Alex Ovechkin is a man of many talents, and he proved that once again in the Washington Capitals’ matchup against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.
During four-on-four play in the third period, Hendrix Lapierre was kicked out of an offensive zone faceoff, forcing Ovechkin to try his hand at a draw against Sabres centerman Ryan McLeod (career FO winning percentage of 49.5 percent).
Not only did Ovechkin win, but he decisively got to the puck first, sending the biscuit on his backhand right to defenseman Matt Roy.
The faceoff win marked Ovechkin’s first since the 2022-23 season, where he went 4-for-9 in the dot. In each of the previous two campaigns, Ovi took draws two times and lost all four.
Overall in Ovechkin’s career, the winger has won 65 of his 191 faceoffs — good for a winning percentage of 34 percent.
