Ohio State, Tennessee and CFB’s biggest contenders flexed in Week 9 wins
The team that has looked the best through nine weeks of football is Ohio State. This is inherently a subjective statement, but there’s really no argument. The Buckeyes are 8-0 after their 44-31 win Saturday over Penn State, with all eight victories coming by double digits. The offense has topped 40 six times. The defense has held the opponent to 21 or fewer points seven times. It almost always looks easy.
But, as we’ve learned during the first eight years of the College Football Playoff, this is not a beauty contest, no matter how good Ryan Day might look in a Valentino evening gown. Even for the best of teams — the historically good ones — there’s some point in the season that’s a complete slog, a down-in-the-dirt fistfight that’s all about brute strength and sheer relentlessness.
Saturday may have been that slog for the Buckeyes, when C.J. Stroud wasn’t at his best and Penn State broke one big play after another, and the best-looking team in the sport got dragged down into the muck.
It could’ve been that, but when Ohio State kicked off its heels and got dirty, it somehow felt even more impressive.
Week 9 didn’t ultimately upend the playoff picture just days before the committee returns with its first rankings of the season. But in Ohio State’s gritty win over Penn State, Tennessee‘s laser focus on beating Kentucky and Georgia‘s latest domination of its rival in Jacksonville, it was a week in which the biggest contenders flexed their muscles just in time for the panel to retreat to a hotel conference room with stat sheets and cold coffee for the first time this season.
Tennessee could’ve easily looked ahead to next week’s matchup against Georgia, but instead the Vols put on perhaps their most complete performance of the season, with the Hendon Hooker-to-Jalin Hyatt connection humming once again and the defense forcing Will Levis into three interceptions.
Georgia wasn’t so much impressive as it was relaxed. UGA looked like a predator simply toying with its prey, dazing Florida with early haymakers, then allowing the Gators to think there may be a chance at escape before snapping the trap shut for good in the fourth quarter. Georgia is terrifying not because of how dominant it has appeared, but because it’s so good at hanging back, biding its time, never attacking until it feels threatened.
Michigan, which has turned winning ugly into an art from, played a familiar role in the first half against rival Michigan State. The Wolverines led 13-7 through two quarters, and if Michigan State had kept it that close the rest of the way, the school likely would’ve added another three years and $30 million to Mel Tucker’s contract. Instead, the Wolverines shifted into overdrive in the second half, scoring on their first four drives — and six straight at one point — to secure an easy 29-7 win. Michigan’s defense has dominated all season, and Michigan State became the fifth opponent it held to just a single touchdown.
Yet, it’s Ohio State that may have shown the most Saturday, because if the first seven weeks were about opening up the engine and seeing how fast it could go, the win at Penn State was a lower-gear, all torque and muscle. And in the end, the score still looked sexy, an eighth consecutive double-digit win to open the season.
Still, if there were questions about this Ohio State team, Saturday went a long way to answering them.
We entered the season focused on Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but it’s Marvin Harrison Jr. who has blossomed into a superstar. He caught 10 balls for 185 yards against Penn State, and every time Ohio State had a got-to-have-it play, it looked to Harrison.
We entered the season with real questions about the defense after last year’s struggles, but Jim Knowles has worked wonders with this unit. And even while Penn State put up 31 points — the most by a Buckeyes’ opponent this season — Ohio State had four takeaways and three sacks and Tommy Eichenberg was a wonder with 15 tackles and J.T. Tuimoloau served as a one-man wrecking crew, intercepting two passes, recording a strip sack and tipping a pass that was picked off, too.
It was apparent from the season’s opening notes that Ohio State was on a collision course with Michigan, eager to erase the misery of last year’s loss. But last season, Ohio State was all glitz and glamor and, underneath, had no real substance.
This is a different Buckeyes team, and Saturday proved they can roll around in the mud with anyone and come out still looking incredible.
The case for …
The first College Football Playoff rankings will be released Tuesday, which means it’s time to start expressing your anger at the committee now. So, to ensure Boo Corrigan has some sleepless nights between now and Tuesday, here’s your official guide to why each undefeated or one-loss Power 5 team deserves to be in the initial top four.
Illinois (7-1)
Defense wins championships, as the saying goes, and the Illini have arguably the most impressive defense in the country, holding seven of eight opponents to less than 300 yards of total offense. Also, Bret Bielema needs to give 60 days’ notice of cancellation if he wants his deposit back on the ice fishing lodge he has booked for the entire month of January.
TCU (8-0)
The Horned Frogs have an impressive résumé. They’re one of just two teams with four or more wins vs. teams ranked at game time this season. They’ve won four true road games. They’re just the third Power 5 team in the playoff era — along with 2018 Alabama and 2020 Alabama — to score 38 points or more in each of their first eight games of the season. They’re probably the only hope for a team from Texas ever making the playoff.
Clemson (8-0)
The Tigers were off in Week 9, but their résumé stacks up with anyone. They’ve won four road games, four games against FPI top-40 teams, three games against ranked opponents, all while definitely, absolutely, no question about it, not worrying at all about their quarterback situation. Seriously, stop asking.
Ohio State (8-0)
For the traditionalists: They’ve won every game, by an average of 32 points. For the analytics folks: They lead the country in expected points added per play. For the Michigan fans: They haven’t beaten you in 1,065 days. Fortunately for Ohio State, what happened last year doesn’t matter to this year’s committee and the Buckeyes remain the most impressive-looking team in the country so far.
Georgia (8-0)
We have not actually watched any Georgia games this year. They’ve all been boring, even that kind of close one against Missouri, when the Bulldogs spent most of the first three quarters trying to figure out what was going on with Chris Pine and Harry Styles before remembering they had to win the game still. But the important thing here is that if Georgia is not in the top four, Brock Bowers will be very angry at the committee, and the committee would not like Brock Bowers when he’s angry.
Alabama (7-1)
The committee will look kindly on Alabama’s good loss. Really, nothing weighs more heavily than that. But Nick Saban would actually prefer the Tide don’t get ranked in the top four so early. That’s rat poison, man. Besides, worst comes to worst, Saban can just cash in his “make seven playoffs, get the eighth for free” card.
Oregon (7-1)
Oh, sure, Oregon lost to Georgia in Week 1, but as we all know, losses to SEC teams do not count as actual losses. They’re, at best, like one-third of a loss. Indeed, for a Pac-12 team, a loss to an SEC opponent is actually better than a win over Stanford. And it should be noted that, after getting whipped by the Dawgs in Week 1, the Ducks have scored 40 or more in every game — tied with Ohio State for the longest active streak in the country. Plus, the Pac-12 has been out of playoff contention for so long. Cut it some slack, committee. The league will be gone soon. It’s not asking for much. Just one ranking with a real playoff contender.
Tennessee (8-0)
The Vols might have the strongest case of any team in the country for the No. 1 spot. They’ve got the season’s most impressive win with their miracle vs. Alabama. They’ve throttled some good teams in LSU and Kentucky. The offense looks borderline unstoppable. Most importantly, doesn’t the committee want to rank them No. 1 just to see if fans will tear down the Sunsphere and throw it in the river?
