Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin of Moscow, Russia has been named the National Hockey League First Star of the Week from March 31 to April 6. In four games, he had five goals and one assist for six points. Ovechkin also had four power-play points, one game-winning goal, 14 shots on goal, and two hits.
Ovechkin’s most significant goal of the week was his last. That is because it was his 895th regular season goal of all-time, which was one more than Wayne Gretzky. In a 4-1 Capitals loss to the New York Islanders, Ovechkin scored from Tom Wilson of Toronto, Ontario and Dylan Strome of Mississauga, Ontario on the power-play at 7:26 of the second period.
Ovechkin’s game-winning goal came on April 4 in a 5-3 Capitals win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Ovechkin scored from defenseman John Carlson of Natick, Massachusetts and left winger Andrew Mangiapane of Toronto, Ontario. The game-winning goal was also Ovechkin’s 894th NHL all-time goal, which tied Gretzky’s record.
Ovechkin had multi-point games in the two Capitals wins. He had one goal and one assist for two points in a 4-3 Capitals win over the Boston Bruins on April 1, and two goals in the Capitals win over the Blackhawks.
For the season, Ovechkin has 42 goals and 27 assists for 69 points in 61 games. He is a +17 with 14 penalty minutes, 20 power-play points, seven game-winning goals, 225 shots on goal, 11 blocked shots, 102 hits, 12 takeaways, and 46 giveaways.
The Capitals have the best record in the Eastern Conference with nine days left in the regular season. With five games left in 2024-25, they have 107 points, and have the second most points in the NHL (three back of the Winnipeg Jets). Washington’s record is 49 wins, 19 regulation losses and nine losses in extra time. Their final four opponents to close out the season are the Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets (who they have back-to-back games with this weekend), the New York Islanders, anf the Pittsburgh Penguins.
