Alex Ovechkin on Sunday broke a record once seen as untouchable with his 895th career NHL goal, completing a journey from a childhood marred by tragedy to the greatest heights of his sport.
Russian Ovechkin scored from the left face-off circle in the second period of the Washington Capitals’ 4-1 defeat by the Islanders in front of a sea of his fans who traveled north to witness hockey history at the UBS Arena.
“All of you fans, from all the world, Russian, we did it boys, we did it,” Ovechkin said. “It’s history.”
Photo: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images/USA Today
The son of a two-time women’s Olympic basketball champion and a professional footballer, Ovechkin said his love of hockey was nurtured by his older brother Sergei, who died following a car accident when he was 24 and Alex was 10 years old.
His parents forced him to play in a youth hockey league game the day after Sergei died, Alex Ovechkin said in a 2015 interview with Graham Bensinger.
“I was on the bench, I was crying, but my shift, my coach said: ‘Okay, go play,’” he said. “And I played, and I was crying.”
Six years later, Alex Ovechkin made his professional debut for Dynamo Moscow, and at age 18 he went first overall in the 2004 NHL draft to the Washington Capitals, who were coming off a disastrous 23-46 season.
Only the second Russian to go first in the draft after Ilya Kovalchuk in 2001, Alex Ovechkin quickly became one of Russia’s most recognizable athletes, serving as an ambassador for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
He teased his Russian heritage in a 2011 ESPN commercial, where he was seen flipping through a filing cabinet in a darkened room at the broadcaster’s offices.
“What are you, a Russian spy or something?” sportscaster Steve Levy asks with a chuckle in the commercial.
“Yea, right,” Alex Ovechkin responds, before teammate and compatriot Semyon Varlamov throws him a rope from the office ceiling, saying: “That was close.”
His nationality — and longstanding public support for Russian President Vladimir Putin — became a more complicated matter over time for the player who has spent his career with the team a stone’s throw from the White House.
In 2022, insurer MassMutual pulled a television ad that featured Alex Ovechkin following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, Canadian equipment brand CCM Hockey stopped using Alex Ovechkin and other Russian players altogether for marketing.
However, Washington fans consistently embraced their charismatic captain, who grew up in the outskirts of Moscow during the collapse of the Soviet Union and signed a five-year, US$47.5 million contract extension in 2021.
“The impact Alex has had on hockey in D.C. extends well beyond Capital One Arena,” team owner Ted Leonsis said. “His performance on the ice has undoubtedly sparked countless new fans of the game and inspired more youth players to lace up skates.”
Alex Ovechkin, who delivered the Capitals their first Stanley Cup in 2018, broke the all-time NHL scoring record of Canadian Wayne Gretzky.
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
Arminia Bielefeld on Tuesday pulled off a major upset in the DFB-Pokal by defeating defending champions Bayer 04 Leverkusen 2-1 in their semi-final. The third-division team came from behind after Jonathan Tah gave the visitors a 17th-minute lead. Marius Worl replied three minutes later and Maximilian Groser scored Bielefeld’s second goal just before the break. The home team looked more likely to add to that tally as the Leverkusen players looked jaded. “I’m just proud of this team,” Bielefeld coach Mitch Kniat said as most of the fans the small stadium sang around him. “No one will sleep in the city tonight.” Patrik Schick went
THREES KINGS: The Celtics claimed a piece of league history by setting a new record for the number of threes in a season, ending their game with 1,370 Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun on Friday combined for 65 points as the Houston Rockets halted Oklahoma City’s 11-game winning streak with a statement 125-111 victory. In a potential Western Conference finals preview, the Rockets produced a dominant all-round performance to jolt the top-seeded Thunder’s all-conquering preparations for the post-season. Green finished with 34 points from 11-of-24 shooting, while Turkish big man Sengun made 31 points as second-placed Houston improved to 51-27. Oklahoma City grabbed the lead in the opening minutes of the first quarter, but Houston soon knocked the Thunder out of their stride with a physical approach to move into the
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have shown the team do not need star power to win trophies and with the French Ligue 1 title won with six games to spare, the French champions would look to finish the season without losing, manager Luis Enrique said on Saturday. A 1-0 victory over Angers SCO at the Parc des Princes helped PSG win their fourth straight Ligue 1 title and a record-extending 13th overall. PSG can still break Nantes’ 30-year-old record of 32 games unbeaten. Although Nantes lost one game en route to the title, no French club has ever gone an entire league
RSS