“You just want to put it on his tape, and he can score from anywhere,” Capitals star Tom Wilson said about captain Alex Ovechkin. The NHL made the state following The Gr8 scoring a clutch goal to give the Capitals the win in overtime against the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs. What’s more? Alex Ovechkin’s winning goal was the first overtime playoff goal of his already illustrious NHL career.
“Heck of a shot,” complimented Tom Wilson as he saw the 39-year-old position himself perfectly in front of the net to guide the puck from Anthony Beauvillier home. Surprisingly, Tom Wilson had no idea that Ovechkin had just achieved another milestone at that moment. Yet, that’s because the Capitals Captain’s goal-scoring ability is far from the only thing inspiring the team.
Wilson spoke about how exactly Alex Ovechkin inspires his team to excel on the ice after the game. “When he’s out there creating energy for our team, scoring, he does it all. He does everything for us. That’s what a leader does,” explained the 31-year-old. Being a prolific goalscorer isn’t the only thing Ovi does; he plays for the team.
“It’s one thing to be good all season long, but the guys that show up and hit and block shots and lead the team, that’s why he’s a legend,” added Tom Wilson. Ovechkin has maintained that it doesn’t count for him unless the Capitals win. He proved it once again when, in March, instead of trying to score himself, he gave the puck to Aliaksei Protas against the Ducks.
“We know the blueprint. We know the recipe. We just got to be a little more consistent with it no matter what the circumstance out there.”
Tom Wilson following tonight’s Game 1 win at Capital One Arena.#CapsHabs pic.twitter.com/Sx1g5Mk38S
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) April 22, 2025
Realizing that Protas was on a hattrick, Ovechkin passed the puck instead of trying to make the shot. Had he scored, Alex Ovechkin would’ve broken Wayne Gretzky’s record earlier. Yet, he chose to boost a young teammate instead. That’s the kind of ‘team first’ mentality that wins you games. And that’s the kind of mentality that Tom Wilson resonates with. That’s why he didn’t even realize that Ovechkin had actually scored his first playoff OT winner on Monday.
“I told Stromer it’s time to put the stat packet away. It’s nice to be five, 10 games in and not know stats everybody has. That’s what playoffs are all about,” Wilson said, as per Capitals beat reporter Sammi Silber. It also helped the NHL winger spot what they need to improve.
Alex Ovechkin’s teammate highlighted the flaws
The Washington Capitals started off strong against the Montreal Canadiens. Once again, Ovechkin took point and scored the first goal of the match. Coach Spencer Carbery was quite pleased with how his team started the game. He even went so far as to say the Capitals got a “picture-perfect” start to the game, playing one of the “best first periods” in the last month.
The second period was more of the same, with Anthony Beauvillier extending the lead to 2-0. However, Tom Wilson pointed out that the Capitals slacked off during the final period. “Our third period, we were just a little too passive,” said the Washington forward. “We took our foot off the gas and allowed them to make plays,” Alex Ovechkin’s teammate explained.
He also explained that the team should have stuck to the “physical, fast, simple” approach that they took in the initial moments of the game, and needed to be more consistent. Meanwhile, Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki felt that they simply couldn’t capitalize on the chances in the first and second periods.
“We just kind of felt that if we stuck with it we would be able to find some goals, and we did,” said the NHL star. While the Canadiens did manage to drag the Capitals to overtime, Alex Ovechkin cut their comeback short. Now we’ll have to wait and see what adjustments each team makes as they head into game 2 of the 7-game series.
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