Alex Ovechkin got a rare warm reception in Pittsburgh after enduring nearly two decades of boos.
During the first TV timeout of the Capitals-Penguins game, the Caps’ biggest rival aired a tribute video over the PPG Paints Arena jumbotron honoring Ovechkin for breaking the NHL goals record.
The video began with highlights of both Ovi and Sidney Crosby from earlier in their careers. It concluded with the Capitals captain’s 895th career goal scored on April 6, making him the NHL’s new goals king.
Penguins fans roared and gave Ovechkin a standing ovation after his milestone goal aired. “Congrats, Alex Ovechkin,” a graphic read with the number 895 in the background.
Ovechkin, sitting on top of the Capitals bench, jumped off and skated out to center ice where he waved to the crowd. The Penguins faithful responded with loud “Ovi” chants.
“Never thought we’d see the day,” said the Capitals X account.
Me neither.
Sid’s season finale: Penguins beat Caps 5-2
The Washington Capitals completed game 82 of the regular season in a road loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, for whom the regular season is the only season they’ll play. It wasn’t a good performance by the Caps, but it contained dueling goals from Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, so it couldn’t have been too bad. (It was still pretty bad.)
First up was Connor McMichael, on the rush with Tom Wilson. Bryan Rust welcomed Caps goalie Clay Stevenson to the big leagues with an unstoppable goal off a rebound.
In the second period, Rust scored again – this time expertly assisted by Sidney Crosby, who himself scored the next goal from the back door like Howlin’ Wolf. Alex Ovechkin drew the Caps within one with a power-play goal from you-guessed-where.
In the third period, Danton Heinen roofed it on a breakaway, then 16 seconds later Philip Tomasino scored on a three-on-one rush. Stunning defense by Washington there.
Caps lose.
- For reasons I can’t fathom, Spencer Carbery chose to roll with 13 forwards and five defenders, the worst lineup combination possible outside 18 forwards and zero defenders. Roy and Carlson were out, plus Fehervary, presumably so he wouldn’t have to face his tormenting bully, Sid Crosby. (Fehervary actually hurt his ankle.)
- Brandon Duhaime missed almost all of the first period with an apparent lower-body injury after some awkwardness along the boards. He returned for the second period but didn’t play a full workload.
- Connor McMichael‘s goal is his first since March 22. He is streaky. He had seven goals in a two-week period at the end of October and November. For a Caps team that has been devastated by poor finishing at both ends of the ice for about a month, a warming-up McMichael would be delightful.
- Clay “Another Guy” Stevenson, 26, made his NHL debut after three years with the Hershey Bears. He got to watch, from the rear, some of Washington’s worst defensive play of the season. The Pens had 25 scoring chances through two periods. Clay got kilned. I thought maybe he was getting pranked by the skaters, but no, they were just playing badly.
- Even before his goal, the fans in Pittsburgh congratulated Alex Ovechkin for claiming the all-time goal-scoring title. It has to be the first time in history that arena has chanted “Ovi!” If it’s happened before, it was certainly sarcastic. As a style note: I try not to use the word classy oor classless, as those terms are reserved for The imminent Revolution, but it was a nice gesture by a nice town.
- Then Ovechkin scored 897, a one-timer on the power play from above the faceoff dot. That makes 44 goals in 64 games, in a season in which – and I haven’t fact-checked this recently – he shattered his entire pelvis. The only goal-scorers ahead of him are William Nylander and Leon Draisaitl. The number-one song on Nylander’s birthday was “Always Be My Baby” by Mariah Carey. The number-one song on Draisaitl’s birthday was “Fantasy” by Mariah Carey. If you’re at your goal-scoring peak, there’s like a 69-percent chance Mariah Carey had a hit song when you were born.
- On the other end of the ice, Sidney Crosby was wizardly. Kevin Weekes described this assist on the second Rust goal as “sick,” “disgusting,” and “amazing,” all within a ten-second window.
- Even in a terrible game, what a treat it was to get goals from Ovechkin and Crosby all at once. It’s not certain we’ll ever see that again. We definitely won’t see it in the postseason; the Penguins didn’t qualify. Again.
- Oh, also, Ovechkin went brazenly offside on a Dylan Strome non-goal, costing Strome the distinction a 3o-goal season.
- Penguins rookie Ville Koiveunen nearly had the first goal of his career, but apparently they don’t count it as a goal if you crash into the goalie and then push the puck over the line with your hand. Soft league. Garbage league.
- I’m eager to have Joe Beninati and Craig Laughlin calling game 1 next week. That’s all I’ll say about the ESPN broadcast.
A pitiful performance by the Caps to close out the regular season. They had a bunch of excuses, which I’ll include here in slightly smaller text: playoffs locked up, division title locked up, conference regular-season title locked up, playoff opponent set, ovechkin record is set, opponent had nothing but pride to play for, bunch of players hurt, trying to rest, low expectations for a debut goalie, low morale, PDO depression, tariff-induced economic malaise, white lotus wasn’t as good this season, marvel fatigue, foul vapors, consumption, gout, punk’s evil, king’s evil, drowned attempting to ford the laramie river, porphyric hemophilia, silksong release date yet to be announced. Those excuses suck, and the Caps just set a poor precedent for the postseason.
Speaking of which, now it begins.
Loffs. Playoffs in the era of mass layoffs. The best couple weeks of North American hockey in this, America’s final season. And it comes with the Washington Capitals having played the worst month of their season by a lot. They’ve been dead last in save percentage since around St. Patrick’s Day. Every guy who got a contract extension this season promptly forgot how to skate. Two top-tier players in Thompson and Protas got hurt just recently.
But maybe they’re about to be healthy, and probably the things dragging down the Caps are the things least likely to persist in the postseason. In any case, I don’t think we’ll see the team this disinterested on Monday night.
