Alex Ovechkin‘s one-timer is the stuff of legend in hockey, as the powerful blast has helped him become the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer over a historic 21-season career.
While the thunderous shot has dented the twine behind countless goaltenders, it has also inflicted pain on many of the opposing defenders trying to block it. One prime example comes from Utah Mammoth defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, who told Sport-Express’ Igor Rabiner the story of how blocking an Ovechkin shot has forever altered the equipment he wears on the ice.
“Three years ago, I cracked my elbow because of his slap shot,” Sergachev told Rabiner, as translated via Google Translate. “I’ve been wearing a special pad ever since. We were losing 5-1 or 6-1, and as a young guy, I was sent out on the right side of the ice, playing behind Sasha. I got caught in his shot – my elbow got huge. They x-rayed it and found [there] was a crack.”
The play Sergachev references occurred late in a November 11, 2022, game between Ovechkin’s Washington Capitals and Sergachev’s Tampa Bay Lightning. With the Caps coasting to a 5-1 victory, they were put on a third-period power play, and Ovechkin fired away at will, injuring Sergachev and his Lightning teammate, Erik Cernak, on the same shift.
Ovechkin first volleyed a missile off Cernak’s ankle, which went out of play and took the big Slovak out of the game. On the ensuing faceoff, he then cannoned another shot, this time taking a bite of Sergachev’s elbow.
Mikhail Sergachev injures elbow blocking Alex Ovechkin shot
Sergachev returned to Tampa Bay’s bench and missed the remaining four minutes in regulation. Ovechkin would add insult to literal injury, assisting on a Sonny Milano goal just 1:45 later.
“One of the things, you know it’s coming,” Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said then. “It takes guts to stand in front of those. When you take 12 minutes in penalties, you’re bound to eat one of those. That was a little bit of the problem I had: the penalties we took were senseless. Then there are guys who have to go out there and eat those shots. It was a shame on us for that.”
To Sergachev’s credit, he missed no games due to his cracked elbow and actually led the Lightning to a 6-3 revenge win over the Capitals just two days later. The Russian rearguard recorded four points (2g, 2a) in the win and skated 24:20 of ice time.
Rabiner asked Sergachev if any other players in the NHL have a shot that compares to Ovechkin, and while he gave a couple of names, he placed the Capitals captain in his own tier.
“Yes, many shoot hard – (Steven) Stamkos, (Patrik) Laine,” Sergachev said. “But Ovechkin has something unique – his choice of spots. That’s where he’s most creative. He sees the goalie moving, and at the last moment, he shoots where it’s inconvenient for him: off-center, under the arm, close to the body. That’s why goalies have such a hard time reading him.”
Despite the pain and suffering that he caused to Sergachev’s elbow, Ovechkin remains good friends with his fellow countryman. The two exchanged signed jerseys after a game in Utah earlier this season, and Ovechkin has become a regular at Sergachev’s and Artemi Panarin’s annual “Match of the Year” charity game in Russia during the summer.
