WASHINGTON, DC — Four days after breaking the NHL’s all-time goals record, Alex Ovechkin showed off a grittier side to his game, throwing his body around against the Carolina Hurricanes Thursday night.
Tensions were already high between the divisional rivals. The Caps and Canes faced off in a whistle-fueled contest eight days earlier that included a combined 142 penalty minutes and a controversial takedown maneuver by Jalen Chatfield on Connor McMichael.
Ovechkin showed no hesitation laying out opponents in the rematch. Though Brandon Duhaime and Chatfield had already dropped the gloves in the first period, Ovechkin nailed a board-shaking hit on Chatfield early in the second.
Dylan Strome credited Ovechkin’s hit for firing up the team, eventually helping the Caps draw a penalty midway through the period that allowed Strome to tie the game.
“(Ovechkin) started the whole thing, the hit behind the net,” Strome said postgame. “Started the three or four shifts in a row, drew a power play right after that, and the power play stepped up and found ways to get it done.”
Fans at Capital One Arena cheered on as Ovechkin threw a series of checks against the Hurricanes — opponents crumpled to the ground while Ovechkin barely seemed to feel the hits.
Ovechkin ended the game with four hits, one against each of Chatfield, Sean Walker, Jordan Martinook, and Eric Robinson — though that count felt conservative compared to his physical presence on the ice.
Head coach Spencer Carbery praised not only Ovechkin’s versatility but also his ability to read the situation in front of him and decide how he could best help his teammates. After a rough start for his line with Strome and Taylor Raddysh, Ovechkin pivoted to a more rough-and-tumble style of play.
“He feels momentum and what’s going on in the game and knows, ‘Okay, so you’re not always going to be able to score a goal,’” Carbery explained. “But he knows he can affect the game with a forecheck as F1, he buries a guy. He’s going through people. He’s trying to drag everybody into the fight and also at the same time, he understands the crowd and playing at home.
“And if he can get some energy in the building, it’s going to help our entire team, not just his line. So I thought that it’s a great point because I think that was a significant momentum-builder as he started to establish a physicality or a physical part of our game.”
Though Ovechkin’s goal-scoring statistics have rightfully become the focus of his career, his hit count is nothing to sneeze at. Ovechkin ranks third in all-time hits (3,739) since the NHL began tracking the statistic in 2007-08.
Even at 39, Ovechkin has continued to employ that physicality. He has a total of 106 hits this season, and stands largely alone in his ability to both check and score: Ovechkin’s 42 goals this season rank first among players with 100 or more hits, with Sam Reinhart five goals behind him for second place.
Strome highlighted the boost those moments can bring to the Caps as a whole, as well as how they can inspire fear in opponents.
“It energizes our team,” he said. “I think guys can hear when he’s coming and he obviously hits hard. I wouldn’t want to get hit by him. I think he does a great job of kind of bringing life to the team in whatever way you can. Some nights it’s hitting, some nights it’s scoring, and tonight was a bit of both.”
While a physical game has always been in Ovechkin’s wheelhouse, his play Thursday also showcased the Capitals’ shifting priorities following the end of the record chase. With less pressure to rack up goals, Ovechkin is ready to turn the page and prepare for the upcoming postseason, whether or not he ends up on the scoresheet.
“Right now, this is the time of year when you have to prepare yourself for big games,” Ovechkin said. “I tried to set the tone and I think the boys followed, so that’s good.”
