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  • Ryan S. ClarkApr 2, 2025, 07:30 AM ET

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      Ryan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN.

Washington Capitals coach Spencer Carbery smiles while discussing “the few faceoff plays” they run for Alex Ovechkin.

When it’s from the right circle, the Capitals call it “Shooter Back.” From the left circle, they call it “Board Side O” — as in, “board side Ovechkin.” Numerous goals have come from these play designs, which have been so successful that every other team in the NHL has its own version — albeit without Ovechkin on the finishing end.

Ovechkin’s legacy is about scoring goals — as he closes in on Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894 — and these plays are an instrumental part of that legacy. So much so that the area in the left faceoff circle has become known as “Ovi’s Office.”

Ovechkin became synonymous with faceoff goals because of the play designs and his ability to get a shot off whether the puck is flat or wobbly. There’s also the Capitals’ ability — even as Ovechkin gets older — to supply him with a certain archetype of teammate that has helped foster continuity and make adjustments as he approaches the record. “The reality is all you’re trying to do is get the puck in his hands, on his stick, and let him get a clean shot off anywhere inside the top of the circles,” Carbery said.

Ovechkin scored his first NHL goal on Oct. 5, 2005. That was before leading rookie of the year contender Macklin Celebrini was born — his birthday is June 13, 2006. Ovechkin can score from anywhere on the ice, but the faceoff circle is where he has done much of his damage — 210 of them since 2007-08, according to MoneyPuck data.

Multiple coaches and players from across the NHL agreed Ovechkin’s pursuit of Gretzky’s record is a testament to consistency — not just for Ovechkin, but the Capitals, who are still placing their franchise’s all-time greatest player in a position to succeed.

“One of the things that’s not talked about a ton with the reason he’s had faceoff circle success is he’s pretty much always had a left-handed centerman,” one NHL assistant coach said. “Now, it’s Dylan Strome. Before that, it was Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom. It works out really well because he’s a right-handed shot and they’re pulling out on to his forehand. If he had a right-handed center, it would be even more difficult for those plays to work.”

After nearly two decades, through a career that started in the dead puck era and continues with the net front now en vogue, nobody has found a way to consistently prevent Ovechkin from scoring from the faceoff circle — even though everyone in the building knows where he’s going to set up. As those around the NHL explain it, there are so many decisions opponents must make — and moving parts to be accounted for — that it will lead to Ovechkin and the Capitals inevitably finding an advantage.

“He’s probably going to be the best goal scorer in history, which makes it the hardest job to defend him,” Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas, who was Ovechkin’s teammate in the 2019-20 season, said. “It’s really about anticipating and not giving him as much space as he wants. But for some reason, he keeps finding it and keeps scoring goals.

“In the first game I ever played against Washington, he scored four goals, and you’re just asking, ‘How did this happen?'”

WHAT EXACTLY MAKES “Board Side O” so hard to stop? The assistant coach explains it using a series of video clips. The first starts with Strome, a left-handed center, winning the faceoff. Once the draw is done, Ovechkin is already within 5 inches of the puck.

The coach said Ovechkin not only gets off the line quickly, he is usually moving before his opponent. This allows him to create separation, and it’s a recipe he has perfected over his 20-year career.

But it’s not just that early separation. The coach points out how the puck is wobbling and difficult to control. Still, Ovechkin fires on net without needing even half a second to get off a perfect shot.

“Ninety-nine percent of the league, the moment this puck is fumbled, it’s not a shot on goal, it’s not a scoring chance,” the assistant said. “He finds a way to get pucks through no matter what. That’s an elite skill that he has that’s just as good or better than anyone else in the league has.”

The assistant shows more clips of “Board Side O” before switching to footage of what makes “Shooter Back” equally successful on the other side of the ice. With the faceoff on the right side, Ovechkin is on the inside part of the ice. He still has a left-handed center pulling the puck toward him and he instantly fires a shot with another rolling, wobbly puck that beats the goalie.

Steven Stamkos — tied for 22nd all-time with 577 goals — said there are numerous moving parts that must fall into place to score from the faceoff circle. The shooter needs playmakers who can distribute, and he needs to find space to get to the faceoff circle. Being in the right position leads to east-to-west passes, which result in shots that are hard for the goalie to stop.

He added that the speed of the pass often dictates where the shooter aims. But the goal is to fire the puck so quickly that the goalie doesn’t have time to react.

