Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Will return to NHL in 2025-26
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Ovechkin, who was held to just one goal in five games against the Hurricanes, will return to the NHL in 2025-26 for his 21st season, reports Greg Wyshynksi of ESPN.com.
Overall, Ovie had five goals and one assist in 10 games after he put up 44 goals in 65 regular-season games to break Wayne Gretzky's NHL record. "He was fantastic this year, and I thought he had a great playoffs. He did what he came back this year to prove, and he did it in the playoffs as well," Caps coach Spencer Carbery said after the game. "I tip my cap to the season that he had and, as our captain, leading the way." Ovechkin is signed through the 2025-26 season with a $9.5 million cap hit.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Buries power-play goal
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Ovechkin scored a power-play goal on six shots and added three hits in Wednesday's 4-1 win over the Capitals in Game 5.
Ovechkin closed out the first round with four goals on 19 shots, one assist and 19 hits over five contests. He got the scoring started in the Capitals' series-clinching win, tallying at 9:12 of the first period. The Capitals are as healthy as they're going to be this postseason, and Ovechkin continues to lead the charge in pursuit of the Stanley Cup. The second round sees the Capitals face a Hurricanes team that has made the playoffs seven years in a row but has reached the Eastern Conference Finals just twice in the last six seasons.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Finds back of net in Game 3
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Ovechkin scored a goal in Friday's 6-3 loss to Montreal in Game 3. He added two shots on goal and recorded a hit.
Ovechkin has recorded three goals and four points through the first three games of Washington's first-round series. The Russian winger, who became the NHL all-time scoring leader in the final stages of the regular season, should remain a key offensive force for the Capitals throughout the postseason. He already has three goals across eight shots on goal.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Carries Caps to OT win
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Ovechkin scored two goals, one on the power play and the other the game-winner in overtime, and added an even-strength assist in Monday's 3-2 victory over the Canadiens in Game 1 of their first-round series.
Incredibly, it was the first playoff OT winner of Ovechkin's illustrious career. After a regular season that saw the 39-year-old rack up 44 goals and 73 points in 65 appearances while passing Wayne Gretzky on the NHL's all-time goal list, Ovechkin has his eyes set on accomplishing something he hasn't done since 2017-18 -- lead the Caps to a Stanley Cup.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Strikes on power play
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Ovechkin scored a power-play goal on two shots in Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Penguins.
Ovechkin's incredible, record-breaking season ends with 44 goals and 73 points over 65 appearances. He added 237 shots on net, 110 hits and a plus-15 rating. Ovechkin is at 897 regular-season goals in his career -- he'll have the 900-goal milestone within reach early in 2025-26. He can make progress toward another all-time record during the Capitals' playoff run. Ovechkin has a total of 969 goals between regular-season and postseason play, putting him 47 behind Wayne Gretzky's all-time total of 1,016. If Ovechkin has a strong playoff run and keeps his scoring pace up in 2025-26, he could take that record at some point next year.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Earns helper in Tuesday's win
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Ovechkin registered an assist and two shots on goal in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Islanders.
Ovechkin has gotten on the scoresheet in each of his last eight games, earning seven goals and five assists in that span. He set up the second of Dylan Strome's three goals Tuesday, which was the game-winner. Ovechkin is up to 43 goals, 29 helpers, 235 shots on net, 110 hits and a plus-16 rating over 64 appearances this season. It's unclear if he'll play in Thursday's regular-season finale versus the Penguins -- he has already rested once in the lead-up to the playoffs.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Scores vs. Columbus
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Ovechkin scored a goal in Sunday's 4-1 loss to Columbus.
Ovechkin didn't play in the first leg of his back-to-back set Saturday, and he wasted no time to make his presence felt after breaking the deadlock just 1:10 into the first period. The all-time leader in goals scored in the NHL is now up to 43 goals on the campaign, marking the sixth time he's reached the 40-goal plateau over his last eight seasons.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Drawing back into lineup
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Ovechkin (rest) will be in the lineup Sunday against Columbus, according to Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post.
