Getty Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin
Alexander the Great was the King of Macedonia. Alexander Ovechkin is the King of Washington. To some extent, at least. And by the look of it, it’s fair to say that Ovechkin is determined not to allow anyone, not even his teammates, to claim that title from him.
On Sunday, March 24, in a game against the Winnipeg Jets that the Washington Capitals won 3-0 in regulation, Ovechkin scored 2 goals. He should have scored just one of those two, but this being Ovi, you know he wouldn’t let an opportunity (any opportunity) get past him without pouncing.
Ask teammate Connor McMichael, who was about to attempt a shot and (probably) celebrate a goal… only for Ovi to place his stick between McMichael’s and the puck and snatch that shot attempt on his way to scoring the second goal of the day for the Capitals.
THATS AN OVI GOAL FOLKS. This is interesting because Hellebuyck mightve thought CMC was shooting it but Ovi ends up getting it with the heel of his stick, which changes the angle where Helle thinks its coming
There was a point earlier this season when it felt like the Great Ovi had run out of gas. That wouldn’t have surprised many people considering he’s playing hockey at age 38, so a little bit of a decline was always expected.
Through the first 43 games of the 2023-24 season, Ovechkin scored a meager 8 goals. In his last 24 games through Sunday, March 24, Ovechkin has scored 18 goals and he’s already at 26 through the season to date and 848 throughout his entire career, just 46 short of Wayne Gretzky‘s 894 all-time figure.
Red Wings & Capitals Are Competing for the Final Wild-Card Place
Next in line for Ovechkin and the Caps is a much more impactful and consequential matchup against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, March 26.
For context, the Capitals and the Red Wings are currently locked into a race to claim the final wild-card berth to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs on the Eastern Conference side of the bracket. Washington leads Detroit by just one point in the standings also having one game in hand.
“Everybody understands the situation,” Ovechkin told reporters in his postgame press conference following the win against the Jets. “That’s why we fight all year, in training camp. We want to finish the season [strong]. In two weeks, we want to keep playing.”
Patrick Kane Can Reach 150 Playoff Games This Season
Another veteran of the NHL, Red Wings forward Patrick Kane, will be skating on the other side of the rink come Tuesday evening when Washington and Detroit are scheduled to face each other on the ice of Capital One Arena.
Kane comes into this matchup having appeared in 143 Stanley Cup Playoffs games (and who has lifted the chalice three during his tenure in Chicago), although he is currently on the outside looking in with the Red Wings one point behind the Caps in the standings.
“It’s exciting, it’s a fun time of the year,” Kane told reporters following Saturday’s 1-0 loss against the Predators. “It’s almost like you’re in the playoffs right now, even though there’s 11 games left.
“You look at tomorrow like it’s a playoff game,” Kane continued. “Obviously, [Washington] is a team ahead of us in the standings. If we beat them, we’re in a playoff spot. So good test for us.”
Kane has scored 39 points in 40 games for the Red Wings this season and the only thing stopping him from leading the team across the board is the injury that prevented him from joining the franchise earlier and forced him to delay his debut this season with Detroit until December 7.
The Red Wings and the Capitals have met before this season, on February 27, when Detroit held a 7-point lead over Washington in the standings and beat the Capitals 8-3 then and there. The script is completely flipped now with the Capitals leading the race for the second wild-card berth less than a month before the conclusion of the regular season.