“The faceoff dot, per se, between the hashmark is kind of like the quiet area in the defensive zone,” Stamkos said. “For him and I, it’s a spot where we’ve had a lot of success and you just keep going back to what works.”

What Ovechkin does with his shot prompted the assistant to compare Ovechkin to a baseball player. He said many NHL players practice one-timers with the idea that if the puck is off by 6 inches, they won’t take the shot. Ovechkin will take the shot.

“If you groove a fastball down the middle, any guy can hit that,” the assistant said. “What about a pitch on the edge of the strike zone? That’s what Ovechkin does so well. He can hit all those pitches.

“He can take those imperfect passes and not only get pucks on the net, but he can get them through defenders and put them in a difficult place for a goalie to save.”

OVECHKIN’S PRODUCTION FROM the faceoff circle has stirred debate on what qualifies as a high-danger scoring chance. Because if it’s Ovechkin in the faceoff circle? That’s about as dangerous as it gets.

“The thing with him is he doesn’t need much space,” Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi said. “You just need to be one second late and he’s going to score.”

Anyone who has watched Ovechkin has seen what this looks like; he finds space in the faceoff circle before dropping to one knee and blasting a one-timer that’s usually followed by him celebrating.

Barry Trotz, who coached Ovechkin for four seasons including winning the Stanley Cup in 2018, said the Caps’ power play is designed to create two choices for opponents: focus on Ovechkin and leave everyone else open, or concentrate on the other four skaters with the hopes none of them can get the puck to Ovechkin.

Each choice provides a problem. Those playmaking centers are either going to find someone else, or they can score themselves. There are also the puck-moving defensemen with hard shots, like Mike Green and John Carlson, while wingers such as T.J. Oshie, Alexander Semin and Tom Wilson have occupied different spaces — and scored many goals.

“They’ve been so good for so long, and he’s a much better passer than people realize,” Trotz said of Ovechkin, who is 56th in NHL history with 724 assists. “If he knows he can’t get the puck through, he’s a good passer as well and doesn’t get enough credit for that.”

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh said there’s a reason penalty killers are still trying to figure out Ovechkin.

“Guys like him and [Stamkos] like to shoot it, they like to establish their shot but they also know a lot of times there’s going to be a guy in the lane blocking the shot and somebody else might be open,” McDonagh said. “They have the ability to find that passing lane and create a scoring chance for someone else.”

Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy said Ovechkin’s shot is both powerful and the hardest to track in the NHL, comparing it to a knuckleball that somehow moves at a high rate of speed.

Vasilevskiy said that while goalies are trained to stop flat shots at various speeds, the movement and power Ovechkin generates can’t really be replicated. That’s because it changes direction “at least three or four times” before reaching the net, he said.

“Even when it’s flat, it’s hard to stop,” Vasilevskiy said. “But when it’s a knuckleball, it’s nearly impossible. You’re just trying to get in a good position and hope to block it. There’s no chance to react against such a shot.”

Josi added that it’s also a very difficult for a defenseman to block.

“It is heavy. But at the same time while it’s heavy, he also knows where it’s going,” Josi said. “A lot of times, I think he knows when you’re trying to block it and he finds a way to get around it.”

INJURIES TO BACKSTROM and Oshie, along with Kuznetsov being traded last spring, meant the Capitals were in transition. They still reached the playoffs in 2023-24 as a wild-card entry, ranking 18th on the power play (20.6%) and 28th in goals per game (2.63).

The changes impacted Ovechkin’s production. He finished with 31 goals and 65 points, which are the lowest totals he has recorded in each category for a single season in which he played more than 70 games.

This season, the Capitals are atop the Eastern Conference standings, and leading the NHL with 3.58 goals per game while their power play is ninth, with a 23.7% success rate.

“You can’t just plug someone in and expect them to be Nicklas Backstrom,” Carbery said. “He is so gifted and talented in that area that it’s unfair to say, ‘Dylan Strome, go be Nicklas Backstom.’ His skill set is different. We had to go through a process of trial and error. We had to learn that for ourselves. Everyone said, ‘Let’s do it the way we’ve done it for 10 years because that’s been so successful’ — but that’s not the way it works.”

Strome said in his first couple games, he always looked for Ovechkin no matter where they were on the ice. That’s what Strome did when he played alongside Patrick Kane when he was with the Chicago Blackhawks.