Ovechkin didn't play in Saturday's 7-0 loss to the Blue Jackets so that he could get a bit of rest ahead of the playoffs. He has 42 goals and 70 points in 62 appearances in 2024-25. Ethen Frank will be a healthy scratch due to Ovechkin's return.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Resting Saturday
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Ovechkin (rest) will not play Saturday in Columbus, per Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post.
Ovechkin will get the night off as the Capitals have clinched first overall in the Eastern Conference. The superstar winger has 42 goals, 28 assists, 227 shots on net and 106 hits across 62 appearances this season. Ethen Frank will replace Ovechkin in the lineup. Ovechkin will likely return to action Sunday in a return match with the Blue Jackets.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Sets record with 895th career goal
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Ovechkin set the NHL regular-season record for the most goals in a career with his 895th tally in Sunday's 4-1 loss to the Islanders.
Ovechkin now stands alone at the summit of all goal scorers in NHL history. The record-breaking moment came at 7:26 of the second period, when he corralled a pass from Tom Wilson on the power play and fired home a goal from Ovechkin's office at the left face-off circle to break the tie with Wayne Gretzky atop the goals leaderboard. The game then paused to acknowledge the record, which belongs to Ovechkin after being in Gretzky's possession for over 31 years. Remarkably, Ovechkin's record-breaking goal came in his 1,487th career regular-season game, which exactly matches the number of games Gretzky played in his career. Ovechkin has compiled a stellar total of 42 goals, 69 points (20 on the power play) and 225 shots on net through 61 appearances in his history-making 2024-25 campaign.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Ties all-time goal record
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Ovechkin scored twice in Friday's 5-3 win over the Blackhawks.
Ovechkin's final pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's record will end up being a two-part event -- the Capitals' captain tied the record with his 893rd and 894th goals in this contest, but he couldn't complete a hat trick to make history. The record-tying tally was vintage Ovechkin, a power-play goal from his office that put the Capitals ahead 4-3 in the third period. That also gave him a different piece of history, as it was the 136th game-winning goal in his career -- breaking the tie he was in with Jaromir Jagr for first place on the all-time list, per Dan Rosen of NHL.com. On top of it all, Ovechkin crossed the 40-goal mark for the 14th time in his 20 NHL seasons, including the third time in four years since he turned 36. He's at 68 points, 220 shots on net, 102 hits and a plus-18 rating through 60 appearances. All eyes will be on The Great Eight as he gets his next chance to set the all-time record in Sunday's game versus the Islanders.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Three goals away from history
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Ovechkin scored the Capitals' only goal in Wednesday's 5-1 loss to the Hurricanes.
Ovechkin spoiled Frederik Andersen's shutout bid in the final minute of the second period, blasting a one-timer from the top of the faceoff circle on a Washington power play. The tally was Ovechkin's 39th of the season at age 39 -- Gordie Howe still holds the record for being the oldest player with a 40-goal campaign, reaching that milestone as a 40-year-old in 1968-69 -- and the 892nd of his career, putting him just three goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's all-time record for career goals. The Capitals have seven games left on their regular-season schedule, and Ovechkin already has two hat tricks in 2024-25, so history could be made as soon as Friday against Chicago.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Nets 891st career goal
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Ovechkin recorded a power-play goal and an even-strength assist in Tuesday's 4-3 win over the Bruins.
Ovechkin is four goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's all-time record, and he netted his 891st career goal -- and 38th of the season -- with a power-play tally late in the first period. It's a matter of when, not if, Ovechkin will break Gretzky's record, and it seems the veteran winger will aim to break the record at some point before the end of the 2024-25 campaign. Ovechkin is ending the regular season on a strong note, finding the twine in his last two appearances and in four of his last six games. He has 12 goals over 19 games since the league resumed play following the 4 Nations Face-Off.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Scores 890th career goal
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Ovechkin tallied a goal, dished out two assists and fired three shots on net in Sunday's 8-5 loss to Buffalo.
