Washington Capitals: Top 25 facts that will never be forgotten

As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Washington Capitals hockey let's relive the top 25 best moments of all time

Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
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Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals | Scott Halleran/GettyImages

#21 Alex Ovechkin changed the course of D.C. Sports History forever

It's not just goal scoring. There's plenty of updates to that as Alex Ovechkin, the number one draft pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft is chasing Wayne Gretzky, the number one goal scorer of all time as we've been working on this.

Ovechkin made his Capitals debut on Oct. 5, 2005 and is D.C.'s longest tenured athlete. Only Walter Johnson of the old Washington Senators and Darrell Green of the Washington Redskins, who just got his number retired by Josh Harris and company, have also played 20 seasons in this city with their respective club.

Youth participation has gone up since the Caps joined the NHL in 1974 and since Ovi's debut it's skyrocketed. So much so that the Caps held a big event over the weekend on the campus of George Mason University bringing back the popular Capitals Street Hockey Extravaganza.

What started in the 1970s as a small event at the old Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland has fully evolved across the entire D.C., Maryland and Virginia region and that event in mid November just before the holidays is a perfect sign of more participation to come.

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