USC (7-1)
The Trojans haven’t played anyone of note other than Utah, and they lost that game. They struggled for long stretches against Oregon State, Arizona State and Saturday against Arizona, though they ultimately prevailed in each one. Caleb Williams has been good, Travis Dye is terrific and Jordan Addison and Mario Williams make for a dynamic duo that would surely attract a big audience for the postseason. And frankly, the committee needs to tread carefully here. If USC isn’t ranked highly, Lincoln Riley is liable to set up an awfully attractive NIL deal to lure Chet Gladchuk and Jim Grobe to transfer.
Michigan (8-0)
Some committees like the bad boys, the teams that might hang 70 but that you can never really count on. But those committees are bound to end up hurt, jaded and listening to Morrissey albums. No, what a smart committee should want is a team that’s consistent. One that clocks in at 9, punches out at 5, and always has a perfectly ironed crease in its khakis. That’s the Wolverines. It’s the team the committee’s mother wants it to choose. It drives a Prius and has a great 401(k) and, if you choose to rank it in the top four, it’ll never forget the anniversary.
Ole Miss (8-1)
A three-point victory over Kentucky on Oct. 1 is the Rebels’ only win over a ranked team this season, but Alabama is on the schedule in two weeks, and it probably makes sense to go ahead and rank Ole Miss in the top five to ensure that, whatever happens in that game, it won’t look bad for the Tide.
North Carolina (7-1)
The Tar Heels played the best defense they’ve faced this season and still absolutely scorched Pitt 42-24 behind another remarkable performance by Drake Maye.
Cats roll over Okie State
We feel certain there have been worse days in Mike Gundy’s life. After all, he’s a man, and he’s … (checks notes …) 55! Man, where has the time gone? Anyway, certainly some worse fate has befallen Gundy in his 55 years. But it’s hard to remember a time his Cowboys were beaten as emphatically as they were Saturday against Kansas State.
K-State found the end zone on five of its first seven possessions to take a 35-0 lead at the half, then put it in cruise control for the second half to finish with a 48-0 victory.
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Deuce Vaughn takes it up the gut and leaves Oklahoma State’s defense in the dust for a 62-yard touchdown.
It’s the second win this year for K-State over a team from Oklahoma ranked in the top 10.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, it’s the worst shutout loss by an AP top 10 team since 1966.
It’s the worst loss for the Pokes since a 58-0 shellacking to Texas Tech in 2000.
Spencer Sanders was just 13-for-26 for 147 yards and an interception in the game. Last week in this space, we referred to Sanders as either the best bad QB or worst good QB in college football. Oklahoma State fans were rightfully angry about that. So, our sincerest apologies. Let’s just agree he’s the fourth-best quarterback in the Big 12 now, and we can all move on.
With Adrian Martinez sidelined, K-State went with Will Howard, who completed 21-of-37 passes for 296 yards, four touchdowns and no picks. He’s the first K-State QB with 290 yards, four passing TD and no picks in a game since Jesse Ertz in 2017.
Sicko Saturday
A great Saturday of football is about Top 25 matchups with playoff implications, yes, but what truly puts the action over the top are the palette-cleansers — the epically bad football that we all need to remind us of that we haven’t wasted a day on the couch eating wings and drinking beer, because we’ve proven to be more successful than Miami‘s passing game.
And, without question, Week 9 offered us a true plethora of bad football.
Miami 14, Virginia 12 (4 OT)
The average root canal takes less than an hour, so technically speaking this was at least four times worse.
Miami, which hired Mario Cristobal to revive the glory days, went back a bit too far in the time machine and landed in an era when the forward pass was not a significant part of the game.
Now Virginia, which was among the most prolific offenses in the country a year ago, and its receivers react to passes like trick-or-treaters do candy corn (“Ah, yes, no thank you, we’ll just leave this on the ground”).
On the plus side, there were no turnovers in the Saturday game, so at least it was a crisply played disaster.
The game was tied 6-6 at the end of regulation. It was the third game this season, according to ESPN Stats & Information, in which neither team scored a touchdown — and the first not involving Iowa. (Brian Ferentz will be filing a suit for copyright infringement this week.)
In the end, the special teams won the day. Miami punter Lou Hedley had 308 punt yards — 36 more than Miami had offensive yards — and kicker Andres Borregales hit all four of his field goal tries. Somewhere, Frank Beamer held out a framed photo of himself celebrating a 0-0 score, nodding knowingly, and popped a bottle of champagne.
UConn 13, Boston College 3
BC had five turnovers. The two teams were a combined six-of-28 on third down and had a combined 19 tackles for loss. And shanked punts? You betcha!
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Danny Longman struggles with his first punt of the day, which travels only 17 yards.
In the end, UConn earned its first win over a Power 5 opponent since 2016 (vs. Virginia, because of course). The Huskies have four wins now this season, which is particularly impressive considering they had won just four of their previous 41.
For Boston College, it might be time to consider just putting up some police tape where the offensive line should be and hope the opposition respects the “Do not cross” warnings. In any case, the loss was the first for BC against a team from New England since 1978.
Iowa 33, Northwestern 13
Iowa only punted once. So frustrating. Fans paid good money to see Tory Taylor out there. On the upside, Spencer Petras threw his third touchdown pass of the year. Without checking, we’re guessing he’s a mere two more away from the Iowa season record.
New Mexico State 23, UMass 13
The Aggies have won two in a row vs. FBS opponents for the first time since 2018. UMass losing by 10 or fewer also earns fans a free small coffee at all participating Amherst-area Dunkin’ Donuts locations.
Extra points
Texas A&M lost to Ole Miss, but Jimbo Fisher may have finally found his quarterback. Making his first start, freshman Conner Weigman finished with 338 yards and four TDs with no picks. The last Fisher QB to post 300 yards and four touchdown throws in a game? Everett Golson vs. Texas State in 2015.
We wish a speedy recovery to Tennessee’s Gerald Mincey, who took the helmetless head-butt from O-lineman Jerome Carvin during a sideline celebration Saturday. Don’t worry, Mr. Mincey. It happens to someone every year.
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) October 30, 2022
Sam Hartman coughed up six turnovers in Wake Forest‘s 48-21 loss to Louisville on Saturday. Hartman has been exceptional in his career, but oddly, he has been good for one of these types of games nearly every season. Saturday was Hartman’s 40th career start. He has 40 career turnovers in those starts. But half of those — 20 turnovers — came in five games (Saturday vs. Louisville, last year’s ACC championship vs. Pitt, the 2020 bowl game vs. Wisconsin, 2018 vs. Syracuse and 2021 vs. NC State). In his other 35 starts, he has accounted for 93 touchdowns and 20 turnovers.
After a brutal 27-10 loss to UTEP in Week 4, Boise State fired offensive coordinator Tim Plough and saw QB Hank Bachmeier opt out. At the time, the Broncos were 2-2. Since then, however, Boise State has won four straight, including a 49-10 thrashing of Colorado State on Saturday, and is now 5-0 in Mountain West play.
Dawgs keep winning
Stetson Bennett threw for 316 yards and two touchdowns in Georgia‘s 42-20 win over Florida in a cocktail party that felt like a Tuesday afternoon soiree with a half-bottle of Boone’s Farm, but it was yet another ho-hum win for the defending champs.