But what Strome learned was that he now has the freedom to carry the puck into the offensive zone. Then, it’s about finding Ovechkin in different spaces.

“Whenever you are playing with someone who has those guys’ skill level, your senses are heightened and you want to get them the puck whenever you can,” Strome said. “You want to be a complementary piece to those guys who’ve done it a long time. Those guys are always at the top of their game and it puts that extra pressure on you to make sure you play well enough so they want you on their line.”

Natural Stat Trick’s metrics show Strome has played more than 480 minutes in 5-on-5 play with Ovechkin this season. Ovechkin has had 88 minutes when he hasn’t played with Strome at 5-on-5, while they’ve spent more than 142 minutes together on the power play.

Wilson, who has been with the Capitals for 12 seasons, said playing with Ovechkin is all about how one understands space. He said that his role from the moment he joined the team was to do whatever he could to either create space for Ovechkin or find Ovechkin in those spaces by constantly forechecking to win possession.

Talking about the time they played together, Wilson joked that together they provided “a lot of body” for opponents. Ovechkin stands at 6-foot-2 with a playing weight between 220 and 238 pounds, while Wilson is 6-4 and 220 pounds.

“He also creates a lot of room,” Wilson said. “Everyone assumes when he gets the puck, that he’s going to shoot. I’ve had a ton of goals in my career where he finds me. He doesn’t shoot it, but he passes. I’ve had a lot of benefits from him being able to find me on the backdoor or in the slot. But his shot is a cheat code because it does open everything up.”

Carlson and Wilson have seen Ovechkin score hundreds of times, but they both said this season has been so much fun to watch. They talked about how every arena they go to is filled with people who want to see Ovechkin get closer to a record.

The desire to be on the ice for the record-breaking goal has led to some lobbying by players, which makes Carbery smile.

“Oh, of course!” Carlson said when asked if he wants to have a hand in Ovechkin’s historic goal. “I think everybody does. I think that’s on everyone’s mind.”

Wilson said: “Everyone wants to be a part of history and everyone will be a part of history. It doesn’t matter who’s on or who passes it. I just think being able to tell your kids about that one day and being a part of it is going to be something I’ll never forget.”

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Pirates apologize, plan to re-add Clemente sign

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Pirates apologize, plan to re-add Clemente sign

  • ESPN News Services

Apr 6, 2025, 03:24 PM ET

The Pirates announced Sunday that they will be adding the No. 21 logo back to the right field wall to honor Roberto Clemente at PNC Park after the franchise icon’s family expressed their unhappiness that the sign was removed for an advertisement.

“We did not intend to disrespect the legacy of Roberto Clemente by adding the advertisement to the pad in right field,” Pirates president Travis Williams said in a statement.

“When we added the advertisement to the pad, it was an oversight not to keep the No. 21 logo. This is ultimately on me, not anyone else in the organization. It was an honest mistake. We will be adding the No. 21 logo back to the pad.”

Williams added: “We want to make sure that the Clemente family understands that we intended no disrespect to their father. We look forward to continuing our relationship with the Clemente family and apologize to them and our fans for our honest mistake.”

The sign, which had been on the right-field wall since 2022, featured Clemente’s name and his No. 21 but it was replaced with an advertisement for Surfside, an alcoholic drink.

The right-field wall at PNC Park stands 21 feet high in honor of Clemente.

Earlier Sunday, Roberto Clemente Jr. expressed his family’s unhappiness in a prepared statement.

“This change was made without any communication or consultation with our family,” Clemente’s statement said in part. “While we appreciate that the Pirates acknowledged their failure to inform us, it reveals a broader issue: a lack of meaningful collaboration between the organization and on matters that are deeply personal and historically significant to us and the fans.

“The outpouring of support from fans in Pittsburgh and across the country has been overwhelming and deeply appreciated. It is clear that our father’s legacy continues to inspire and unite people, not only for his achievements on the field, but for the integrity and compassion he demonstrated off of it.

“We have always been open to building a sincere and lasting partnership with the Pirates, one grounded in respect and shared values,” the statement continued. “Our hope is that this moment serves as an opportunity for reflection, paving the way for a more thoughtful, transparent, and collaborative relationship moving forward. I intend to reach out to the Pirates directly to explore this further.”

