Alex Ovechkin adds another HISTORIC chapter to his career following OT playoff winner against Canadiens

Alex Ovechkin turned out to be the hero for the Capitals against the Canadiens with an overtime winner in Game 1 of the first-round series.

Alex Ovechkin adds another HISTORIC chapter to his career following OT playoff winner against Canadiens

Alex Ovechkin 9Image via Imago)

Alex Ovechkin just cannot stop writing new chapters to his historic career. This season, he finally chased down the most goals scored record of Wayne Gretzky. On Monday, he added another milestone to his Hall of Fame career.

As the first seed team, the Washington Capitals took on the Montreal Canadiens in the first round series of the 2025 Stanley Cup. Ovechkin started from where he left the regular season and opened the scoring in this game.

The Capitals then doubled their lead through Anthony Beauvillier in the second period. The Canadiens though, fought back and leveled the game at 2-2 with goals from Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki in the third period and forced overtime.

In OT, Beauvillier fed his own rebound to Ovechkin after a face-off in the Canadiens’ defensive zone. “The Great Eight” to tap one in from close range to win the game for his team and give them a 1-0 lead in this series.

This turned out to be his first playoff overtime winner. Given the number of goals he has scored in his career, this was something that surprised a few people. After a 151 playoff games, Ovechkin finally scored an OT winner in the playoffs.

With 74 playoff goals, the Russian international sits at 971 total career goals. He needs another 45 goals to chase down the total career goal tally of Wayne Gretzky which sits at 1,016.

Alex Ovechkin claims ‘everything is on line’ for the Capitals in the playoffs this time out

After being the last time to make the playoffs last season, the Washington Capitals got swept by the New York Rangers. Following his 2 goals in a 3-2 victory, the Capitals captain expressed that ‘everything is on line‘ for them in this playoff.

Alex Ovechkin
Alex Ovechkin (Image via Imago)

Despite having the brilliance of Ovechkin, the Capitals have only won one Stanley Cup. The triumph in 2018 against the Vegas Golden Knights is to date the only Cup the Washington-based franchise has won.

Every game right now is very important… Even if you play not — doesn’t feel good — you just have to find a way to feel better. It’s everything on the line. Every different situation, little moment, can change the game.

Alex Ovechkin said while speaking with Shawn McKenzie

Before the playoffs, some raised questions regarding the chances of the team succeeding in the playoffs. After having a 43-14-8 record, the Capitals did slip up in some games and finished the season with a 51-22-9 record, with 8 wins and 9 losses in their last 17 games. Alex Ovechkin and his teammates though, were not bothered by this criticism.

We try don’t listen to what people say around the team. So yeah.

Alex Ovechkin added

Alex Ovechkin was highly physical in Game 1 against the Canadiens

Alex Ovechkin seems to be aging like a fine wine. Despite his age increasing, the forward star just cannot be stopped at the moment. If he is not scoring goals and providing assists, he is showing his physical strength. In Game 1 win over the Canadiens, the 39-year-old landed 7 hits on his opponents.

Alex Ovechkin
Alex Ovechkin (Image via Instagram/@nhl)

While landing hits on an opponent is not a big stat, Ovechkin landed some huge hits is something that is surprising. One of his 7 hits was on Cole Caufield. The Canadiens star was taken out by the opposition captain in the second period.

During the intermission, Caufield was asked about his experience of getting hit by Ovechkin. The 24-year-old simply stated that this was something he would not “recommend” to anyone.

Don’t recommend it

Cole Caufield said while speaking with Emily Kaplan

The two teams will now return to the action at the Capital One Arena on Wednesday for Game 2. Following this, the series will head to the Bell Centre in Montreal, where the Canadiens will be looking for a positive result.