Georgia went up 21-0, Florida fought back to within eight after the Bulldogs got bored, then UGA stomped on the gas one last time to seal the deal. It was emblematic of the bulk of Georgia’s résumé thus far, in which, aside from the opener against Oregon, virtually nothing has felt particularly close or particularly dominant.
But for a program that won this game just six times from 1990 through 2016, Georgia has now won five of the past six, and Bennett has as many wins over Florida (2) as Eric Zeier, Quincy Carter, David Greene and Matt Stafford had combined in 14 career starts against the Gators.
On the other hand, every cocktail party Bennett shows up to without a bottle of Pappy in hand feels a bit like a letdown at this point.
The ACC would love to have Notre Dame join the league full time, but since 2014, when the Irish agreed to play five football games per year against the ACC in exchange for membership in all non-football sports, it was pretty clear the conference was strictly in the friend zone. Notre Dame is Molly Ringwald in “Pretty in Pink.” The ACC is Ducky — sweet, funny, and not nearly as rich as the Big Ten.
It’s one thing for Notre Dame to simply note that the ACC is nice and all, but it’s just not the Irish’s type.
It’s another thing to keep showing up for dates with the ACC and leaving the league alone, miserable and wandering a Food Lion at 1 a.m. looking for a gallon of ice cream and some cheap red wine.
The 41-24 victory Saturday over No. 16 Syracuse was the latest slap in the face in this doomed relationship, as the Irish won their 25th straight regular-season game against the ACC, dating back to 2017. In all, Notre Dame is 38-9 during this open relationship since 2014.
One-third of Notre Dame’s losses have come at the hands of Clemson, however, and the Tigers are on deck next week. Imagine if it’s the Irish that all but end the ACC’s playoff hopes for 2022 with a win.
But don’t think too much about that scenario because, surely, Notre Dame will send the league a text late one night this week with a simple “U up?” message, and against its better judgment, the ACC will reply. That’s how these relationships go, of course. And maybe if the ACC just picks up Notre Dame’s dry cleaning on the way home from work and doesn’t mind dog-sitting for a few days while Notre Dame gets away for a long weekend at USC later this year, maybe then the Irish will finally notice that, yes, they love the ACC, too.
Right up until Notre Dame hits them with an “It’s not you, ACC. It’s us. We just really cherish our independence.”
Heisman Five
A year ago, Will Anderson Jr. and Aidan Hutchinson made a run at the Heisman. In 2020, DeVonta Smith won it. They were nice distractions from what typically is a QB-centric award. This year though? Yeah, we’re back to quarterbacks and nothing but quarterbacks. In fact, seven QBs have a real shot at this point, and trying to narrow it down is a difficult task. Bo Nix (six TDs, 471 yards) and Max Duggan (three TDs, 341 passing yards) both made serious pushes on Saturday, but neither cracked our top five, where Hendon Hooker continues to lead the way.
1. Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker
Four more touchdowns. No turnovers. Hooker just continues to dominate in Josh Heupel’s offense, and you have to wonder if Justin Fuente just sits in a dimly lit room staring at a framed photo of Hooker and thinking, “Where did we go so wrong?”
2. Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud
Saturday was probably Stroud’s worst game of the year, which only underscores just how good he has been. He completed 26-of-33 passes for 354 yards and a touchdown — the first time in a year he hasn’t had multiple touchdown passes. That last game when he was held to just one TD? Also vs. Penn State.
3. Alabama QB Bryce Young
Alabama was off this week, and somehow Young still needed to go 6-7 for 53 yards plus a 20-yard scramble for a TD to lead the Tide over the open date in the final minute of action.
4. USC QB Caleb Williams
He threw for 411 yards and five touchdowns with no picks, and given how bad the USC defense struggled stopping Arizona, every bit of it was needed. Williams lacks a signature win, but his numbers across the board warrant his spot here.
5. North Carolina QB Drake Maye
Honestly, if he was playing on a team that had a bit more national buzz, he might be at the top of this list. Maye had five more touchdowns and more than 400 yards of offense in North Carolina’s 42-24 win over Pitt. He’s had multiple TD passes in each of his first eight games as a starter, and his 32 total touchdowns lead the nation.
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Drake Maye throws 1-yard TD vs. Pittsburgh
The most college football thing to happen this week
This was a perfectly designed play for Marshall, in which QB Cam Fancher hits Corey Gammage in stride for a big gain, then Gammage wisely chooses to fumble another 20 yards downfield where Talik Keaton recovers and carries it on down to the 1. We’re sure they practice this all the time.
Insane fumble in the Marshall-Coastal Carolina game! It worked out well for The Thundering Herd! lol pic.twitter.com/LQhnk9pTJu
— ?????? @???????? (@FTBeard7) October 30, 2022
Under-the-radar play of the week
All fake field goals are wonderful and should be cherished by the masses. But some fakes attain truly epic status because they aren’t designed to simply fool the defense, but also to get the ball into the hands of the most elite athlete on the team: the kicker.
And so it was that Oklahoma ran a doozy Saturday, with holder Michael Turk flipping the ball to kicker Zach Schmit, who rumbled into the end zone like a young Jerome Bettis.
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Oklahoma punter Michael Turk completes a touchdown pass to kicker Zach Schmit on Oklahoma’s beautiful fake field goal.
It was the first touchdown scored by a kicker this season and the first by a Power 5 player since 2019. The last Big 12 kicker to find the end zone was also a Sooner — Michael Hunnicutt, in 2013.
So, whatever else happens in Brent Venables’ first season at Oklahoma, he gave us this. And we should be forever grateful.
Under-the-radar game of the week
Holy Cross stayed undefeated — just barely — with a 53-52 OT win over Fordham on Saturday in a Patriot League showdown for the ages (which is to say the only Patriot League game we’ve paid attention to in a while).
Holy Cross trailed late, but Jalen Coker scored on a 15-yard TD pass with 1:24 to play to tie the game at 45. He finished the day with six catches for 131 yards and three touchdowns.
Fordham scored on its first play of OT to take a 52-45 lead, but Holy Cross fought back, scoring on a nine-yard pass to the pride of Swedesboro, New Jersey, Justin Shorter. The Crusaders opted to go for two, and Ayir Asante crossed the goal line for the 53-52 win.
Holy Cross is one of four remaining undefeated FCS teams, alongside Princeton, Jackson State and Sacramento State.
Fordham has now played four games in which the LOSING team has scored at least 45 points. The Rams have LOST two games in which they have score over 50.
— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoAP) October 30, 2022
Big bets and bad beats
Good teams win, as TCU did against West Virginia on Saturday. Championship-caliber teams win on the road, and Saturday was the Horned Frogs’ fourth such victory of the year. But the truly great teams, as we all know, cover. And TCU did that in magical fashion with a heave downfield on fourth-and-1 with 20 seconds to play, as Max Duggan hit Savion Williams for a 29-yard score, a 41-31 win and a cover. It may not matter to the playoff committee, but it matters to us.
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Savion Williams hauls in a 29-yard touchdown to seal TCU’s win over West Virginia.