Clemente spent his entire career with the Pirates from 1955 to 1972. He played in 15 All-Star Games while winning 12 Gold Glove awards, four batting titles and the 1966 National League MVP.

Clemente died in a plane crash off the coast of San Juan in his native Puerto Rico on New Year’s Eve in 1972 while attempting to deliver supplies to earthquake-ravaged Nicaragua. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame the following summer.

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LeBron, Michael Jordan top reactions to Alex Ovechkin breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goals record

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April 6, 2025

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LeBron, Michael Jordan top reactions to Alex Ovechkin breaking Wayne Gretzky's NHL goals record

Alex Ovechkin has finally done it.

The Washington Capitals star set the NHL’s goals record on Sunday with a second-period power-play tally against the New York Islanders, breaking Wayne Gretzky’s mark.

Ovechkin tied the record after netting two goals against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday. Gretzky set the goals record on March 23, 1994, while playing for the Los Angeles Kings. Ovechkin scored his 895th goal in his 1,487th game, while Gretzky scored 894 goals in 1,487 games.

A video compilation that included LeBron James, Michael Jordan and Simone Biles led reactions to Ovechkin’s milestone.

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Ranking the top 20 goals in Alex Ovechkin’s record-breaking career

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April 6, 2025

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Ranking the top 20 goals in Alex Ovechkin's record-breaking career

  • Greg WyshynskiApr 6, 2025, 02:00 PM ET

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      Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.

“The Gr8 Chase” is over. Alex Ovechkin is the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer, surpassing the legendary Wayne Gretzky.

Ovechkin amassed this career total in a variety of ways. He had over 550 even-strength goals and 320 power-play goals, the majority scored from the fabled “Ovi spot.” He’s the leader in empty-net goals and overtime goals. Five of his goals came shorthanded, from a guy who has averaged eight seconds of penalty-killing time per game in his career.

But not every Ovechkin goal is created equally. Some are works of art; some are masterpieces. Some are important; some are career-defining.

Here are the top 20 goals in Ovechkin’s career, covering both the NHL regular season and the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Many of them have become highlight-reel mainstays, while some make this ranking because of their significance to Ovechkin’s legacy and story. Along the way you’ll hear from Ovechkin, his teammates, coaches and opponents about these classic moments during the first 895 goals of the Washington Capitals star’s career. Enjoy!

20. Dec. 18, 2015: Ovechkin shocks the Lightning

You could sense this one was imminent as Jason Chimera floated a juicy pass from the boards into the Lightning zone.

Ovi motored to collect the puck and then froze Tampa Bay defenseman Anton Stralman with a textbook curl-and-drag for a gorgeous power-play goal against Ben Bishop.

19. June 7, 2018: Ovechkin’s Stanley Cup Final moment

We’ve seen Ovechkin score this kind of power-play goal hundreds of times. But until Game 5 against the Golden Knights, we’d never seen him score one in a clinching game for a Stanley Cup championship, after a postseason worthy of the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

“A lot of things were said at the end of last year in the press, Twitter, whatever,” said Barry Trotz, who coached that championship team. “And they’re hurtful, and I think he took it personally. He said, ‘I’m going to show you I’m still a great player.’ And he did.”

18. March 9, 2011: Ovechkin plays defense vs. the Oilers

Criticisms of Ovechkin’s defensive prowess have haunted him throughout his career, to the point where former Capitals coach Dale Hunter briefly tried to turn him into a shot blocker rather than a shot taker.

But Ovechkin had his moments on D, such as this play where he picked the pocket of Oilers defenseman Kurtis Foster on the forecheck to set up a 2-on-0 scoring chance and easily converted.

17. Oct. 5, 2005: Career goal No. 1

Where it all began. The Capitals opened their season at home against the Columbus Blue Jackets in front of an announced crowd of 16,325. Just 28 seconds after the Jackets took the lead in the second period, Ovechkin skated between the circles with his stick raised for a one-timer.

Dainius Zubrus found him, and Ovi blasted a shot past future trivia answer Pascal Leclaire for the first of many, many, many goals.

16. March 19, 2022: Ovechkin vs. Chicago (and Duncan Keith)

By the time Ovechkin schooled him on national television, future Hall of Fame defenseman Duncan Keith had already won a Norris Trophy and a Stanley Cup.

What he couldn’t do was stop this move from Ovechkin, who tantalizingly dangled the puck within Keith’s stick range before pulling it back through his legs and motoring around him for the goal, as three Blackhawks stood seemingly powerless around their net.

