When the puck drops between the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night, the preseason game will mark just the third time in franchise history that the Caps have played at Hershey’s Giant Center. The previous two outings took place on September 24, 2006 — a 3-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils — and September 25, 2005 — a 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
While Alex Ovechkin will not play tonight due to a lower-body injury, the greatest goal-scorer in NHL history did make one appearance in Chocolatetown exactly 20 years ago to the day.
Ovechkin, then a 20-year-old rookie, suited up in a September 25, 2005 preseason game against the Penguins — his first ever matchup against Pittsburgh. The exhibition game marked the first of three against the Pens, the Caps’ biggest rival, before the start of the regular season.
Future Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury got the start in net from then Penguins head coach Ed Olczyk, marking the French Canadian’s first career game against Ovechkin. Olie Kolzig and Frederic Cassivi split duties in goal for Capitals’ head coach Glen Hanlon.
Sidney Crosby and Mario Lemieux did not play for the Penguins, but current TNT analyst Paul Bissonnette got a jersey. The only evidence of Biz’s appearance is a photo supplied by the Bears, where the Spittin’ Chiclets podcaster gets shredded down the right wing by Ovechkin.
The Capitals beat the Penguins that night 3-2 in front of 6,216 fans. Washington scored all their goals on the power play, receiving two tallies from Brian Willsie and the game-winner from Jeff Halpern. Jamie Heward led all players with three points, notching assists on all three Caps’ goals scored with an extra man. The Capitals outshot Pittsburgh 40 to 26.
Future Capitals ‘Young Gun’ Mike Green assisted on Halpern’s GWG in the third period while Chris Bourque, who had his number 17 retired by the Bears in 2023, assisted on Willsie’s second goal of the night.
“You want to be rewarded for your work (in training camp), and the only way the reward comes is through winning,” Hanlon said of the victory to Lebanon Daily News. “You take a look at that lineup. Pittsburgh’s lineup didn’t have (Mario) Lemieux, it didn’t have (Sergei) Gonchar, it didn’t have (Sidney) Crosby. The sweaters say the Pittsburgh Penguins, but it’s not the Pittsburgh Penguins.”
Ovechkin ultimately did not register a point in the game or score on Fleury, but that was not a harbinger of things to come. Ovechkin scored on Fleury 28 different times in his career, the most of any other goaltender.
“It was a good game,” Ovechkin said to the Lebanon Daily News. “We win. I just try to play hard. I play for team. If I score, I’m glad, but we win and I’m glad.”
Ovechkin also did not lament the fact that Crosby, the player who would become his biggest personal rival, didn’t play in the game.
“He’s a great guy, a great player,” Ovechkin said, “but I look forward to playing Lemieux, not Crosby.”
When asked what he liked best about the United States, Ovechkin smiled and said, “The NHL.”
Ovechkin would score his first career goal in a Capitals uniform five days later in the two teams’ second preseason game on September 30 at MCI Center.
“I thought he was exciting,” Hanlon said. “I think he’s an exciting player. He’s a great team guy. He has terrific team skills. He just seems to get stronger the more ice he gets. Tonight was a great night for him.”
“For a young player, he’s not shy at all to drop a shoulder and drive to the far post, which is a huge asset to have,” Willsie concluded.
Photos from the Capitals-Penguins game in Hershey on 9/25/2005
Box Score
1st Period
1-0 Pittsburgh – PGH goal: Erik Christensen (Assists: Tomáš Surový, Michel Ouellet), 18:03 PPG
2nd Period
1-1 tie – WSH goal: Brian Willsie (Assists: Jamie Heward, Mike Green), 14:47 PPG
3rd Period
2-1 Capitals – WSH goal: Brian Willsie (2) (Assists: Jamie Heward, Chris Bourque), 11:19 PPG (5v3)
3-1 Capitals – WSH goal: Jeff Halpern (Brian Sutherby, Jamie Heward), 11:40 PPG (5v3)
3-2 Capitals – PGH goal: Michel Ouellet (Tomáš Surový), 14:09
Practice Shootout
Andrew Cassels scored the only goal in the fifth round on Fleury, giving the Capitals a 1-0 win.
Three Stars
1st Star – Brian Willsie (Capitals)
2nd Star – Jamie Heward (Capitals)
3rd Star – Michel Ouellet (Penguins)
Shots on goal
Washington 40 (16-17-7) – Pittsburgh 26 (7-13-6)
Goaltenders
WSH – Olie Kolzig (1st & 2nd period), Frederic Cassivi (3rd period)
PGH – Marc-Andre Fleury (full game)
Special thanks to the Hershey Bears for their help with this article.