It’s not really the wins or the losses in betting. It’s the swings. As it was during the Ohio State-Penn State game, with the Buckeyes 15.5-point favorites and seemingly doomed to a win without a cover entering the final three minutes of play. Ohio State scored to go up 37-24, kicking off to Penn State, which figured to run down the clock in a last-gasp attempt to cut into the lead. But Sean Clifford‘s first pass of the drive was picked off by J.T. Tuimoloau, who returned it for a touchdown. Ohio State 44, Penn State 24 and a perfect backdoor cover! Only, there was still 2:22 left on the clock. Penn State drove eight plays for 75 yards and scored on a Clifford pass with 1:12 left for a touchdown that was meaningless to everyone except the poor saps who thought they’d just gotten an Ohio State cover. Betting isn’t for the faint of heart, folks.
Ole Miss appeared to have sealed the 31-21 win over Texas A&M with an interception in the end zone in the game’s final two minutes. Unfortunately for Rebels backers, the throw was called incomplete, A&M got another chance, and Weigman hit Devon Achane for a 7-yard TD. Final score: Ole Miss 31, A&M 28. The line? Ole Miss by 3.
The Capitals improved by 11 points in the standings in Ovechkin’s rookie season. He helped, but he couldn’t do it alone.
In 2008, Alex Ovechkin found himself onstage at a club in Falls Church, Virginia, pretending to play guitar and pumping his fist to the crowd of Capitals fans who were instructed to keep the energy up during filming.
This music video would be a perfect time capsule for the “Rock The Red” movement in Washington — in which the home stands would be a sea of red jerseys and shirts — and not just because Ovechkin’s rock star status went from figurative to literal. The Caps won the Southeast Division in 2007-08, returning to the playoffs after a three-season drought. Under head coach Bruce Boudreau, who took over after 21 games, they played an electric offensive game that catered to Ovechkin’s skills and created a renewed fan buzz.
On stage with Ovechkin were fellow members of “The Young Guns,” as the players would be known. Center Nicklas Backstrom would become a driving force behind Ovechkin’s goal-scoring domination. His biggest takeaway from playing alongside Ovechkin: “Probably explaining to him that he wasn’t always open, but he wanted the puck all the time anyway,” Backstrom said recently with a laugh.
Defenseman Mike Green, who was in the video, would pilot their power play and become a two-time Norris Trophy runner-up. Winger Alex Semin, Ovechkin’s young countryman, would become a 40-goal scorer. Beyond them were Brooks Laich, an essential “glue guy,” and, eventually, standout defensemen John Carlson and Karl Alzner.
But the music video was also demonstrative of the Capitals’ swagger, something else Ovechkin brought to the franchise. Washington lost in seven games to the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs, but it was clear they were pointed toward greater success. Something Sidney Crosby’s Penguins had already achieved.
After losing Rookie of the Year to Ovechkin, Crosby won his first NHL MVP trophy as a 19-year-old in 2006-07. By 2008, he was playing for the Stanley Cup, losing in the Final to Detroit. Like Ovechkin, he had some new friends, too: Malkin, Kris Letang, Marc-Andre Fleury and Jordan Staal.
Ovechkin did Crosby one better between 2007-09: He became the first skater to win back-to-back Hart Trophies since Wayne Gretzky in 1985-87. (Goalie Dominik Hasek won consecutive MVPs from 1996-98). It was clear he was a franchise player, and Leonsis gave him a contract commensurate with that status: In 2008, Ovechkin signed a 13-year, $124 million deal he negotiated himself. The first $100 million contract in NHL history, it had its critics at the time, although they’d fall silent years later when his $9 million cap hit was re-contextualized as a bargain as the salary cap rose.
In 2008-09, Ovechkin scored 56 goals in the regular season to lead Washington to another division title and then had seven points in seven games to win his first playoff series over the New York Rangers — setting up the first meeting between Crosby and Ovechkin in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Game 2 of that series would provide one of the defining moments of their rivalry: The “Double Hat Trick” game in Washington, as both Crosby and Ovechkin completed hat tricks in the Capitals’ 4-3 win. Fans threw so many hats on the ice after Ovechkin’s third goal that Crosby asked if the officials “could make an announcement to ask them to stop.”
Ovechkin (14 points) outscored Crosby (13) in that series, but the Penguins outlasted the Capitals in seven games — advancing to win the Stanley Cup, which would become a recurring theme in their rivalry. Ovechkin had a chance to turn Game 7 in Washington’s favor with a breakaway in the first three minutes of the first period but was robbed by Fleury.
It was a missed opportunity. The Capitals would miss more of them to a much greater degree in the next few seasons.
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The importance of the double hat-trick game between Crosby and Ovechkin
“The Drop” discuss Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin’s first playoff meeting and the importance of their double hat-trick game.
The Crisis Era (2009-14)
Goals scored: 203
Ovechkin was given the Capitals’ captaincy in Jan. 2010 after Chris Clark was traded to Columbus. He scored another 50 goals in 2009-10 and was driving a team that had pushed deeper into the playoffs than it had in any season since 1998. Washington finished that campaign with a .738 points percentage and captured their first Presidents’ Trophy in franchise history — along with all the supernatural misfortune associated with being the league’s best regular-season team.
The Capitals faced the Montreal Canadiens, who ranked 16th out of 16 playoff teams in regular-season success. After dropping the opening game in overtime, Washington won three straight games. Then it happened: a combination of Montreal goalie Jaroslav Halak with the Capitals’ sputtering offense and unmistakable jitters led the Canadiens to win the series in seven games. The Washington offensive machine was limited to one goal in each of the final three losses. Ovechkin didn’t have a goal in the final two.
This wasn’t just playoff disappointment for Ovechkin’s Capitals, but postseason regression. It sparked the first wave of conversations about Washington as a playoff underachiever and whether the Caps’ regular-season offensive wizardry could ever translate to Stanley Cup success. Despite respectable postseason numbers, Ovechkin wasn’t immune to that criticism either.
Things briefly looked up in 2010-11. The Capitals won their division for the fourth straight time and then beat the Rangers in five games in the opening round, where Ovechkin had six points. He had four points in four games in the next round, but playoff embarrassment was getting old for the “Young Guns”: The Tampa Bay Lightning swept the Caps out of the playoffs.
Skepticism about Washington being able to get over the hump due to their style of play had morphed into a full-on crisis of faith. They slumped after a hot start in 2011-12, with Ovechkin going through a stretch of one goal in eight games. Boudreau paid for that slump with his job, as Washington fired him in Nov. 2011 after 22 games (12-9-1). Ovechkin’s relationship with his former coach was scrutinized. Some labeled the Capitals star a “coach killer” in the wake of the popular Boudreau’s dismissal.
“It is complete nonsense that I would get Bruce fired,” Ovechkin said to Yahoo! Sports in 2011. “How is it on me? How can I, a player, get a coach fired? How can I quit playing for the coach who gave me so much in my career?”
The Capitals hired Dale Hunter, a franchise icon who had been a head coach in Canadian junior hockey, to replace Boudreau, with the explicit mandate to get Ovechkin and his teammates to defend to a championship standard. In other words: fewer pretty passes, more blocked shots.
Ovechkin saw his ice time drop to under 20 minutes per game for the first time. He called the season “a hard year, mentally” and his stats reflected that: Ovechkin had 65 points, a career low, although his goal-scoring rose from 32 to 38 year over year.
The Capitals defeated the Boston Bruins in seven games in the first round that season and then were eliminated by the Rangers in seven games in the second round. Ovechkin had four points against New York.