15. March 1, 2011: OT winner vs. Islanders

The NHL was playing 4-on-4 in overtime back in 2011, but Ovechkin was playing one-on-one against Frans Nielsen in this extra session against the Islanders.

Ovechkin turned the New York forward inside out with a burst of speed through the neutral zone. He then skated through a check attempt by Nielsen in the attacking zone before finishing this goal with a nasty backhander that goalie Nathan Lawson apparently didn’t know was in Ovi’s bag of tricks.

14. March 19, 2009: The ‘hot stick’ celebration

Ovechkin’s 50th goal in the 2008-09 season sparked one of the most memorable and controversial moments of his career: the “hot stick” celebration, as Ovechkin laid his lumber on the ice and warmed his gloves over its imaginary flames.

It was a moment commemorated in everything from bobblehead dolls to video game cutscenes. But “Hockey Night in Canada” analyst Don Cherry hated it, criticizing Ovechkin’s lack of “class” in showing up the Lightning and rookie goalie Mike McKenna.

Years later on the “I Was in Net For” podcast, McKenna admitted that he might have “slashed Ovechkin’s stick into the next ZIP code” had he been a league veteran at the time. But he also said he and Ovechkin talked it out about a week later.

“I remember just saying ‘Hi’ and him saying, ‘I did not mean to embarrass or disrespect you or anything. I thought we were having fun.’ He was apologetic about it, and you know what? I was totally cool with it,” McKenna said. “For him to even take that time to just be a human and say, ‘This is what I was feeling in the moment,’ I have a hard time holding that against anybody, especially if they can have the humility to think maybe it wasn’t nice or right.”

13. Nov. 20, 2014: The end boards goal vs. the Avalanche

This goal has a bit of everything that makes Ovechkin such a force. The speed through the neutral zone. The drag around defenseman Jan Hejda, followed by the brute force that had Hejda helplessly trying to put a body on him. Finally, the patience to stay with the play to collect the rebound and tuck it past goalie Reto Berra.

The only box not checked was a booming Ovechkin slap shot, as it went to the backhand to set up this sequence.

12. Oct. 10, 2015: Ovechkin schools Moore, Devils

Ovechkin’s first goal of the 2015-16 season landed him in the highlight reel and gave New Jersey Devils defenseman John Moore a harsh education. After speeding into the zone, Ovechkin faked a move to his right and dangled to his left, leaving Moore to fecklessly wave his stick at the Capitals star. Ovechkin closed in on goalie Keith Kinkaid and deposited a shot over his glove and into the far top corner of the net.

“I think there he’s going to cut to the middle,” Moore told The Star-Ledger at the time. “To his credit, I think he kind of sold that. I could have a better stick and maybe even a better gap. You give him an inch and he’ll capitalize on it. I’ll learn from that.”

11. May 1, 2018: The double-tap goal

The Capitals won their first Stanley Cup championship after finally overcoming their tormentors from Pittsburgh in the semifinals. Ovechkin scored one of his finest goals to win Game 3 of that series. Nicklas Backstrom did his usual yeoman’s work on the play, generating a turnover in the defensive zone to spring a 2-on-1. He fed Ovechkin across the ice, and Ovechkin clanged a shot off the post behind Matt Murray … and then popped the aerial rebound into the open net.

“I honestly think that from the first time we started playing with each other, we were just a good match. I was more of a playmaker and he was a goal scorer,” Backstrom said recently. “I mean, I just think he loves to score goals. That’s what’s been driving him for all these years.”

10. Jan. 19, 2006: Ovechkin goes full throttle vs. the Blues

As Capitals announcer Joe Beninati said it best: Ovechkin goes “full throttle” through the neutral zone and then absolutely flummoxes veteran St. Louis Blues defenseman Eric Weinrich before putting the puck through goalie Curtis Sanford.

In a 2022 interview with The Athletic, Ovechkin actually ranked this goal as his second favorite from a list of 10 compiled by the NHL.

“I had full speed and make a good move,” he said. “It was a total different game than now. It was more wide-open. Now it’s now more compact.”

Ovechkin also noted that this goal came immediately after another classic goal he scored against Phoenix on Jan. 16 that you might be able to read more about later on this list …

9. Jan. 25, 2014: Ovechkin vs. Canadiens juggle

In which we discover Ovechkin can juggle, too.

