Alex Ovechkin’s final NHL season is underway, and the Washington Capitals opened the home portion of it with a 5-3 win over Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday. The result gave Capital One Arena an early taste of what could be an emotional farewell tour for the captain who has defined the franchise for more than two decades.
Ovechkin told his teammates Monday that this will be his last season in the League. His message was direct: make the year count.
“Let’s enjoy it and let’s do some special things this year,” Ovechkin said.
Washington is 2-1-0 through three games and faces another sharp early measuring-stick game Friday, when the 4-1-0 New York Rangers visit Capital One Arena. Faceoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
A final run with a familiar goal
The Capitals are not treating this as a ceremonial season. Their objective is to contend for the Stanley Cup and give Ovechkin one more shot at a championship after he captained Washington to its first title in 2018.
Only Ovechkin and Tom Wilson remain from that Cup-winning roster. Every other current Capitals player is still chasing a first Stanley Cup, adding another layer to the club’s push.
“I want to win a Cup for everybody in this room,” Wilson said. “Whenever you have a legend in your room leading the way, it brings accountability, drive and hunger. We all owe it to him to keep moving in the right direction and uphold the culture he has built here.”
Center Dylan Strome said the room understands what is at stake for its captain.
“We want to compete for a Stanley Cup and give Ovi the best possible chance to win one more,” Strome said. “There would not be a better way to send him off than helping him do that again.”
Carbery sees a built-in edge
Coach Spencer Carbery believes Ovechkin’s final season can provide a useful emotional lift, much as the captain’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s goal record did in 2024-25.
Ovechkin scored his 895th career goal on April 6, 2025, moving past Gretzky for the NHL’s all-time regular-season lead. Washington rode the energy surrounding that chase to a 51-22-9 record, 111 points and first place in the Eastern Conference.
Carbery said the club found ways last season to collectively chase moments for Ovechkin, whether that meant protecting a late lead so he could get a chance at an empty-net goal or finding a way to set up the next record-breaking opportunity.
“There is urgency every year in the NHL,” Carbery said, “but this adds a little more. The players know it, and now it is about using that to help the team.”
The coach also has a deeper roster around his captain. Washington added forwards Alex Tuch, Jordan Kyrou and Boone Jenner during the offseason, giving the Capitals more scoring support and creating nights when Ovechkin may not have to carry the attack.
Ovechkin’s early workload and milestones ahead
The 41-year-old left wing missed the preseason with a lower-body injury and has one assist while averaging 13:28 of ice time in his first three games. This is his 22nd season, all in Washington.
Even after taking over the NHL’s regular-season goal record, Ovechkin has several significant marks within reach.
- He has 1,006 combined regular-season and playoff goals, including 77 in the postseason. Gretzky’s combined NHL total is 1,016, leaving Ovechkin 11 away.
- Twenty goals would give him 22 seasons with at least 20, matching Gordie Howe’s League record.
- Ovechkin has 759 assists as a Capital and is four short of passing Nicklas Backstrom’s franchise record of 762.
- His 1,688 points rank 10th in NHL history. He needs 12 for 1,700 and 36 to move ahead of Mario Lemieux’s 1,723 for ninth.
- With 1,576 regular-season games for Washington, he is 24 from 1,600. Another 32 would move him beyond Patrick Marleau’s 1,607 games for the second-highest total with one franchise.
Ovechkin already owns NHL records for power-play goals (331), game-winning goals (141), overtime goals (27), empty-net goals (72), 30-goal seasons (20) and 40-goal seasons (14). His nine 50-goal seasons are tied with Gretzky and Mike Bossy.
More than the milestones
For Washington’s players, the coming months will not be measured only in goals and standings points. They also recognize the significance of ordinary team moments in Ovechkin’s final year.
Center Pierre-Luc Dubois said the team will appreciate the dinners, holiday gatherings and other routine stops in an NHL season with a different perspective.
“You think more about the small things,” Dubois said. “A Christmas party or a Halloween event becomes something you remember because it will be the last one with this group in that sense. There are still memories to make, and the ultimate one would be lifting the Stanley Cup.”
The first home win of Ovechkin’s final campaign is in the books. The Rangers are next, and Washington’s push to turn a farewell season into another playoff run has only started.
