Greg WyshynskiApr 21, 2025, 11:42 PM ET
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- Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL creator.
After making NHL historical past throughout the steady season, Washington Capitals famous person Alex Ovechkin made some non-public historical past in his crew’s Sport 1 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday.
Ovechkin scored the primary playoff additional time function of his occupation to propel the Capitals to a series-opening 3-2 victory at house in his 152nd occupation postseason sport.
“A function is a function,” Ovechkin stated after the victory. “Just right issues occur whilst you pass to the web.”
Ovechkin is the best-ever chief in regular-season additional time targets with 27 in 1,491 video games. They are a part of his occupation general of 897 targets, having damaged Wayne Gretzky’s NHL file of 894 targets this season.
“The man’s the most productive participant on the planet. What else are you able to say?” stated Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson, who made 33 saves within the win. “He is available in snatch. All sport. It is a privilege to be his teammate.”
After an icing name, Capitals ahead Dylan Strome received a faceoff, with Montreal forwards Patrik Laine and Ivan Demidov failing to transparent the puck. Winger Anthony Beauvillier accrued the puck for a shot on function after which tracked down his personal rebound to Montreal goalie Sam Montembeault’s proper. Montreal’s Alex Newhook and Kaiden Guhle went to protect Beauvillier, who slid a cross to an open Ovechkin at the doorstep for the function at 2:26 of additional time.
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The additional time tally finished a monster evening for Ovechkin.
He opened the scoring at the energy play at 18:34 of the primary era after which assisted on Beauvillier’s second-period function to make it 2-0 prior to completing off the pesky Canadiens in additional time. It used to be the thirty seventh multipoint efficiency and tenth multigoal sport of Ovechkin’s playoff occupation.
Ovechkin additionally had seven hits within the sport to steer all skaters.
Ovechkin is the oldest skater in Stanley Cup playoff historical past to think about all of his crew’s targets in a sport. He additionally changed into the fourth-oldest participant in Cup playoff historical past to attain an additional time function at 39 years and 216 days. Detroit’s Igor Larionov used to be 41 years outdated when he scored a triple-overtime function in Sport 3 of the 2002 Stanley Cup Ultimate in opposition to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Along with his first function, Ovechkin handed Patrick Marleau and Esa Tikkanen (72) and tied Dino Ciccarelli (73) for the 14th-most playoff targets in NHL historical past. Ovechkin’s 74th occupation playoff function put him in a tie with Joe Pavelski for the Thirteenth-most occupation playoff targets.
The captain’s additional time heroism rescued Sport 1 for the Capitals. The highest seed within the Japanese Convention watched the Canadiens rally within the 3rd era on targets by way of Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki 5:13 aside to ship the sport to additional time.
“You’ll see why they made the playoffs. That crew does not give up,” Thompson stated. “Within the 3rd, they did not pass away. We now have were given to appreciate them. They took it to us within the 3rd.”
However reasonably than give Montreal some much-needed self belief and a sequence lead in its dissatisfied bid, Ovechkin close the door in additional time.
“He performed a hell of sport this night,” Beauvillier stated.