Hunter left the Capitals after the season to return to juniors. The Capitals hired New Jersey Devils assistant coach Adam Oates to take over. While Ovechkin led the league in goals in both of Oates’ seasons in Washington, the Capitals’ postseason misfortunes continued: losing to the Rangers in the first round in 2013, after a lockout-shortened season in which Ovechkin won his third MVP; and then missing the playoffs in 2013-14 for the first time since 2006-07, and only the third time in Ovechkin’s career, which led to both Oates and GM McPhee being fired.
Ovechkin was now the lightning rod for criticism about the Capitals’ lack of playoff success and diminishing returns. The criticism was carried to extremes, like when The Hockey News published an article in May 2014 titled “Alex Ovechkin to KHL would be a blessing in disguise for Capitals.”
All of it left Ovechkin baffled and frustrated. He actually clarified after the season that he was still having fun and wasn’t going to ask for a trade.
“If you remember when Hunter was here and I didn’t score goals, you guys said, ‘Why don’t you score goals?’ I said, ‘My job [is] to block shots’. The whole world says, ‘Ovi stop playing what he used to play, he’s gone. We [are] never going to see him again,'” he said after the 2013-14 season. “I don’t want to turn my back on this kind of position again. I get paid to score goals. I scored 50.”
Ovechkin scored 203 goals in this era. That was seven fewer in this span than Steven Stamkos, the new goal-scoring marvel in the NHL. But while Ovechkin had his struggles, he was still piling on the goals to his career total.
In 2010, ESPN’s John Buccigross was among the first to publicly suggest that Ovechkin might break Gretzky’s goals record. “This will take a lot of health, a lot of hockey love and a lot of luck. But it’s not far-fetched.”
The Frustration Era (2014-17)
Goals scored: 136
General manager Brian MacLellan hired former Nashville Predators coach Barry Trotz to take over the Capitals for 2014-15. Other new faces had joined Washington in recent seasons, too, augmenting the core around Ovechkin: forwards Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson, defensemen Brooks Orpik and Dmitry Orlov and goaltender Braden Holtby. Soon, T.J. Oshie would arrive from the St. Louis Blues.
Trotz would have a critical relationship with Ovechkin, whose goal total rose back to 51 in Oates’ last season in Washington. Trotz was aware of Ovechkin’s reputation as a “coach killer” and accusations of selfish play. From their first meeting, Trotz got to know a player who liked being challenged and was summarily obsessed with winning the Stanley Cup.
MacLellan and Trotz agreed that surrounding Ovechkin with enough talent to ease his burden was the best move. Sometimes, that led to overcorrections — like when Ovechkin’s ice time dropped to 18:22 per game and his goals dropped to 33 in the 2016-17 season. But Trotz insisted it was to serve the ultimate goal.
Trotz got Ovechkin back to the playoffs in 2014-15, winning in seven against the New York Islanders before losing again to the Rangers in seven games. They were sixth in the NHL in offense and seventh in defense, after being 13th and 21st under Oates.
This started a run of three straight postseasons in which the Capitals had their run end in the second round. The next two instances had a common theme: Sidney Crosby and the Penguins.
Ovechkin’s archrival had two assists in the Penguins’ six-game victory over the Capitals in 2016, a series where Ovechkin had seven points to lead the Capitals. Five of the six games were determined by one goal. Like they did in 2009, the Penguins vaulted over the Capitals and eventually won the Stanley Cup against San Jose.
The same thing would happen in 2017. The Capitals eliminated the Toronto Maple Leafs in six games to earn a rematch with Pittsburgh. This time, Crosby had seven points in six games and Fleury shut out the Capitals in Game 7 to eliminate Washington. Two rounds later, Crosby was hoisting the Cup after defeating Nashville.
Three Cup wins for Sid The Kid, each time at the expense of Ovechkin.
He was a nonfactor for much of it. Ovechkin criticized his own performance in Game 4. Trotz shifted his superstar winger to the third line against Pittsburgh in Game 5. In Games 6 and 7, Ovechkin didn’t register a point and was a minus-2 in the series finale.
As one veteran coach told ESPN at the time: “He just doesn’t have that body language that says, ‘I’m taking over.’ Normally, he’s like an assassin.”
The Capitals’ defeat in 2017 earned Washington the moniker of “saddest sports town” from the New York Times: “The issue is no longer whether the Capitals will ever win the Stanley Cup with Ovechkin and the immensely talented core around him. It’s whether this group can ever get past the playoffs’ second round.”
The Stanley Cup Era (2017-18)
Goals scored: 49
Alex Ovechkin was on stage again in front of Capitals fans. It was June 2018. His long beard hung over red party beads around his neck. On his head was something only previously attainable through photoshop edits: a hat with a Capitals logo and the words “Stanley Cup Champs.”
Ovechkin was giving a victory speech to a packed National Mall. “We’re not going to f—ing suck this year!” he bellowed. “We’re STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS. Yeaaaaaaaaah!”
All of those playoff disappointments. All of those harsh lessons learned. All of that criticism Ovechkin shouldered for his team, whether it was personally warranted or not. As he lifted and kissed the Stanley Cup — with his Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP beside him — the burdens he carried as a franchise savior and NHL superstar were lifted, too.
This is what catharsis looks like.
By this time, it was clear Ovechkin had a career that likely would put him in the Hall of Fame, with a goal total that was going to end up among the highest ever. Winning the Stanley Cup meant that there would be no caveats, no “but he never won a championship” detractions when it came to his hockey immortality.
The postseason was its own Eras Tour for Ovechkin’s Capitals. They defeated Columbus in the first round, coached by their old Rangers rival John Tortorella. Then came the third straight meeting with Sidney Crosby and the Penguins. After losing Game 1, the Capitals rallied to take a 3-2 series lead. Ovechkin, who had seven points in the series, had the primary assist on Kuznetsov’s overtime goal in Game 6 that eliminated Pittsburgh and put Ovi in a conference championship round for the first time.
With those demons from Pittsburgh exorcised, the Capitals defeated another postseason tormentor in the Lightning in seven games, shutting them out in Games 6 and 7. (Somewhere, Dale Hunter smiles at defense winning championships.)
The Final Boss was Vegas, as the Golden Knights shocked the NHL by advancing to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season. That team’s architect? GM George McPhee, who drafted Ovechkin and surrounded him with the “Young Guns.” Their starting goalie? Marc-Andre Fleury, who had previously made Ovechkin’s postseason life miserable.
Washington won the Stanley Cup in five games. Ovechkin had five points in the series, including a goal in the clincher. He was finally a champion. Ovechkin ended the postseason with 15 goals in 24 games and won the Conn Smythe.
The Capitals did not, in fact, suck that year.
Elder Statesman Era (2018-23)
Goals scored: 215
This era is the greatest tribute to the transformative effect that winning the Stanley Cup had on Ovechkin.
Washington would lose in the first round in the next four seasons after skating the Cup, under head coaches Todd Reirden — who replaced Trotz when the coach had a contract dispute with the Capitals — and Peter Laviolette, who replaced Reirden in 2020. But the afterglow of the Cup was bright enough to obscure any disappointment. Ovechkin’s MVP performance — and his continued ascent up the all-time goal-scoring rankings — were a shield from any criticism.
