the Caps defeated the Canadiens 6-3 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals at Bell Centre.
In 2008 on this day, Ovechkin scored two goals in the third period including the game winning goal as Cristobal Huet made 33 saves as the Caps overcame a 2-0 deficit while facing elimination to beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2 in Game 6 of the quarterfinals.
Last postseason Ovechkin was held without a point in the first round sweep to the New York Rangers. Ovechkin admitted he was "bothered" by how the series ended and shouldered a bit of the blame.
Ovechkin spent the summer in Russiia training intensely before he came back to D.C. for training camp and Tom Wilson noticed a driven Ovi right before the season started.
"I went to his birthday dinner in September at the beginning of the year; he wasn't talking about (Wayne Gretzky's all time goals) record, but he was talking about having a good crack at the Cup and making it to the playoffs and getting the team there. "Tom Wilson
Ovechkin led the charge on a Capitals team mixed with young and old but not as old as years past. They went from barley making it to the big dance last year to being the first to qualify this year.
Ovi had an incredible season at age 39 and despite missing 16 games due to a broken leg injury in November, finsihed the regular season with 44 goals to become the NHL's all time leading goal scorer. He also had 29 assists for 73 points in a total of 65 games played.
Capitals coach Spencer Carbery added, "I think it bothered him the way things went (against the New York Rangers). And what I appreciate about O as a captain and as a leader as an athlete is it can bother you, about the way things go and when you don't necessarily play your best. But then what he does, is he goes and does something about it."
Ovechkin himself would say this:
"Regular season is over, this is why you play six months, working out, for this kind of moment. It's why you work all year hard to be able to be in this position, in this situation. It's a fun time of the year. "Alex Ovechkin
Ovechkin also believes the team can turn it on once the puck drops for Game 1.
"I'm prety sure, as soon as the puck drops, everybody gonna be in motivation mode. Beast mode," said Ovechkin.