WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 21: Capitals left wing Alexander Alex Ovechkin (8) celebrates with goalie Logan Thompson (48) after his first period goal during game one of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs between the Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals National Hockey League game on April 21, 2025 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.. (Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire)

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Alex Ovechkin scores power-play goal in 1st period
  • Ovi’s 73 playoff goals tied for the 14th-most in NHL history
  • Read below for more on Ovechkin’s opening goal

You can not stop Alex Ovechkin, you can only hope to contain him.

The Washington Capitals captain put together a tremendous season to break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goal record, and Ovechkin isn’t slowing down in the playoffs.

In Game 1 against the Montreal Canadiens, Ovechkin took a cross-ice pass from Tom Wilson and sniped a goal past Sam Montembeault to open the scoring.

Ovechkin’s goal had Capital One Arena rocking in the final minutes of the first period.

That was Ovechkin’s 29th career playoff power-play goal to pass fellow countryman Evgeni Malkin as well as Denis Potvin on the NHL’s all-time list. He is now tied with Mario Lemieux for seventh place in NHL history.

This is Ovechkin’s 152nd career playoff game, while Lemieux had his 29 in 107 games.

Ovi is now one more power-play goal away from tying Nicklas Lidstrom and Joe Pavelski with 30 career playoff PPGs for the fifth-most in league history. Both Lidstrom (263 games) and Pavelski (201) played many more postseason contests to reach that mark, though.

Ovechkin finished the regular season with 18 goals in his final 25 games to give him a total of 44 in just 65 games. A broken fibula back in November only delayed the inevitable with Ovechkin breaking Gretzky’s record on April 6 on Long Island.

The Capitals are big favorites over the Canadiens in their Round 1 series of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and they’re showing why here early in the series.

Ovechkin is one of the oldest active players in the NHL, but he’s also still one of the best.