Ovechkin led the NHL in goals in 2018-19 and 2019-20. In total, he won the Richard Trophy in seven of eight seasons from 2012-2020. He remained a dominant goal-scorer even as he aged into being one of the NHL’s elder statesmen, something emphasized by Ovechkin’s hair and beard having gone gray.
Another hallmark of Ovechkin’s maturity — and, more importantly, how winning the Cup unburdened him — was his burgeoning friendship with Crosby. The two would bond at the NHL All-Star Game, chatting during the skills competition, the old school watching the new school.
At the 2023 All-Star Game in South Florida, Crosby, 35, and Ovechkin, 37, was a dual-entry in the breakaway challenge trick-shot competition: skating in on a three-on-none with Ovechkin’s 4-year-old son, Sergei, who had watched the event with his father near the benches while wearing an “Ovi Jr.” jersey.
“Before we ever played a game against each other, there was a rivalry,” Crosby said at the time. “It was always set up that way. I think over time, you understand that it gets heated and intense on the ice. We both want to have success. But you appreciate you playing against each other for as long as it’s been.”
Off the ice, Ovechkin’s public statements courted controversy.
In 2017, Ovechkin announced that he was spearheading a social media campaign in support of Russian president Vladimir Putin that was called “Putin Team.” Ovechkin had been a vocal supporter of Putin before. “I never hid my relationship with our president, always openly supported him,” he said. “I’m certain that there are many of us that support Vladimir Putin. Let’s unite and show everyone a strong and united Russia.”
That support was put under a microscope in 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine. The NHL suspended its dealings with the KHL in March 2022. It also terminated its broadcast agreement with Russian television. Russia has been frozen out of the hockey world since its invasion of Ukraine. It was banned, along with Belarus, from international hockey tournaments by the International Ice Hockey Federation starting in 2022. That ban was extended last month through the 2025-26 season.
Ovechkin received backlash from fans who were angered by the invasion — he has a photo with the Russian president as his social media profile.
“He’s my president. But like I said, I’m not in politics. I’m an athlete,” he said. “I hope everything is going to be done soon. It’s a hard situation right now for both sides.”
Ultimately, Ovechkin’s statement on the matter was a plea for peace: “Please, no more war. It doesn’t matter who is in the war — Russia, Ukraine, different countries — we have to live in peace.”
This era was also defined by Ovechkin’s decision to remain in Washington. He signed a five-year, $47.5 million deal in July 2021 to potentially play out his career with the Capitals — including his pursuit of Gretzky’s record. At that point, he was sixth on the all-time list, with 730 goals.
The Catching Gretzky Era (2024-present)
Goals scored: 67 (and counting)
One condition Ovechkin put on the Capitals before signing his extension in 2021: He wanted to play for a contender, not a rebuilding team.
Leonsis promised that a rebuild wouldn’t happen. “To me, a rebuild is when you look the players, the coaches, the fans in the eye and say we’re gonna be really, really bad. And if we were really, really bad, I don’t think Alex would break the record,” the owner said.
In turn, Ovechkin promised Leonsis that he’d stay in shape and his eyes wouldn’t be fixated on breaking Gretzky’s record of 894 goals, but on bringing another Stanley Cup to Washington.
The Capitals missed the playoffs in 2022-23 and decided to change coaches. They hired 42-year-old Spencer Carbery, an assistant coach with the Maple Leafs who had history in the Capitals’ farm system. A candid speaker and a strong tactician, Carbery returned Washington to the playoffs as a wild card in 2023-2024 and has them threatening to win the Presidents’ Trophy in 2024-25.
Leonsis kept his promise to Ovechkin, as the Capitals smartly added talent around him in players like forwards Dylan Strome and Pierre-Luc Dubois, defenseman Jakob Chychrun and goalie Logan Thompson. The prospect pipeline that had produced so many of Ovechkin’s teammates through the years gave him impact players in Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas. Considering how Crosby’s Penguins trended after their championship runs, the fact that the Capitals were a contender again was nothing short of remarkable.
Ovechkin scored 31 goals in 2023-24, but there was reasonable concern about whether he’d be able to catch Gretzky. He appeared to be slowing offensively, with an 11-goal and 10-point drop year over year. He had perhaps the worst playoff series of his career against the Rangers in 2024, with no goals or assists and five shots on goal in New York’s sweep.
Ovechkin put those concerns to rest with 17 goals in his first 20 games of the 2024-25 season, the hottest goal-scoring start of his career. Not even a fractured fibula could slow him down for long. After being injured on Nov. 18, he returned to the Capitals lineup on Dec. 28 — scoring another goal in his comeback game. As was often said about Ovechkin during a career built on good health: Russian Machine never breaks.
The gap between Ovechkin and Gretzky became one of single digits. Breaking the record was no longer just possible. It was inevitable.
0:53
Where does Ovechkin rank all time among NHL greats?
“The Drop” discusses where Alex Ovechkin falls in the conversation of greatest hockey players in NHL history as he closes in on Wayne Gretzky’s goal record.
The Legacy Era
Ovechkin’s contract expires after the 2025-26 season. He has indicated it might be his last one in the NHL. If healthy enough, finishing his playing career with Dynamo Moscow in the KHL is a possibility.
It won’t be the last of Ovechkin in North America, of course. He would have been a Hockey Hall of Fame player with or without the goals record, but will be inducted in Toronto the moment he’s eligible.
Where Ovechkin ranks on all-time NHL player lists is subjective — criticisms of his defensive game will undoubtedly put him below a more well-rounded player like Crosby, for example. Being “the greatest goal-scorer of all-time” is more quantifiable, especially when one considers how Ovechkin achieved his career total against goaltenders, defensive systems and a depth of talent that Gretzky didn’t face for most of his career.
However Ovechkin is remembered, his legacy is the culmination of all the eras he toured throughout his NHL career. The highs, the lows, the turbulence and the triumphs combined to create one of the singular superstars in NHL history.
After breaking the 800-goal barrier during the 2022-23 season, Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin now has his sights set on breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career goals record of 894.
Ovechkin began the 2024-25 season with 853 goals and has tied the record, with 894. The excitement around the chase has led to Ovi becoming one of the NHL’s most popular bets, with a slew of interesting props.
Follow along here as we chronicle each subsequent goal Ovechkin scores this season, including goal highlights, the upcoming Capitals schedule and how to watch.
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Upcoming schedule | Goal videos
The NHL’s top 10 in career goals
T-1. Wayne Gretzky (894)
T-1. Alex Ovechkin (894)
3. Gordie Howe (801)
4. Jaromir Jagr (766)
5. Brett Hull (741)
6. Marcel Dionne (731)
7. Phil Esposito (717)
8. Mike Gartner (708)
9. Mark Messier (694)
10. Steve Yzerman (692)
Goals scored in 2024-25
No. 894: April 4 vs. CHI
How else but on the power play? Six minutes, 13 seconds into the third period, Ovechkin scored the record-tying goal as Wayne Gretzky watched from the crowd. The monumental goal was assisted by John Carlson and Andrew Mangiapane.
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Ovechkin shows love to crowd after tying Gretzky at 894 goals
Alex Ovechkin ties Wayne Gretzky for most goals in NHL history at 894.
