It's time for Alex Ovechkin to dominate the Hurricanes once more.
Game 1 between the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes is this Tuesday night at 7 p.m. from Capital One Arena. Alex Ovechkin will look to continue his dominance both this season and against the Canes.
Ovechkin is the leading point scorer against the Hurricanes among active players with 52 goals and 55 assists for 107 points in 93 career games played against them.
Ovechkin's 107 points in regular season play against Carolina are the most he has recorded against a single opponent in his career. During Washington's 2019 First Round series against the Hurricanes, Ovechkin recorded a team high nine points in seven games with four goals and five assits.
At 39 years old, Ovechkin is coming off one of the best regular seasons of his career in what turned out to be his 20th in the league.
Ovechkin ranked second in the NHL in goals per game at 0.68 as he finished the season with 44 goals in 65 games. Despite missing time because of a broken leg, Ovechkin surpassed Wayne Gretzky for the most goals in NHL history.
In the postseason Ovechkin has 146 points in 156 career playoff games with 76 goals and 70 assists. Per NHL Edge, Ovechkin had solid advanced stats during the regular season and has carried it into the playoffs.
Ovechkin ranked highly among forwards in several categories including top shot speed at 96.61 miles per hour, average shot speed of 66.34 miles per hour, seven midrange shots on goal, four long range shots on goal and 45 percent offensive zone time percentage.
"This is the most fun time of the year," Ovechkin told the media after Monday's practice. "You work all summer, all year, 82 games and this is it. This is final step, and it's a hard one."
Ovechkin not only scored four goals in the first round, he also added 19 hits.
"He's one of a kind. He's a machine. He's built different," said Tom Wilson.
Tuesday's game marks exactly one month since Ovechkin broke the goal scoring record that was held by Gretzky. He's carried it over to the playoffs and Wilson has noticed his leadership for a long time.
"He's done it ever since I've been here, so I don't see why he won't keep doing it. He's definitely our energy. He's kind of our everything on any given night. He goes out there and leads the way, and that's what a captain does. He can be a guy that goes out and gets the momentum going for us early in a game or whenever we need it. "Tom Wilson
Ovechkin and the Caps square off with the Canes to begin the second round with Game 1 Tuesday at 7 p.m. and Game 2 Thursday at 7 p.m. with both games on ESPN.
