This season, Alex Ovechkin became the NHL’s all-time leading scorer.
Monday, in the Capitals’ playoff opener, he somehow found a new way to score. The Capitals legend scored his first career playoff overtime goal to lift his team to a 3-2 win over the Canadiens in Game 1 of their first-round series.
Here’s how it happened:
Ovechkin, who also opened the scoring in the first period and had an assist on Anthony Beauvillier’s second-period goal, now has 74 career playoff goals, which ties him with Joe Pavelski for 13th-most all-time. Furthermore, at 39 years old, Ovechkin became the second-oldest player in NHL history to have a multi-goal playoff game that included an overtime game-winner. Igor Larionov did it at 41 years old for the Red Wings in 2002.
It was a much-needed goal — and win — for Washington, which was the first team to clinch a playoff berth but struggled down the stretch of the regular season. Even Monday night, the Capitals led 2-0 entering the third period, but the Canadiens came roaring back, with goals from Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki.
But as Ovechkin showed, it’s never too late for an old dog to learn new tricks … or at least new ways to score. It’s Washington’s first playoff win since 2022.
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