Alex Ovechkin didn’t wait long to make his presence felt in the Washington Capitals’ final game of the regular season that will determine if they make the playoffs or not.
With 1:52 remaining in the first period, Ovechkin deflected a huge Dylan McIlrath shot from the side boards past Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson.
The tally gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead.
The goal was Ovechkin’s 853rd goal of his career and his 31st of the 2023-24 season. Ovi now trails Wayne Gretzy by 41 for a share of the NHL’s all-time goals record.
“Obviously it was a pretty crazy shot,” Ovechkin said at intermission to Monumental Sports Network laughing. “Yeah. We’ll take it and move on.”
The assist marked McIlrath’s first point in the NHL since March 1, 2023 against the Anaheim Ducks — a span of 1 year, 1 month, and 15 days.
With Dylan McIlrath's first period assist, players from Hershey’s 2023 championship team have now combined for 114 (42g, 72a) of Washington’s 584 total points (215g, 369a) this season (19.5%).
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) April 16, 2024
Ovechkin now has 23 goals in his last 36 games, good for the fifth-most in the NHL since January 27. Only Auston Matthews (30), Kirill Kaprizov (27), Filip Forsberg (25), and Zach Hyman (25) have scored more.
The goal marks Ovechkin’s second career goal on Ersson.
Per Capitals PR, the tally was also Ovechkin’s 434th career road goal, the most in NHL history.
Ovechkin, the NHL's all-time leader in road goals (434), has scored 16 of his 31 goals this season on the road.
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) April 16, 2024
If the Capitals can beat the Flyers, they will clinch the second wild card spot in the East and make the playoffs.
