Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Helpers in consecutive games
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Ovechkin logged an assist, three shots on goal and four hits in Sunday's 1-0 win over the Rangers.
Ovechkin found Anthony Beauvillier for a tip-in goal at 13:47 of the second period. This was Ovechkin's second helper in three games this season, but the superstar winger is still looking for his first goal. He's added eight shots, eight hits and a plus-1 rating. As expected, he remains a key part of the Capitals' offense on the top line and first power-play unit after shaking off a lower-body injury that disrupted him in the preseason.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Set to play Thursday
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Ovechkin (lower body) is expected to be in the lineup when the Caps face off with Boston on Thursday.
Ovechkin had been dealing with a lower-body injury throughout training camp and could play in both of Washington's remaining preseason contests to get back up to speed. All eyes will be on the veteran winger to open the year, as he needs just three more tallies to reach the 900-goal mark. Currently, the club's Oct. 14 clash with the Lightning is the favorite for that milestone to occur.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Officially out against Jackets
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Ovechkin (lower body), as expected, won't be in the lineup versus Columbus on Tuesday.
Considering Ovechkin just returned to practice in a regular sweater Monday, it shouldn't come as a surprise to see the team holding him out for one more preseason clash. He'll have two more opportunities to get into a preseason game before Opening Night against the Bruins on Oct. 8. All signs point to Ovechkin being cleared to play in the season opener.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Unlikely to play Tuesday
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Head coach Spencer Carbery said Monday that Ovechkin (lower body) is doubtful for Tuesday's preseason game against Columbus, Sammi Silber of The Hockey News reports.
Ovechkin practiced in a regular sweater Monday and said that he felt good afterward, but it appears as though the Capitals will exercise caution with the star 40-year-old with just over a week remaining before the start of the regular season. Assuming he's sidelined Tuesday, Ovechkin would still have two more opportunities to suit up during the preseason, as the Capitals play home matchups against the Bruins on Thursday and the Blue Jackets on Saturday.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Ditches non-contact jersey
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Ovechkin (lower body) took the ice Monday wearing a regular jersey, Tom Gulitti of NHL.com reports.
Ovechkin practicing in full contact Monday could leave open the door for the veteran winger to get into Tuesday's preseason game versus Columbus -- though the team could decide to hold him out until Thursday against Boston. Either way, the good news is it seems Ovechkin will be ready for Opening Night against Boston on Oct. 8.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Practicing in non-contact jersey
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Ovechkin (lower body) practiced Saturday in a non-contact jersey, according to Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post.
Ovechkin remains on track to be ready for the beginning of the regular season, and he could see action in one of the team's final two preseason contests, according to Tom Gulitti of NHL.com. The 40-year-old Ovechkin remains a viable fantasy stud after tallying 44 goals and 29 assists, including 22 points on the power play, across 65 regular-season games in 2024-25.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Making progress
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Ovechkin (lower body) skated Wednesday, but he won't play in Thursday's exhibition game against Philadelphia, per Sammi Silber of The Hockey News.
Ovechkin is still regarded as being day-to-day, according to Silber, but he's moving in the right direction. At this rate, it wouldn't be surprising to see him in the lineup for Washington's regular-season opener against Boston on Oct. 8.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Skates prior to practice
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Ovechkin (lower body) took the ice ahead of Tuesday's practice session but didn't stay out for the team portion, Tom Gulitti of NHL.com reports.
Ovechkin hasn't practiced with his teammates since suffering his lower-body injury Thursday. At this point, it seems unlikely the elite sniper will be in preseason action versus the Flyers on Thursday, but there isn't any indication as of yet that he will miss the season opener versus Boston on Oct. 8.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Suffers lower-body injury
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Ovechkin left Thursday's practice session due to a lower-body injury, Sammi Silber of The Hockey News reports.
Ovechkin is entering the final year of a five-year, $47.5 million deal he signed with the Caps back in July of 2021. At 40 years of age, there figures to be plenty of speculation as to whether the NHL's all-time leading scorer will be back for another year. Until the team provides an update on his status, fantasy managers will have to take a wait-and-see approach with Ovechkin. Either way, it seems unlikely he will be pressed into service for the preseason opener against Boston on Sunday.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Will return to NHL in 2025-26
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Ovechkin, who was held to just one goal in five games against the Hurricanes, will return to the NHL in 2025-26 for his 21st season, reports Greg Wyshynksi of ESPN.com.
Overall, Ovie had five goals and one assist in 10 games after he put up 44 goals in 65 regular-season games to break Wayne Gretzky's NHL record. "He was fantastic this year, and I thought he had a great playoffs. He did what he came back this year to prove, and he did it in the playoffs as well," Caps coach Spencer Carbery said after the game. "I tip my cap to the season that he had and, as our captain, leading the way." Ovechkin is signed through the 2025-26 season with a $9.5 million cap hit.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Buries power-play goal
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Ovechkin scored a power-play goal on six shots and added three hits in Wednesday's 4-1 win over the Capitals in Game 5.
Ovechkin closed out the first round with four goals on 19 shots, one assist and 19 hits over five contests. He got the scoring started in the Capitals' series-clinching win, tallying at 9:12 of the first period. The Capitals are as healthy as they're going to be this postseason, and Ovechkin continues to lead the charge in pursuit of the Stanley Cup. The second round sees the Capitals face a Hurricanes team that has made the playoffs seven years in a row but has reached the Eastern Conference Finals just twice in the last six seasons.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Finds back of net in Game 3
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Ovechkin scored a goal in Friday's 6-3 loss to Montreal in Game 3. He added two shots on goal and recorded a hit.
