When longevity is brought up as an inherent trait for athletes, Alex Ovechkin’s name has to be mentioned. He is turning 41 while also still producing solid numbers for the Washington Capitals. Ovi is clearly out to prove that he can usurp great talents and their records, including the ones etched by Wayne Gretzky.
Washington legend ready to hit the ground running
Ovechkin only has one thing on his mind. It is to help the Capitals win all of their games after the Milano Cortina Olympics break. As it stands, they are fifth in the Metropolitan Division with a 29-23-7 record and need to win all of their games to still be in contention for the Stanley Cup.
He diagnosed what went wrong in the first half of the season and how the Capitals can do better, via Tom Gulitti of NHL.com.
“We’re going to have to win almost every game to make the playoffs. We were in that position that we can’t lose the games. You can see how we played against Nashville and how we played against the Islanders, everybody was dialed in. Of course, sometimes you get that fatigue that you’re kind of tired, tired about games, and you just want to get closer to the break. But you can see all the guys put everything that they can to get the points and we’re still in a battle,” the Capitals veteran star declared.
With his 77 playoff goals factored in, Ovechkin currently has 996 total career NHL goals. He is now just four goals away from joining Gretzky as the only two players in league history to have ever scored 1,000 goals. Furthermore, if he turns the jets on and puts his foot to the gas more, he can usurp the Edmonton Oilers legend for the most total goals ever.
While this remains a huge possibility because he scored 44 goals last season, the Capitals legend does not concern himself too much with the record.
“It would be cool. It would be great. But we’ll just play game by game and I’ll see what’s happening,” he added.
Ovi is well-rested and ready to get the Capitals into the playoffs. Will he be able to secure a second Stanley Cup before retirement?
