While I was watching the Capitals-Flyers game, I was talking to my close friend Adam Marcus, who helped get me into ball hockey. He asked me how many goals Alex Ovechkin has scored on Super Bowl Sunday. I was unsure but figured a lot.
“It seems like he’s on another level during these games,” Adam said.
After taking a deeper dive, I can confirm Adam’s intuition was right. Ovechkin has scored the second-most goals (12) and points (18) on Super Bowl Sunday history. His running mate, Nicklas Backstrom, has largely benefitted from his teammate’s gr8ness as well and sits fifth in points.
The two Capitals sit among Hockey Hall of Famers — and Ken Hodge — on this list.
NHL Super Bowl Sunday stats
| Player | Games | Goals | Assists | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phil Esposito | 12 | 16 | 16 | 32 |
| Alex Ovechkin | 14 | 12 | 6 | 18 |
| Johnny Bucyk | 9 | 5 | 13 | 18 |
| Ken Hodge | 9 | 7 | 9 | 16 |
| Nicklas Backstrom | 13 | 3 | 12 | 15 |
| Gilbert Perreault | 8 | 5 | 8 | 13 |
| Marcel Dionne | 7 | 6 | 6 | 12 |
| Jaromir Jagr | 8 | 5 | 7 | 12 |
Ovechkin and Backstrom’s performances on Sunday against the Flyers shot them into the top 5 together. Ovechkin tallied four points (2g, 2a) — his 29th career four-point game — while Backstrom scored once and had three points overall.
Ovechkin has averaged over .617 goals per game during the regular season, but on Super Bowl Sunday, that rate shoots up to .857. (Sure, it’s an apples to oranges comparison, but this is a fun post and I’m not in the business of being a Mr. Serious Pants.)
Ovi also tallied four points on February 7, 2010, a 5-4 Capitals’ win which was later nicknamed the Snovechkin game. During a snowy day in DC, Ovechkin scoreda hat trick against the Penguins and also tallied the primary assist on Mike Knuble’s game-winning goal in overtime.
Sure Tom Brady is the GOAT of Super Bowl-winning QBs, but Ovi is now closing in on Phil Esposito on becoming the GOAT of goal-scorers on Super Bowl Sunday.
NHL PR’s stats before Caps-Flyers Sunday
Did You Know? @Capitals teammates @ovi8 and @backstrom19 are two of the NHL's top performers in games taking place on #SuperBowl Sunday.#NHLStats: https://t.co/gQK0cZGg2d pic.twitter.com/zlk7o0fwsL
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 7, 2021
709 goals, 0 touchdown passes and 14 career points on #SuperBowl Sunday.@ovi8 will get a chance to add to some of those totals today when the @Capitals host the Flyers at noon ET on NBC, SN and TVAS. #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/wMEZpiJd7i
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 7, 2021
The @Capitals can add to their all-time win total in games taking place on #SuperBowl Sunday. #NHLStats
📺: WSH vs. PHI – 12 p.m. ET on NBC, SN, TVAS pic.twitter.com/q1RsPcUiIc
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 7, 2021
GIF: Tecmo Super Bowl
