If Tuesday night’s game in Columbus was the last of Alex Ovechkin’s career, he went out making some more NHL history.
The 40-year-old winger played in his 82nd game of the season, meaning he did not miss a single game for the Capitals this year. According to Capitals PR, he is just the fifth different player in NHL history to play all 82 games in a season at age 40 or older.
Ovechkin is the latest to achieve the feat after former Capitals winger Jaromir Jagr did so in 2013-14 and 2016-17. The other three players to have done so are Nicklas Lidstrom (2010-11), Teemu Selanne (2011-12), and Dave Andreychuk (2003-04).
Since making his debut with the Capitals on October 5, 2005, Ovechkin has played in 95.4 percent of the Capitals’ games. During his 21-year career, he has missed just 76 total games, with only 51 of those coming due to injury. A large chunk of those latter games, 16, came last year when he broke his leg in November against Utah.
Ovechkin played 18:48 of ice time in Tuesday’s 2-1 win, recording one assist, four shots on goal, 11 total shot attempts, and one hit. His assist came on the game-winning marker scored by Jakob Chychrun with the Capitals on the power play in the third period.
Ovechkin then had a couple of chances with the Blue Jackets’ net empty to add to his goal-scoring ledger, but fired wide on his best look. He finishes the 2025-26 season with 64 points (32g, 32a) in 82 games, the highest mark on the Capitals.