Ovi collects a rebound from a Carey Price save midair in back of the Montreal net. He hits it with his stick, juggles it off his stick again to nudge it closer to the goal mouth, then taps it past Price for a power-play goal, raising his arms and bellowing in celebration.

“You’re not going to see a prettier goal from a so-called ‘hands guy’ in the NHL,” Capitals announcer Craig Laughlin said.

8. Feb. 4, 2010: The one-handed classic

The 500th point of Ovechkin’s career, this goal crystallizes the futility of trying to stop the Russian Machine when he’s got the magic working.

Backstrom finds him in full stride. Rangers defenseman Michal Rozsival reaches out with his arm and attempts to impede Ovechkin. The referee’s arm goes up and then almost immediately points to the net as Ovechkin dangled through the hold and sent a one-handed shot — with his left arm, no less — at the pads of Henrik Lundqvist. The puck glanced off King Henrik’s stick and popped into the net.

Ovechkin would say after the game that it was, to his recollection, the first goal he ever scored with one hand on his stick because “my hand is not strong enough” to score that way. As the New York Times headline said after the Capitals’ 6-5 win: “Rangers Surrender Game and Stage to Ovechkin Show.”

7. April 6, 2025: Ovechkin eclipses Gretzky

At 12:34 of the second period against the New York Islanders on April 6, Ovechkin finally eclipsed “The Great One” with his 895th career goal. He could have broken the record in his previous game at home had he completed a hat trick against the Chicago Blackhawks, but Ovechkin vowed not set the mark on an empty netter. Instead, history was made with a vintage Ovi goal: a blast from the top of the circle on the power play that Ovechkin followed with a full belly slide down the ice in celebration.

The quality of this goal never mattered. The enormity of the moment in sports history necessitated its inclusion in the top 10, as Ovechkin netted career goal No. 895 to pass Gretzky and become the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer.

This is what Gretzky wanted. He encouraged Ovechkin, whether it was in interviews or private text messages during the chase. It’s a lesson Gretzky learned when he was chasing the record himself, back when Hockey Hall of Famer Gordie Howe owned it.

“My dad said, ‘You know what, somebody is going to break your record. And when he does, make sure you are as much a gentleman to him as Gordie Howe is to you. You smile, you shake his hand, and you are proud of what you accomplished. It’s better for the game,'” Gretzky told Sportsnet in 2020.

The game has never been better, whether it’s the speed or the defense or the goaltending or the coaching or the league’s overall talent level. That Ovechkin shattered this record, in this era, is nothing short of extraordinary.

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Alex Ovechkin breaks Wayne Gretzky’s goals record

Alex Ovechkin scores on the power play for his 895th career goal, surpassing Wayne Gretzky’s record.

6. Dec. 26, 2008: Ovechkin slugs Buffalo

One word: “Buffaslug.”

Ovechkin’s 2008 instant classic goal was scored against a Buffalo Sabres team wearing one of the most maligned jerseys in NHL history, as the franchise forwent its classic crest for a new design featuring an angry cashew. We can only assume Ovi was making them pay for their crime against fashion with this end-to-end beauty.

He starts by tipping the puck away from a Sabres forechecker and then he’s off to the races. Buffalo defenseman Henrik Tallinder does everything he can to track down Ovechkin and appears to take the puck away from him, but it turns out Ovechkin had it the entire time, like one of those pranks where a dollar bill is tied to a string. Ovechkin shoots as he falls to the ice, beating Patrick Lalime before sliding into him like a curling stone.

5. May 2, 2015: Ovechkin from his knee vs. the Rangers

Another playoff goal, during one of several postseason meetings between Ovechkin and the New York Rangers, and easily one of his most impressive given the personnel involved.

That’s Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi on defense for the Rangers, one of the league’s best pairings at that time. That’s Hall of Famer Henrik Lundqvist in goal, looking behind him before looking to the rafters. Ovechkin split the defense, causing the Rangers blueliners to collide like a closing door. The Capitals star slipped through a crack but his leg got caught. He fell to his knee and snapped a shot before falling on his stomach.

Teammate Evgeny Kuznetsov felt the goal was “sick,” according to the New York Post. “I said a couple of bad words in Russian but I said ‘sick,'” he said.