No. 893: April 4 vs. CHI
Ovechkin scored 3:52 into the first period against the Blackhawks to move two goals away from the all-time record — and score his 40th of the season. The goal was assisted by Dylan Strome and John Carlson.
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Ovechkin 2 away from passing Gretzky with 893rd goal
Alex Ovechkin lights the lamp as he inches closer to breaking Wayne Gretzkys all-time scoring record.
No. 892: April 2 vs. CAR
Now just three goals away from the record, Ovechkin’s 892nd was a vintage strike — powering home a shot from the left circle on a Capitals power play to cut into the Hurricanes’ lead.
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Alex Ovechkin now 3 goals away from breaking Gretzky’s record
Alex Ovechkin scores career goal 892, putting him three away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record.
No. 891: April 1 vs. BOS
Ovechkin was in the right place at the right time for his 891st career goal. He received the puck just in front of an empty net and scored on the power play — which secured his 18th career season with at least 10 power-play goals, according to ESPN Research.
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Ovechkin scores 891st goal, 4 away from breaking record
Alex Ovechkin scores from close range, putting him three away from tying Wayne Gretzky’s record.
No. 890: March 30 vs. BUF
Ovechkin’s chase to pass Gretzky can now be counted down on one hand. He found the net midway through the third period on a neat no-look tip-in.
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Ovechkin scores 890th goal, moves 5 away from breaking Gretzky’s record
Alex Ovechkin scores on a fantastic redirection for his 890th career goal.
No. 889: March 25 vs. WPG
Facing a 2-1 deficit late in the third period, Ovechkin connected on a snap shot to even the game. It marked the 150th game-tying goal of his career, 11 more than anyone else in NHL history, according to ESPN Research.
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Ovechkin’s 889th goal moves him 6 away from breaking Gretzky’s record
Alex Ovechkin nets his 889th career goal to tie the score in the third period, putting him six away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record.
No. 888: March 20 vs. PHI
Ovechkin put home a follow-up chance late in the first period versus the Flyers. Ovi now has has 52 career goals against Philadelphia, the all-time second-most against the Flyers, passing Mario Lemieux.
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Ovechkin 7 goals away from passing Gretzky after 888th goal
Alex Ovechkin nets his 888th career goal, putting him seven away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record.
No. 887: March 15 vs. SJ
Already comfortably ahead against San Jose, Ovechkin tipped in a goal in the third period. Eighteen of Ovi’s 34 goals have come in the third period this season, the most in the NHL, according to ESPN Research.
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Ovechkin’s redirect goal moves him 8 away from breaking Gretzky’s record
Alex Ovechkin redirects the puck into the net for his 887th career goal.
No. 886: March 9 vs. SEA
Ovechkin was out on the ice to help preserve a late third-period lead against Seattle, and wrestled enough space from a Kraken defender to score an empty-net goal to put the game out of reach.
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Alex Ovechkin nets career goal No. 886, eight shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record
Alex Ovechkin taps in an empty-netter for career goal No. 886 and his 1,600th point.
No. 885: March 5 vs. NYR
Ovi’s goal went a long way for the Capitals as it evened the score with 9:32 left in the third period. Washington went on to secure an overtime victory after Ovechkin netted his 32nd goal in 46 games this season.
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Ovechkin scores 885th goal, 10 away from passing Gretzky
Alex Ovechkin scores his 32nd goal of the season, putting him only 10 away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record.
No. 884: March 1 vs. TB
Although the Capitals lost a showdown with old Southeastern Division foe Tampa Bay, Ovi put himself 10 goals from tying Gretzky via a third-period goal assisted by Matt Roy.
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Alex Ovechkin closes in on history with late goal for Capitals
Alex Ovechkin is just 10 goals away from Wayne Gretzky’s record 894 after this goal against the Lightning.
No. 883: Feb. 25 vs. CGY
Ovechkin connected on a goal on a Capitals power play against the Calgary Flames, his eighth in eight games and 30th of the season. Ovechkin is the fourth player in NHL history to score 30 goals at age 39 or older.
EIGHT GOALS IN EIGHT GAMES.
THE #GR8CHASE IS ROLLING FOLKS!#ALLCAPS | @BlueHalo pic.twitter.com/I09wwQi0IO
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) February 26, 2025
Nos. 880, 881, 882: Feb. 23 vs. EDM
Ovechkin first found the net nearly halfway through the second period against the Edmonton Oilers. About ten minutes later, he did it again, concluding a Washington power play with a goal. His third came on an empty netter late in the third period, Ovechkin’s seventh empty net goal this season.
Ovechkin has 200 goals since Jan. 1, 2020, becoming the first player in NHL history to score 200+ goals in three different decades. Ovechkin is now on pace to break Gretzky’s career goals record by the end of this season, per all three methodologies ESPN Research has used.
1:38
Ovechkin’s hat trick puts him 13 away from breaking Gretzky’s record
Alex Ovechkin scores a hat trick against the Oilers to reach 882 career goals.
No. 879: Feb. 6 vs. PHI
Down 1-0 in the first period against the Philadelphia Flyers, Ovechkin evened the score in the final minute with a one-timer.
0:38
Alex Ovechkin moves 16 goals away from breaking Gretzky’s record
Alex Ovechkin scores his 879th career goal to move 16 goals away from eclipsing Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record
No. 878: Feb. 4 vs. FLA
Every second counts. Ovechkin netted his 878th goal with just 0.1 seconds left, slotting the puck in an empty net against the Florida Panthers.
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Alexander Ovechkin beats the buzzer to score goal 878
Alexander Ovechkin scores an empty-netter with 0.1 left to give him his 878th goal of his career.
No. 877: Feb. 1 vs. WPG
Ovechkin tied the game with under eight minutes left in the third period with his 877th goal. The Caps would lose in overtime in a matchup of two of the NHL’s top teams.
0:47
Alex Ovechkin brings Caps even with his 877th career goal
Alex Ovechkin ties the score at 4 and moves 18 goals from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record.
No. 876: Jan. 30 vs. OTT
Ovechkin scored against the Ottawa Senators exactly two weeks in ago in their Jan. 16 matchup and did it again with a power play finish in the third period against Ottawa. It marked Ovechkin’s NHL-record 318th career power play goal.
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Alex Ovechkin nets his 876th goal with a great shot from the point
Alex Ovechkin finds the back of the net for his 876th goal to pull the Capitals within 1.
No. 875: Jan. 23 vs. SEA
Ovi added another empty-net tally to his career total to put the finishing touches on this victory for the Caps, assisted by Trevor van Riemsdyk and Jakob Chychrun.
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Alex Ovechkin scores 875th NHL goal
Alex Ovechkin scores in the third period and is now 20 goals away from passing Wayne Gretzky on the NHL’s all-time list.
No. 874: Jan. 16 vs. OTT
Ovechkin locked in one record with his 874th goal. He broke the mark for the most goaltenders scored on after slotting one past Ottawa’s Leevi Merilainen for a game-winning overtime goal.
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Alex Ovechkin’s 874th career goal wins it in OT for the Capitals
Alex Ovechkin breaks through in overtime with his 874th career goal to propel the Capitals to a 1-0 win.