While Ovechkin's performance was highlighted by scoring his 890th career goal, he put together a fantastic all-around performance with two assists, including one on a power-play goal scored by Pierre-Luc Dubois. With the goal Sunday, Ovechkin moves just five goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal record. The Capitals have nine games remaining in the regular season, giving Ovechkin some wiggle room on his chase to break the record. However, he may not need all nine games as he has been hot with 15 goals and 29 points over his last 23 games. He should contend for the 70-point mark by the end of the regular season, which would be the 14th time in his 20-year career he would reach that level.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Inching closer to record
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Ovechkin scored a goal and took four shots in Tuesday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Jets.
Ovechkin netted his 36th goal of the season at the 16:00 mark of the third period, but the Capitals still lost the game in overtime. Ovechkin's chase of Wayne Gretzky's goal record has been at the forefront of the NHL, and he's up to 889 total goals, meaning he's only six goals away from passing Gretzky, who scored 894 goals in his career. This goal also extended Ovechkin's current point streak to five games, and he's ending the regular season on a strong note with 13 points (six goals, seven helpers) across 12 outings since the beginning of March.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Plates two helpers Saturday
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Ovechkin dished out two assists and fired five shots on net in Saturday's 6-3 win against the Panthers.
While Ovechkin's chase of Wayne Gretzky's goal record has been at the forefront of the NHL, it's easy to forget the strong impact he can make as a playmaker. Ovechkin's two helpers were on goals scored across a five-minute span early in the second period. The 39-year-old superstar is up to 24 assists, 59 points and 200 shots on goal in just 54 appearances this season. He should finish the campaign above a point-per-game pace after missing time with a broken fibula. Ovechkin has 25 points over the last 20 games and will remain highly motivated down the stretch as he chases Gretzky's goal record, which should help Ovechkin produce plenty of fantasy value.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Now within seven goals of record
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Ovechkin scored a goal Thursday in a 3-2 win over the Flyers.
It was Ovie's 888th regular-season goal, which moves him to within seven goals of breaking Wayne Gretzky's record of 894. He took a feed from Aliaksei Protas at the left of the crease and misfired, but it still crossed the line. Ovechkin has 35 goals in 53 games this season and 13 in his last 19 games. Washington has 13 games left in the season.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Seven points in last five games
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Ovechkin put up an assist Tuesday in a 4-1 win over the Red Wings.
He remains eight goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's NHL record of 894. Ovechkin has three points (one goal, two assists) in his last two games and seven, including two goals, in his last five contests. Overall, Ovie has ripped off 34 goals and added 22 assists in just 52 games this season. His average ice time has dropped to 17:45, which would be a new career low if it doesn't increase by the end of the season, but that is likely what's helping to keep him focused and on record pace. The Caps have 14 games remaining for Ovechkin to break the record.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Eight goals from history
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Ovechkin produced a goal and an assist in Saturday's 5-1 win over the Sharks.
Ovie capped the scoring midway through the third period by deflecting a Martin Fehervary point shot between his legs and past Georgi Romanov. The tally was the eighth in the last 11 contests and 34th of the season for Ovechkin, and the 887th of his career -- leaving him eight goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's all-time record with 15 games left on the schedule for the Capitals.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Distributes three helpers
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Ovechkin notched three assists, three shots on goal and a plus-2 rating in Tuesday's 7-4 win over the Ducks.
Ovechkin had a hand in both first-period tallies for the Capitals, as well as an Aliaksei Protas empty-netter, which gave the young forward a hat trick. While Ovechkin's chase of Wayne Gretzky's record didn't get any closer Tuesday, it was still an excellent performance for the Capitals' captain. He had not registered a helper since Feb. 9 versus Utah, but he had seven goals over nine contests between assists. The star winger is at 33 goals, 20 assists, 186 shots on net, 88 hits and a plus-18 rating through 49 appearances this season.
