Alex Ovechkin showed up in a big way for the Capitals in their first-round series against the Montreal Canadiens. The 39-year-old winger led the Caps in goal-scoring, potting four goals in five games against the Habs.
The big series comes after Ovechkin had the worst playoffs of his career last year, not finding the scoresheet a single time in four games against the New York Rangers. Ovechkin kicked the scoring off in Game 5 with a power-play goal, sending a one-timer off an offensive-zone faceoff past Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobeš.
“He was outstanding,” head coach Spencer Carbery said. “The whole series, scoring huge goals. Tonight is a prime example because when you are tight and you’re trying to settle into your game, to get that first goal is huge. And that’s exactly what he did.”
Ovechkin’s four-goal performance is his best in a series since the 2020 playoffs, when he scored four times against the New York Islanders in a five-game series. However, the Capitals lost that series.
Three of his four goals against the Canadiens came in wins, including his first career playoff overtime game-winning goal. Even his goal in the club’s one loss was crucial, tying Game 3 at the Bell Centre 3-3 before the Habs ultimately took over later in the third period for a 6-3 win.
“He scored some big goals through this series,” Carbery said. “And proud of him because I know it’s a long time to sit on last year and last year’s playoffs, and have to run that through your mind. And I know that the chase and him breaking the record, he’s long forgotten about the Rangers series.
“But for him to break the record and then be able to reset and refocus, and say now, ‘Okay, this is what actually means more to me than the record,’ which is amazing in itself, to get himself to the spot where he played this playoffs, comparatively to last year, it’s night and day. And he’s a year older, he’s 39 years old. And that’s credit to him, man. He just continues to do things that you just can’t wrap your head around in this sport, in this league, and at the most difficult time of the year, the Stanley Cup Playoffs.”
Ovechkin didn’t just contribute with his goal-scoring ability, as he also threw 19 hits in the series, which was second on the team only to Brandon Duhaime (20). Many of those big body checks came early during Games 1 and 2, setting the tone for the rest of the series and lighting a fire under his teammates.
“O, obviously, leads the way,” Tom Wilson said after Game 5. “Game 1, Game 2, just banging bodies, scoring, doing it all. I just try and follow his lead.”
The Capitals’ first line, featuring Ovechkin, Dylan Strome, and Anthony Beauvillier, also delivered excellent results on the ice at five-on-five. With the trio over the boards, the Caps saw 53.8 percent of shot attempts, 56 percent of scoring chances, and 59.3 percent of high-danger chances. They also outscored the Habs 4-1 during their 42:52 combined ice time.
Ovechkin and the Caps will now move on to the second round, where they’ll meet the Carolina Hurricanes. Ovi played a massive role in the two teams’ 2019 series, recording nine points (4g, 5a) in the seven games. He also knocked out a then-rookie Andrei Svechnikov in a fight during Game 3.
The Hurricanes ultimately won that series, coming back from both a 2-0 and 3-2 series hole to win Game 7 in overtime. The series loss for the defending Cup champions kicked off five straight playoff series losses for the Caps until their five-game victory over the Habs this year.
