Ovechkin 'drives the bus' for Capitals in pursuit of 2nd Stanley Cup championship

WASHINGTON -- Before Alex Ovechkin played a game this season, when he was still 41 goals behind Wayne Gretzky's NHL record, he was asked at an event celebrating the start of the Washington Capitals 50th anniversary season about potentially breaking it this season.

"The most important thing for us is win another Cup," Ovechkin replied. "It's not about the record. It's win another Cup."

More than six months later, Ovechkin and the Capitals will begin a quest to complete a special double play. Ovechkin surpassed Gretzky by scoring his 895th goal April 6 and the Capitals (51-22-9) are the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the Stanley Cup Playoffs heading into Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Montreal Canadiens (40-31-11) at Capital One Arena on Monday (7 p.m. ET; MNMT, ESPN, SN, TVAS).

As driven as Ovechkin was to break the goal record, the Capitals captain's priority was always trying to lift the Stanley Cup again after winning it for the first time in 2018.

"That's why you work all year hard to be able to be in this position, be in this situation," the 39-year-old left wing said Saturday. "So, yeah, it's a fun time of the year for everybody."

In his 20th NHL season with one season remaining on his contract after this one, Ovechkin is running out of opportunities to chase the Cup and this is, perhaps, his best to do it since the Capitals went into the 2019 playoffs as defending champions and were upset by the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games of the first round.

After missing the playoffs in 2023, the Capitals snuck into the postseason as the second wild card from the East and were swept by the New York Rangers in four games of the opening round last season. Few outside their locker room expected them to contend for the Cup this season, but that was on Ovechkin's mind from the start while he deflected questions about the goal record.

"I went to his birthday dinner at the beginning of the year, and he was talking not about the record, but he was talking about having a good crack at the Cup and making it to the playoffs and getting the team there," Capitals forward Tom Wilson said. "Obviously, along the way there was a lot of cool stuff that happened, but the whole year he's been talking about the most important thing being winning and we feel that in this room. He drives the bus for us."

Unlike a year ago, when the Rangers focused on, and succeeded in, shutting down Ovechkin, holding him without a point in an NHL playoff series for the first time in his career, the Capitals have a strong supporting cast around him.

Washington added seven players during an aggressive offseason, trading for forwards Pierre-Luc Dubois (Los Angeles Kings) and Andrew Mangiapane (Calgary Flames), defenseman Jakob Chychrun (Ottawa Senators) and goalie Logan Thompson (Vegas Golden Knights); and signing defenseman Matt Roy (six years, $34.5 million) and forwards Brandon Duhaime (two years, $3.7 million) and Taylor Raddysh (one year, $1 million).

The Capitals further strengthened their depth during the season by acquiring Lars Eller (back for a second stint after scoring the Cup-winning goal in 2018) and forward Anthony Beauvillier in separate trades with the Pittsburgh Penguins and signing 20-year-old forward Ryan Leonard, the No. 8 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, after he completed his sophomore season at Boston College.

"I think the chemistry that's in this room we built since Day 1," Ovechkin said. "Obviously, there were new faces on the team, but it seems like everybody feels welcome, everybody understands it's a special group. So, there was ups and downs, and we always support each other, and we always be on the same page."

Ovechkin did his part again, tying Tage Thompson of the Buffalo Sabres for third in the NHL with 44 goals despite missing 16 games from Nov. 21-Dec. 23 with a fractured left fibula. That tied Gordie Howe, who scored 44 goals for the Detroit Red Wings in 1968-69 when he was 40, for the most in NHL history by a player 39 or older.

Ovechkin's push to break the goal record this season, undoubtedly, contributed to his and the Capitals' success. Coach Spencer Carbery believes Ovechkin's determination to prove himself again after being held without a point against the Rangers in the playoffs was also a factor.

"I think it bothered him the way things went," Carbery said. "And what I appreciate about 'O' as a captain and as a leader and as an athlete is it can bother you about the way things go when you don't necessarily play your best, but then what he does is he goes and does something about it. He has the summer that he had (training), comes back the way that he did and has the start that he has, and I even look at him now over the last couple of games, the game at home, the Columbus game, that was one of the best games he's played all year at the end of the year moving his feet.

"So, looking forward to watching him."

If what happened in the playoffs last season motivated Ovechkin during his offseason training, he claims that's behind him now, saying "Last year is over. What happened in the past is nothing you can change."

Ovechkin's focus is on having success in the playoffs this season beginning against the Canadiens. Washington hasn't won a playoff series since defeating Vegas in five games of the 2018 Stanley Cup Final. Ovechkin is one of only four players remaining from that team (Wilson, Eller and defenseman John Carlson).

The Capitals will have to shake off a late-season slump after going 4-7-1 in their final 12 games when they had little to play for as far as playoff positioning. Ovechkin thinks they'll have no problem ratcheting up the intensity for Game 1 on Monday.

"I'm pretty sure as soon as the puck drops everybody going to be in motivation mode and beast mode," Ovechkin said. "So, we'll see."