In a season full of breaking records, Alex Ovechkin made more history in Game 1 of the Washington Capitals’ first-round series against the Montreal Canadiens.
When Ovechkin found paydirt 2:26 into sudden death, not only did he score the first playoff overtime goal of his career in his 152nd career playoff games, but he also broke a 45-year-old playoff record. Ovechkin became the oldest player in NHL history to score a playoff OTGWG and register three or more points in a game.
Ovechkin, at age 39 and 216 days, captured the record from Boston Bruins’ forward Jean Ratelle, who as a 38-year-old, scored a hat trick in a 4-3 overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens on May 3, 1979.
Oldest NHL players to score playoff overtime goal and notch 3 or more points
| Rk | Team | Player | Date | Age | Opp | Result | PTS |
| 1 | WSH | Alex Ovechkin | 4/21/25 | 39-216 | MTL | 3-2 W | 3 (2g, 1a) |
| 2 | BOS | Jean Ratelle | 5/3/79 | 38-212 | MTL | 4-3 W | 3 (3g, 0a) |
| 3 | PIT | Chris Kunitz | 5/25/17 | 37-241 | OTT | 3-2 W | 3 (2g, 1a) |
| 4 | LAK | Anže Kopitar | 4/24/24 | 36-244 | EDM | 5-4 W | 3 (1g, 2a) |
| 5 | TOR | Mike Gartner | 4/25/96 | 36-179 | STL | 5-4 W | 3 (3g, 0a) |
| 6 | STL | Rick Meagher | 4/6/89 | 35-155 | MNS | 4-3 W | 3 (2g, 1a) |
| 7 | CBH | Stan Mikita | 4/17/75 | 34-332 | BUF | 5-4 W | 3 (1g, 2a) |
| 8 | TOR | Red Kelly | 4/5/62 | 34-270 | NYR | 3-2 W | 3 (1g, 2a) |
| 9 | PIT | Chris Kunitz | 5/5/13 | 33-221 | NYI | 5-4 W | 3 (2g, 1a) |
| 10 | DAL | Joe Nieuwendyk | 5/8/99 | 32-240 | STL | 5-4 W | 3 (2g, 1a) |
| 11 | DET | Henrik Zetterberg | 5/10/13 | 32-213 | ANA | 4-3 W | 3 (2g, 1a) |
| 12 | LAK | Marián Gáborík | 5/3/14 | 32-078 | ANA | 3-2 W | 3 (2g, 1a) |
| 13 | OTT | Dion Phaneuf | 4/15/17 | 32-005 | BOS | 4-3 W | 3 (1g, 2a) |
| 14 | ANA | Corey Perry | 5/5/17 | 31-354 | EDM | 4-3 W | 3 (1g, 2a) |
| 15 | MTL | Toe Blake | 4/13/44 | 31-236 | CBH | 5-4 W | 5 (1g, 4a) |
| 16 | CGY | Lanny McDonald | 4/20/84 | 31-064 | EDM | 5-4 W | 3 (2g, 1a) |
| 17 | BOS | Michael Ryder | 4/21/11 | 31-021 | MTL | 5-4 W | 3 (2g, 1a) |
| 18 | MTL | Alexander Radulov | 4/14/17 | 30-283 | NYR | 4-3 W | 3 (1g, 2a) |
| 19 | CAR | Rod Brind’Amour | 4/18/01 | 30-252 | NJD | 3-2 W | 3 (1g, 2a) |
| 20 | VAN | Chris Tanev | 8/7/20 | 30-231 | MIN | 5-4 W | 3 (1g, 2a) |
| 21 | WSH | Nicklas Bäckström | 4/21/18 | 30-149 | CBJ | 4-3 W | 3 (2g, 1a) |
| 22 | WSH | Peter Bondra | 5/28/98 | 30-110 | BUF | 4-3 W | 3 (2g, 1a) |
| 23 | WSH | Dino Ciccarelli | 4/5/90 | 30-056 | NJD | 5-4 W | 4 (3g, 1a) |
| 24 | VAN | Alexandre Burrows | 6/4/11 | 30-054 | BOS | 3-2 W | 3 (2g, 1a) |
Three other Capitals managed to make the list at age 30 or older including Nicklas Backstrom (30 years and 149 days), Peter Bondra (30 years and 110 days), and Dino Ciccarelli (30 years and 56 days).
Ovechkin tallied points on all three goals of the game (2g, 1a) and also had seven hits in the Game 1 win.
