Coming into the 2024-25 season, many thought offseason acquisition Pierre-Luc Dubois would center Alex Ovechkin. Instead, Dubois has formed a powerful trio with Tom Wilson and Connor McMichael on the second line, and Ovechkin has stuck with his most common center from last season, Dylan Strome.
Strome showed chemistry with Ovechkin in his prior two seasons with the Washington Capitals but not enough to make the duo a permanent fixture in the team’s lineup. That has changed this season, as the two are connecting like they have never before, with Strome recording an assist on all 10 of Ovechkin’s goals 14 games into the year.
Washington franchise legend Nicklas Backstrom is the only other Capitals player who can claim to have recorded an assist on at least nine consecutive Ovechkin goals. He did so 11 games in a row, split between the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.
Assists on Alex Ovechkin’s 10 goals this season
| Goal | Date | Primary assist | Secondary assist |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 19 (NJD) | John Carlson (4) | Dylan Strome (3) |
| 2 | October 23 (PHI) | Dylan Strome (6) | |
| 3 | October 29 (NYR) | Dylan Strome (7) | Aliaksei Protas (4) |
| 4 | October 29 (NYR) | Aliaksei Protas (5) | Dylan Strome (8) |
| 5 | October 31 (MTL) | Aliaksei Protas (6) | Dylan Strome (10) |
| 6 | November 2 (CBJ) | Dylan Strome (12) | Aliaksei Protas (7) |
| 7 | November 3 (CAR) | John Carlson (7) | Dylan Strome (13) |
| 8 | November 6 (NSH) | Dylan Strome (15) | Martin Fehervary (2) |
| 9 | November 9 (STL) | Aliaksei Protas (8) | Dylan Strome (16) |
| 10 | November 9 (STL) | Dylan Strome (17) | Tom Wilson (6) |
With Ovechkin and Strome on the ice this season, the Capitals are out-scoring their opposition 22 to 8. At five-on-five during their minutes, Washington is seeing 52.2 percent of the shot attempts, 53.8 percent of the expected goals, 53.2 percent of the scoring chances, and 57.2 percent of the high-danger chances. When the two have combined on a goal this season, the team is 7-2.
The partnership has benefitted both the Capitals as a team and Ovechkin personally. Finding a new setup man like Strome this late in his career leaves Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record in reach earlier than most expected. The Great Eight is on pace to score 58 goals this season, 17 more than he needed to match Gretzky coming into the year.
Strome is also benefiting from having a red-hot sniper on his line. He ranks third in the NHL in assists (18) and is tied for the fifth most points in the league (22). The 27-year-old’s previous career-high in points is the 67 (27g, 40a) he recorded last year, and he’s currently on pace for 128 points (23g, 105a), nearly double that output.
If the two keep up their torrid scoring pace, they will each hit the 100-point plateau this season. Two Capitals have not recorded 100-point seasons in the same year since Ovechkin (109) and Backstrom (101) did so during the 2009-10 campaign.
Ovechkin has not hit 100 points in a single season since that year, with Backstrom as his primary pivot. Tallying 58 goals would also be the second-highest single-season total of his career, behind only the 65 goals he scored with Backstrom dishing him the puck during the 2007-08 season.