Ovechkin has recorded three goals and four points through the first three games of Washington's first-round series. The Russian winger, who became the NHL all-time scoring leader in the final stages of the regular season, should remain a key offensive force for the Capitals throughout the postseason. He already has three goals across eight shots on goal.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Carries Caps to OT win
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Ovechkin scored two goals, one on the power play and the other the game-winner in overtime, and added an even-strength assist in Monday's 3-2 victory over the Canadiens in Game 1 of their first-round series.
Incredibly, it was the first playoff OT winner of Ovechkin's illustrious career. After a regular season that saw the 39-year-old rack up 44 goals and 73 points in 65 appearances while passing Wayne Gretzky on the NHL's all-time goal list, Ovechkin has his eyes set on accomplishing something he hasn't done since 2017-18 -- lead the Caps to a Stanley Cup.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Strikes on power play
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Ovechkin scored a power-play goal on two shots in Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Penguins.
Ovechkin's incredible, record-breaking season ends with 44 goals and 73 points over 65 appearances. He added 237 shots on net, 110 hits and a plus-15 rating. Ovechkin is at 897 regular-season goals in his career -- he'll have the 900-goal milestone within reach early in 2025-26. He can make progress toward another all-time record during the Capitals' playoff run. Ovechkin has a total of 969 goals between regular-season and postseason play, putting him 47 behind Wayne Gretzky's all-time total of 1,016. If Ovechkin has a strong playoff run and keeps his scoring pace up in 2025-26, he could take that record at some point next year.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Earns helper in Tuesday's win
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Ovechkin registered an assist and two shots on goal in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Islanders.
Ovechkin has gotten on the scoresheet in each of his last eight games, earning seven goals and five assists in that span. He set up the second of Dylan Strome's three goals Tuesday, which was the game-winner. Ovechkin is up to 43 goals, 29 helpers, 235 shots on net, 110 hits and a plus-16 rating over 64 appearances this season. It's unclear if he'll play in Thursday's regular-season finale versus the Penguins -- he has already rested once in the lead-up to the playoffs.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Scores vs. Columbus
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Ovechkin scored a goal in Sunday's 4-1 loss to Columbus.
Ovechkin didn't play in the first leg of his back-to-back set Saturday, and he wasted no time to make his presence felt after breaking the deadlock just 1:10 into the first period. The all-time leader in goals scored in the NHL is now up to 43 goals on the campaign, marking the sixth time he's reached the 40-goal plateau over his last eight seasons.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Drawing back into lineup
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Ovechkin (rest) will be in the lineup Sunday against Columbus, according to Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post.
Ovechkin didn't play in Saturday's 7-0 loss to the Blue Jackets so that he could get a bit of rest ahead of the playoffs. He has 42 goals and 70 points in 62 appearances in 2024-25. Ethen Frank will be a healthy scratch due to Ovechkin's return.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Resting Saturday
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Ovechkin (rest) will not play Saturday in Columbus, per Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post.
Ovechkin will get the night off as the Capitals have clinched first overall in the Eastern Conference. The superstar winger has 42 goals, 28 assists, 227 shots on net and 106 hits across 62 appearances this season. Ethen Frank will replace Ovechkin in the lineup. Ovechkin will likely return to action Sunday in a return match with the Blue Jackets.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Sets record with 895th career goal
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Ovechkin set the NHL regular-season record for the most goals in a career with his 895th tally in Sunday's 4-1 loss to the Islanders.
Ovechkin now stands alone at the summit of all goal scorers in NHL history. The record-breaking moment came at 7:26 of the second period, when he corralled a pass from Tom Wilson on the power play and fired home a goal from Ovechkin's office at the left face-off circle to break the tie with Wayne Gretzky atop the goals leaderboard. The game then paused to acknowledge the record, which belongs to Ovechkin after being in Gretzky's possession for over 31 years. Remarkably, Ovechkin's record-breaking goal came in his 1,487th career regular-season game, which exactly matches the number of games Gretzky played in his career. Ovechkin has compiled a stellar total of 42 goals, 69 points (20 on the power play) and 225 shots on net through 61 appearances in his history-making 2024-25 campaign.
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Capitals' Alex Ovechkin: Ties all-time goal record
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Ovechkin scored twice in Friday's 5-3 win over the Blackhawks.
Ovechkin's final pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's record will end up being a two-part event -- the Capitals' captain tied the record with his 893rd and 894th goals in this contest, but he couldn't complete a hat trick to make history. The record-tying tally was vintage Ovechkin, a power-play goal from his office that put the Capitals ahead 4-3 in the third period. That also gave him a different piece of history, as it was the 136th game-winning goal in his career -- breaking the tie he was in with Jaromir Jagr for first place on the all-time list, per Dan Rosen of NHL.com. On top of it all, Ovechkin crossed the 40-goal mark for the 14th time in his 20 NHL seasons, including the third time in four years since he turned 36. He's at 68 points, 220 shots on net, 102 hits and a plus-18 rating through 60 appearances. All eyes will be on The Great Eight as he gets his next chance to set the all-time record in Sunday's game versus the Islanders.