No. 873: Jan. 11 vs. NSH
Ovechkin put the finishing touches on a the Caps’ 4-1 win over the Predators by way of an empty-net goal.
0:36
Alex Ovechkin scores his 873rd career goal on empty net
Alex Ovechkin moves 21 goals away from Wayne Gretzky’s record with an empty-net goal to seal the Capitals’ win.
No. 872: Jan. 4 vs. NYR
The Capitals wound up scoring seven on the reeling Rangers, and Ovechkin’s 19th of the season made it 5-3 in the third period, assisted by Dylan Strome.
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Alex Ovechkin scores his 872nd career goal to increase Caps’ lead
Alex Ovechkin nets his 872nd career goal and is 23 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record.
No. 871: Jan. 2 vs. MIN
Although the Capitals lost in a shootout to the Wild, Ovechkin added to his career total via a second-period, power-play goal, assisted by Dylan Strome.
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Ovechkin inches closer to Gretzky’s record with another goal
Alex Ovechkin moves closer to Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goalscoring record with this fierce finish vs. the Wild.
No. 870: Dec. 29 vs. DET
Ovechkin is making up for time lost during his injury absence, scoring his second goal in as many games since returning. His 17th of the season was assisted by Jakob Chychrun and Connor McMichael.
0:28
Ovechkin inches closer to Gretzky with 870th goal
Alex Ovechkin is now 25 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record of 894 goals.
No. 869: Dec. 28 vs. TOR
In his first game back following a five-week stint on injured reserve, Ovechkin notched an empty-net goal to seal the deal against the Maple Leafs. The goal was assisted by Aliaksei Protas and Pierre-Luc Dubois.
0:27
Alex Ovechkin scores in return to Capitals
Alex Ovechkin comes one goal closer to the record after scoring an empty-net goal.
No. 868, 867: Nov. 18 vs. UTA
A day after his hat trick against Vegas, Ovechkin scored two more against the Hockey Club — and might’ve had another if he wasn’t knocked out of the game following a collision with Jack McBain. Goal No. 867 was assisted by Pierre-Luc Dubois, while No. 868 was on the power play, and assisted by John Carlson and Dylan Strome.
0:32
Ovechkin’s 2nd goal of the night gets him to 868
Alex Ovechkin nets his second goal of the game to put the Capitals up 4-1 over the Utah HC, and moves within 26 goals of tying Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record.
0:43
Alex Ovechkin cashes goal 867 for Capitals
Alex Ovechkin finds the back of the net to give the Capitals a 3-1 lead over Utah, and moves within 27 goals of tying Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record.
No. 866, 865, 864: Nov. 17 vs. VGK
Back in 2018, Ovechkin and the Capitals won the Stanley Cup in Vegas. There was less at stake in this game, but Ovi came through with a hat trick in the Caps’ 5-2 win: a first-period, power-play tally (assisted by John Carlson and Dylan Strome), a second-period score assisted by Matt Roy, and an empty-net goal to cap it off (assisted by Aliaksei Protas and Martin Fehervary).
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Alex Ovechkin lights the lamp
Alex Ovechkin lights the lamp
0:33
Alex Ovechkin nets goal for Capitals
Alex Ovechkin nets goal for Capitals
0:48
Ovechkin’s 864th goal tips off defender’s stick
Alex Ovechkin nets his 864th career goal after his shot banks off Alex Pietrangelo’s stick.
No. 863, 862: Nov. 9, 2024 vs. STL
Did you seriously think that an 8-1 win for the Capitals would not include any goals from Ovechkin? Ovi scored in the second period (assisted by Aliaksei Protas and Dylan Strome) to make it 2-1, then added a power-play tally in the third (assisted by Strome and Tom Wilson) to make it 4-1.
0:48
Ovechkin tallies his 2nd goal of the game and 863rd of career
Alex Ovechkin’s wrist shot finds the net to pad the Capitals’ lead vs. the Blues and creep ever closer towards Gretzky’s scoring record.
0:49
Alex Ovechkin nets 862nd goal
Alex Ovechkin nets 862nd goal
No. 861: Nov. 6, 2024 vs. NSH
Ovechkin scored his eighth goal of the season at 10:25 of the third period on assists from Dylan Strome and Martin Fehervary.
1:04
Alex Ovechkin nets 861st NHL goal vs. Nashville
Alex Ovechkin nets 861st NHL goal vs. Nashville
No. 860: Nov. 3, 2024 vs. CAR
Though the Capitals lost, 4-2, Ovi notched a first-period, power-play tally, on assists from John Carlson and Dylan Strome.
0:40
Ovechkin tallies 860th goal, 34 away from tying Gretzky
Alex Ovechkin scores on the power play, which is his 860th career goal, making him 34 shy of tying Wayne Gretzky for the most goals of all time.
No. 859: Nov. 2, 2024 vs. CBJ
Ovechkin was one of six different Capitals to score in the team’s route of the BJs, and his goal was assisted by Dylan Strome and Aliaksei Protas.
0:44
Ovechkin tallies goal No. 859 for Capitals
Alex Ovechkin slaps it in from distance to get his 859th career goal and pad the Capitals’ lead vs. the Blue Jackets.
No. 858: Oct. 31, 2024 vs. MTL
A 6-3 Capitals win with an Ovechkin goal as the capper? The fans went home happy from this one. Assists on this goal were from Aliaksei Protas and Dylan Strome.
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Alex Ovechkin tallies goal No. 858 for Caps
Alex Ovechkin pads the Capitals’ lead vs. the Canadiens with his 858th career goal.
No. 857, 856: Oct. 29, 2024 vs. NYR
A raucous, 5-3 win for the Capitals included two first-period tallies from Ovi, both assisted by Aliaksei Protas and Dylan Strome.
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Alex Ovechkin’s 857th goal puts Capitals back on top
Alex Ovechkin nets his second goal of the first period to retake the Capitals’ early lead vs. the Rangers.
0:19
Alex Ovechkin 856th goal gets the Capitals on the board
Alex Ovechkin scores early in the first period to give the Capitals a quick 1-0 lead over the Rangers.
No. 855: Oct. 23, 2024 vs. PHI
Ovechkin has a knack for empty-net goals, and added to his career total in that category to cap off a win against Philly, with an assist from Dylan Strome.
0:43
Alex Ovechkin scores goal vs. Flyers
Alex Ovechkin scores goal vs. Flyers
No. 854: Oct. 19, 2024 vs. NJ
It took to the fourth game of the Capitals’ season for Ovechkin to get his first marker of the campaign, on assists from John Carlson and Dylan Strome.
0:47
Alex Ovechkin scores goal for Capitals
Alex Ovechkin nets goal for Capitals
Upcoming schedule
Note: All games available to ESPN+ subscribers at no extra charge as part of NHL Power Play on ESPN+, unless otherwise noted. Blackout restrictions apply.
Sun, Apr 6: at Islanders, 12:30 (TNT/truTV/Max)
Thu, Apr 10: vs. Carolina, 7:30
Sat, Apr 12: at Columbus, 7:00 (ABC/ESPN+)
Sun, Apr 13: vs. Columbus, 6:00
Tue, Apr 15: at Islanders, 8:00 (ESPN)
Thu, Apr 17: at Pittsburgh, 7:00 (ESPN)
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