4. Dec. 20, 2014: Too ‘dangle-licious’ for you

This goal against the New Jersey Devils inspired Capitals play-by-play announcer Joe Beninati to coin the term “dangle-licious” to describe the tally.

Ovechkin streaked through the neutral zone toward Devils defenseman Jon Merrill, who was probably breathing a sigh of relief knowing that teammate Travis Zajac was skating back to offer support. But as Zajac reached for the puck with his stick, Ovechkin toe-dragged around Merrill and headed to the crease. Goalie Cory Schneider had the bottom of the net closed off as Ovechkin fell to the ice … only to have the Capitals star backhand the puck under the crossbar for another epic goal.

“He was flying tonight. You can see why he’s such a dangerous player,” Schneider said. “He made a great move. I stayed with him and I thought I had him. He was able to elevate it in tight like that and finish it off. I stuck with him and I thought I had that one. He made a great play on the end.”

3. April 24, 2009: Ovechkin playoff goal vs. the Rangers

Straight-up video game moves from Ovechkin in this postseason goal against the Rangers.

After a turnover by Nikolai Zherdev, Ovechkin collects the puck and streaks down the ice. Chris Drury attempts to slow him up and gets deked into oblivion. Derek Morris makes an attempt, only to have Ovechkin dangle through his legs. Aaron Voros finally catches up to Ovechkin only to have the Capitals star smack the puck with his backhand to put it past Lundqvist.

“My backhand was terrible. Lucky bounce,” Ovechkin said at the time.

Well, lucky for him.

2. Feb. 18, 2009: The ‘Hamrlik goal’

In 2011, veteran defenseman Roman Hamrlik signed as a free agent with the Capitals, becoming Ovechkin’s teammate. Which naturally begs the question: Did they ever talk about this goal?

Hamrlik was a member of the Montreal Canadiens back in 2009. He chased the puck to the red line where Ovechkin beat him in a race. Ovi poked the puck off the boards and around Hamrlik before pulling off a spin-o-rama to skate into the Montreal zone. Kyle Chipchura back checked to catch him, knocking Ovechkin to the ice. But as the Capitals star slid toward Carey Price, he flicked the puck on the forehand past the Montreal goaltender for a spectacular goal. Ovechkin sat up, raised his arms and waved for his teammates to join him in celebration.

Wes Johnson, the Capitals’ longtime public address announcer, was seated right behind the glass where Ovechkin made his initial move.

“I thought, ‘Oh my God, he passed the puck to himself.’ He spun the defenseman and then he duped the goalie as he’s falling down the ice,” he said. “It was the most spectacular goal I had seen in my 25 years of doing this live.”

1. Jan. 16, 2006: ‘The Goal’

What’s the point of a ranking if not to spark conversation and debate? To that end, any number of Ovechkin’s nimble, flailing classics could have made the top spot, subverting expectations. That would be a stunt. That would be disingenuous.

“The Goal” is his “Citizen Kane,” a masterpiece announcing the arrival of a true artist. When we close our eyes and think about any of the nearly 900 goals that have defined Ovechkin’s career, our mind’s eye will focus on that game in Glendale, Arizona, and what Sportsnet ranked as the greatest goal of the 21st century.

It was Ovechkin’s rookie season, one in which he’d hit 30 goals by the middle of January. He collected the puck at center ice and skated in on Phoenix Coyotes defenseman Paul Mara. He tried to deke Mara, but the defenseman wasn’t biting, raising his arms to try and knock Ovechkin off the puck. He was successful in that Ovechkin toppled to the ice. He was unsuccessful in that Ovechkin was still near enough to the puck.

As the Capitals star rolled onto his back, he had one hand on his stick to corral the puck and send a desperate shot to the Coyotes net. Goalie Brian Boucher flung his stick out as a last line of defense, only to look back at the cage as the puck glided across the line.

In the stands watching “The Goal”? An 8-year-old Coyotes fan named Auston Matthews, who would be inspired to score a few hundred of his own in the NHL. Behind the Coyotes’ bench watching “The Goal”? Gretzky, Phoenix’s head coach and the NHL’s leading career goal-scorer — at the time.

Early in the game, Beninati noted that Ovechkin was only 860 goals behind Gretzky’s record total of 894. Laughlin laughed at the notion that a rookie was beginning down the path to catch The Great One.

“Good luck, Mr. Ovechkin,” Beninati said. “Good luck.”

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